The Skeleton Twins

Upstate NY is the setting for this funny and poignant film about a set of twins who split apart but are brought together by near-death experiences.

It is difficult to make a movie that can go from laughter to the depths of anguish and remain entertaining or even believable, but "The Skeleton Twins" manages it well; but without Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig the degree of difficulty would have increased significantly.

Hader plays a gay wannabe actor who is not doing well out in LA and paying his rent by waiting tables; Wiig is his twin who has stayed in the small town where they grew up and she is a dental hygienist. Although the flamboyantly gay "Stephone" was a Hader favorite on Saturday Night Live, do not expect a stereotype with Milo: this is a human and not a joke.

Wiig's Maggie is a flawed character, and both sibs are scarred by their dreadful childhood. How they eventually come to depend on each other is a thing of beauty.

Finally, cheers to Craig Johnson for the way he wrote Luke Wilson's Lance: the straight guy who just wants Maggie to be happy and have his children. Johnson makes him a noble character unlike the buffoon so many in Hollywood would have made of this type.

The chemistry between Wiig and Hader is incredible, and Wilson is a joy to behold. This is a must-see.

Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader are such comedy wunderkinds that a dramatic role sounds like a waste. We can picture Wiig screwing around a room with the pizazz of Carol Burnett, with Hader, alongside her, spitting out wicked lines in a wacky voice. Though The Skeleton Twins has a handful of funny moments, it is first and foremost a gloomy drama; we may all love Wiig and Hader's antics on Saturday Night Live, but they are blessed with some serious acting talent. It's the Double Indemnity to their Ball of Fire, the War and Peace to their Sabrina.

Twins Maggie (Wiig) and Milo (Hader) have been estranged for 10 years. They're reacquainted, however, when Maggie receives a call from an unknown number; she is informed that Milo has attempted suicide. In one hand, she holds the phone. In the other is a smattering of pills. It's a coincidence that seems as though God set it up just for them. Maggie immediately invites Milo to stay with her and her picture perfect husband, Lance (Luke Wilson), in their suburban New York home; but just as they begin to reconnect, they are forced to face their innermost demons.

Milo has been living in Los Angeles for a decade, desperate to become a famous actor. He's seen little success, his life marred with constant disappointment. Maggie knows that she has married a good man, but she is bored with her comfortable, predictable marriage; she's partaken in several affairs and has purposely destroyed any chances of having a baby, something Lance dreams of.

The people in The Skeleton Twins aren't unstable in a melodramatic fashion. They are disappointed with their lives, ready to do something drastic just to inject meaning into their veins. Milo thought he'd be the bullied outsider that could, one day, come to a class reunion and laugh at his balding, middling tormentors. Maggie thought that she could live in domestic bliss and stay within that bliss. But it doesn't happen.

The film explores several relationships, going back and forth between Milo and Maggie, Milo and his ex-lover, Rich (Ty Burrell), who destroyed his teenage years, and the siblings and their flighty mother (Joanna Gleason). The conversations glide over and under sheer wit and blood- letting, the characters are written with hundreds of layers. They hit close to home, making us question our own self-confidence and achievements.

But it's one of those films in which the biggest successes come from the actors. If they didn't have chemistry, The Skeleton Twins would never work. Yet the emotional bonds (good or bad) between the actors in the film are so instantaneously genuine that there is a fluidity that makes the anguish all the more real. The laughs are quick, but they are consistently overtaken by the somber sequences that follow them. Because, in real life, a joke can be thrown off a roof if you open up an old wound.

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Always given the bit-part characters in the great Apatow comedies of 6 or 7 years ago, it was a mistake of mine to never take Bill Hadar or Kristen Wiig seriously. Sure, Wiig showed some dramatic weight in Bridesmaids, but that was a light comedy after all. The Skeleton Twins is a lot darker, looking at suicide and failure. Wiig and Hadar's conviction really elevate the material here, especially the latter as her gay brother Milo. Their chemistry is predictably a joy to watch. I just wish I related to it more. I could empathize to a point but I didn't identify with it. It's a little difficult to feel too much sympathy for characters who spend the film feeling sorry for themselves and putting themselves into situations that hurt them. Nevertheless, the consequences the film explores are heartbreaking and authentic, especially the confrontations in its final 20 minutes. It has a lovely visual style to go with the mood with a soft washed out look paired with a great soundtrack, especially a memorable lip syncing scene that whisks you away with it. Perhaps it's too familiar or too irreverent for its own good, but it's certainly a good effort from everyone.

7/10

Twins Milo and Maggie have not seen each other for ten years then Maggie gets a call to say her estranged brother is in hospital after a failed suicide attempt.

She goes to see him out in L.A. and brings him back to New York. There he gets to confront his past, their joint histories and whatever the future may hold. This is essentially them getting to know each other again after such a long hiatus and in doing so holding up a metaphoric mirror to each other.

Now this started out a bit slow but once it picked up it is really engaging. Bill Hader as Milo manages to capture the complexities of some one full of life's disappointment but still with reserves of joy that just need tapping. Kristen Wiig plays his sister who has more layers than an onion in terms of how she juggles her various needs. In other words they are both just really human with the same frailties we all have. This is a comedy but it is somewhat dark and often wry but I still found this to be extremely enjoyable for all that – recommended to those who like an offbeat comedy.

Laughing at the pain of two siblings who unknowingly attempt to kill themselves at the same time, reunite due to this tragedy after ten years of non-communication.

With Kristen Wig in the movie, I was expecting to laugh, but I think the best laughs came from Bill Hader. His role as Milo, A gay actor who's life is know where near what he expected in high school, sets us on a whirlwind of emotions as he tries to cope with being back home after being away for so long.

Luke Wilson's supporting role as a the likable husband to Kristen Wig's character also gave me a big chuckle as well.

Rounding out the cast is Ty Burrell, best known for his role on Modern Family. It was cool to see him do something out of Type.

It was weird laughing at people with such messed up lives but some say this is the secret to great comedy, that it comes from a dark place. The filmmakers were able to show light coming from this darkness and it was well played in a way that made the twin's issues relateable to us.

It was a great drama with a lot of comedy in it, A must see.