Movie Review: Our Idiot Brother (2011)
Paul Rudd creates a character I couldn't get enough of
Photo: The Weinstein Co.
Our Idiot Brother is a solid film. It's got some big laughs, some smaller ones too and a little bit of drama, but what I enjoyed most about it was the heart of its lead character, Ned, played by Paul Rudd. Ned may not be representative of anyone you or I know (or anyone on Earth for that matter), but as someone that can tend to be quite cynical at times, Ned's idealistic nature represents a kind of life I wish I and everyone else would, and could, lead. I can understand how his consistently good heart and seemingly childlike approach to life may turn some people off as being too saccharine or simply unrealistic, but it's exactly for those reasons I enjoyed and respected him so much. He owned it, without apologies.
The cast includes Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Rashida Jones and Katie Aselton. For more information on this film including pictures, trailers and a detailed synopsis choose from the following menu.
Review
"Our Idiot Brother" is a The Weinstein Co. release, directed by Jesse Peretz and is rated R for sexual content including nudity, and for language throughout. The running time is 1 hour 36 minutes.
After being released from jail for his drug-dealing infraction, Ned returns home to find his girlfriend (Kathryn Hahn) has moved in a new boyfriend, an equally trusting and kind (and a little slow) character played by T.J. Miller. Kicked to the curb and not even allowed to take his dog, Willie Nelson, Ned is forced to head back home where he is passed around among his three sisters (Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer) for the rest of the film.
As each takes turns providing a roof for Ned to live under, his involvement in their personal and professional lives becomes a problem as each are openly willing to use him when they need help, but unwilling to accept some of the harsh truths that come with his being there.
Where the film shines is with Rudd. He's an actor with an immediately likable on screen personality. I was able to believe he could be this character, all smiles, a good heart and believing in only the best of others. However, I wasn't as convinced in the members of his family. Neither Banks, Deschanel nor Mortimer comes across as likely sisters to Ned. I may have been convinced they were sisters, but the idea Ned was their brother just wasn't believable. It is painfully obvious in the film's final scene, which was one of several scenes where the performances of the three girls seemed overly forced when compared to Rudd's.
Fortunately, the one constant is Rudd and the film is all the better for it. His looks, his gestures, they're perfect because you believe them. While I said in my opening that Ned "may not be representative of anyone you or I know", that doesn't mean I didn't wholly believe this character existed as we see him here.
Additional kudos go to Adam Scott and T.J. Miller in small, but noteworthy roles. Miller especially floored me. Rashida Jones is also a big plus as the girlfriend to Deschanel's character. In fact, Jones' character is one I would have believed as Ned's sister before any of the three played by Banks, Deschanel or Mortimer.
Outside of the fact Ned is essentially a brother from another mother, the biggest issue I had with his sisters is that none of them stuck up for him, or even recognized his big heart. Maybe if one had been in his corner, it would have served the story better. Why couldn't just one of these girls been a little less selfish and stuck up for him. It's hard to have a moral of the story when you don't ever believe anyone in the film will be brave enough to actually accept that moral.
So as it stands, Our Idiot Brother is a film I would definitely recommend you see, but not so much for the film itself as I would for the character Rudd creates and those brief asides with the likes of Miller, Jones and Scott. As unlikely as it would be to see a character such as Ned in the real world, it's encouraging to see a wealth of kindness coming from a character you can believe in on screen.
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Saw this with the Sundance Across America program with the director there for a Q&A. Was an enjoyable film and even better with a big audience who appreciated the movie for what it was.
Brad, did you get to watch Higher Ground? If so, what did you think of it?
Hilarious film, Rudd was great!