Stuck on You

There's something about this `Stuck on You' that sticks to me after my initial impression that the Farrelly Brothers have created another inane comedy to compete with their equally dubious `Dumb and Dumber' franchise, `Shallow Hal, ' and `There's Something about Mary,' among others. That something is taking a story about goofy conjoined twins (Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear), tossing in bathroom and masturbation jokes, and then seeing a basic metaphor about the loss people feel when separated from another human being with whom they have spent their lives.

I commend the Farrellys because `Stuck on You' does not play for the broadest laughs but gently lampoons pretentious Hollywood and overtly praises the sincere emotions of two linked humans and the New England town that loves them regardless of their disability. I liked the connection of two innocent, loving brothers, who miss each other after separation. I liked botoxed Cher's presence to emphasize the decayed humanity of L.A., which sees clearly the business profit in deformity.

On another allegorical level, the twins could be the projection of the Farrellys themselves, going to Hollywood to exploit its penchant for seizing on the flavor of the month, regardless of its incorrectness or inhumanity and facing their own eventual split (Bobby is considering cutting back on their productions). The Farrellys are not the Coens, whose satire is more Kaufmans' `Adaptation' (Even if the brother is only imagined) than Zuckers' `Airplane.' But the Farrellys' five major motion pictures make them as bankable as any other successful brothers in the business.

Seeing diva Cher make fun of herself and Meryl Streep cutup as co-star with Kinnear in a musical stage production of `Bonnie and Clyde'(Think `Springtime for Hitler') are a couple of reasons to see this film. The best reason, however, is to enjoy the lighthearted interaction of two brothers who learn that nature's cruel marriage of their bodies gave them the best emotional marriage of their lives. The Farrellys have confirmed the Karl Menninger belief that `to know one another well enough should not be to hate one another the more but to love one another the more.'

Even those of us not conjoined could learn about brotherly love from `Stuck on You.'

I'm actually a big Farrelly Brothers fan (and not just because they're from Rhode Island). So, it's with great reluctance that I write a less than stellar review of "Stuck On You".

It's not a horrible film, but like many recent Farrelly releases it's muddled and illustrates a tug of war between the movies the Farrellys want to make the and movies the Farrelly's fans want them to make.

"Stuck On You" tells the tale of Bob and Walt Tenor, conjoined twins who live a good, peaceful life on Nantucket Island. That is until Walt (played by Greg Kinnear) catches the acting bug and wants to move to LA. The story and gags from there mostly revolve around a fish-out-of-water story (but two fish joined at the side) and the brothers' ongoing ignorance of their own condition.

At one point, Bob (played by Matt Damon) tells Walt that he'll never make it in acting. Why? Because he needs a better tan. Though these aren't the idiot gags that we all enjoyed in "Dumb & Dumber". In fact, both of the brothers are very bright. Their ignorance is more a function of their being so close (physically and emotionally) for such a long period of time and because back home everyone accepted them completely. They've become blind to their own handicap.

It's a nice message and it is delivered poignantly at times. More often, though, we're hammered with it over and over again while the Farrellys do their best to make the movie look more like one of their more celebrated, more tasteless, and funnier movies like "Dumb & Dumber", "Something About Mary", or "Me, Myself and Irene".

In all of the latter movies, there was no illusion that we were there primarily there for the gutter chuckles, but each movie also had characters we really liked. Let's face it. We were all rooting for Lloyd and Harry in "Dumb and Dumber" even if they were morons.

In "Stuck On You", the main characters are all a lot flatter than what we've seen before. Plus, one of the most disappointing aspects in "Stuck On You" is the poor use of the minor characters. In previous movies we got some of our biggest laughs from the sideline characters, while in "Stuck On You" they're used mostly as window dressing. Eva Mendes is primarily a cleavage delivery device in "Stuck On You", which is a shame because she's not a bad actress and she could have some comedic chops.

How are Greg Kinnear and Matt Damon in this film? They both do as good as can be expected. We're not used to seeing Damon in comedic films (his last was "Dogma"), and I think he does comedy very well. I'm reluctant to comment directly on their performances because it's not fair. The characters are flat and that's not their fault.

Sadly, this isn't a fluke for the Farrellys. It's part of an ongoing trend. Their animated movie, "Osmosis Joe", more closely resembled a feature-length public health announcement starring Chris Rock and Bill Murray. "Shallow Hal" dealt with superficiality in much heavier, dramatic tones than we were led to believe in the movie's trailers.*

In "Stuck On You", the Farrellys try to swerve back to their poop-and-fart-joke roots, but deep down you can tell they want to make more serious, thematic movies.

I would have no problem if the Farrellys decided to do a more serious, dramatic film. I would also have no problem if the Farrellys decided to do more locker-room humor comedies. But I do have a problem with them trying to do both at the same time. It's just not working.

* NOTE - While I'm not shopping for the DVD, I did enjoy "Shallow Hal" once I realized (and accepted) that the movie was a lot heavier than the trailers depicted. That said, there were a lot of people in the cinema who were expecting something like "Dumb & Dumber" and they were plenty unhappy about it. I don't blame them.

I went into the cinema with friends and said: "It's a Farrelly Brothers film; you can guess the level of humour." There's Something About Mary I love, but let's face it -- the humour is quite crass, even if the movie does have some heart. So I expected another movie with jokes in bad taste, and lots of humour at the expense of conjoined twins. At least this is how the film has marketed it. However, it couldn't be further from the truth. What has been marketed is quite different to what the film is about.

Whilst the film does have humour -- some movements hilariously funny -- this film is at heart a light drama. And this is by certainly no means a bad thing. When I expected low-IQ humour, what I got was just a really engrossing tale of two brothers who just happen to be conjoined. The chemistry between Damon and Kinnear is just perfect, and the relationship between the brothers (no doubt written from experience by the Farrelly Brothers) was wonderful.

Fox's marketing treatment of the film is appalling. In the trailer, Matt Damon's character says: "We're not Siamese, we're American," and the trailer plays it like he is stupid. Whereas in fact, when watching the film, the context is very different -- he's reacting with indignation, and in defence of their conjoined nature. This is indicative of the entire film. Never is their conjoined-nature used for humour in a bad way.

Throw away what you've seen in the trailers, or what you think the film is about. Go and see this movie that has its heart so very much in the right place -- a great antidote to so many Hollywood films that have the soul of a stone. I don't normally get sentimental with films. I'm the type of viewer that laughs when Jack dies at the end of Titanic. But I went away from Stuck On You knowing I'd seen a very special film indeed. Highly recommended.

To be honest, I am still a little amazed at how much I liked this film. I resisted seeing it for a long time because the concept sounded so offensive. But offensive is the last word I would use to describe this movie. Hilarious would be more accurate. The conjoined twin thing never feels like fodder for cheap jokes. Yes, it plays prominently in the plot, but it just never feels like you are laughing at them, only with them. There is genuine affection for the two main characters, played expertly by Damon and Kinnear, that really shines thru. To be absolutely honest, a lot of what makes this film so incredible is hard (for me, at least) to describe. All I can say is that it's funny, it's touching, it's a bit of Farrelly brothers magic. See it, you won't regret it.

I was worried with the 5.6 rating this was going to be average at best but it's so well acted and delivered I can't understand who didn't like it. It avoids cheap jokes at the expense of the brother's conjoined condition yet delivers laugh after laugh in a good-natured and fun way. Damon and Kinnear deliver high quality character depth with warmth and charm, well above midnight double feature level and the star cast nods are icing on the cake. The film is just good fun all the way through. Well worth the time to watch it and it seems it is a somewhat overlooked classy film.