Directed by: Jesse Peretz
Starring: Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Emily Mortimer, Zooey Deschanel
Rated: R for sexual content including nudity and language throughout
It is hard to get to the diagnose what exactly went wrong with the film Our Idiot Brother, which had the potential to hit that indie dark-comedy feel that has been the key for several good films. It has a funny and interesting protagonist in Ned (Paul Rudd), a loveable-yet-stupid slacker, almost as if The Dude from Big Lebowski were more like a loveable teddy bear. Because of a recent jail stint, Ned is left crashing at his various sisters’ houses over the course of a few weeks. While helping Ned find a permanent home should have been the external goal and changing his siblings’ lives for the better in the process should have been the internal goal, we are left with a smattering of R-rated subject matter and external plot points that are hard to follow, extremely offensive, and add absolutely nothing to the story. These moments leave the audience confused and wondering if the movie is trying to be moving or funny. It’s neither; it’s just infuriating. Then, in the end, Ned’s love of life somehow fixes everyone’s issues, which is mind-boggling since a lack of love wasn’t what got them in to theirs problems. Worst of all, the cast of fairly popular actors and actresses (Emily Mortimer, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones, Steve Coogan, and Hugh Dancy) are all terrible, practically playing themselves rather than some other character, which definitely doesn’t add to the believability of the plot or story. With the exception of Paul Rudd’s performance, there is nothing redeemable about this movie. This film isn’t about an idiot brother, but an idiotic cast and crew who somehow thought this movie was going to be worth the 90 minutes audiences spent watching it.
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