Our Idiot Brother Review

Rated R (Sexual Content including Nudity, and for Language Throughout)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 30 Minutes

Cast:

Paul Rudd-Ned Rochlin

Emily Mortimer-Liz Rochlin

Elizabeth Banks-Miranda Rochlin

Zooey Deschanel-Natalie Rochlin

Steve Coogan-Dylan

Adam Scott-Jeremy

Rashida Jones-Cindy

Kathryn Hahn-Janet

T.J. Miller-Billy

Janet Montgomery-Lady Arabella

Hugh Dancy-Christian

Shirley Knight-Ilene Rochlin

Sterling K. Brown-Omar

Matthew Mindler-River

Directed by Jesse Peretz

Paul Rudd is the man because he's got the weed!

Most families have at least one specific relative who is considered the ‘black sheep’ or the ‘odd duck,’ someone who makes an easy scapegoat and gets blamed for all of the family’s troubles or never receives an invitation to special get-togethers. Sometimes this person’s presence is tolerated in small doses but more often than not, the family would rather delude themselves into thinking that no such relative exists because they fear that it would be a bad reflection on them if they associate with him or her. This is the predicament faced by Ned Rochlin, played by Paul Rudd in his new late-summer comedy film, “Our Idiot Brother,” which represents a nice change of pace from other R-rated comedies which focus on extreme scatological humor to achieve laughs. It’s hard to hate “Our Idiot Brother” as the film benefits from the sweet and likable charm that Rudd exudes but the humor is too low-key to make much of an impression, the majority of its characters are unsympathetic, and its episodic plot ends up being formulaic. 

Ned Rochlin (Paul Rudd) is a shaggy-haired, bio-dynamic farmer selling his produce in a local outdoor market. He is approached by a uniformed police officer who asks him where he can buy some marijuana but Ned explains that even if he knew, he obviously wouldn’t tell him. After hearing that the officer has had a stressful week, he slips him a free bag of marijuana out of pity. The officer insists on paying and Ned agrees to accept twenty dollars for it. Unfortunately, Ned is promptly arrested for selling drugs. After spending eight months in prison, he is released on good behavior and returns to his farm only to discover that his girlfriend Janet (Kathryn Hahn) has moved on with a new boyfriend, Billy (T.J. Miller). Although Ned is disappointed he wants to remain working on the farm but Janet refuses, even going so far as to not letting him take his dog, a Golden Retriever named Willie Nelson. Billy drives Ned to his mother’s house and moved by his tearful good-bye to Willie, he says that he’ll try to convince Janet to let him rent out the goat barn for $500 per month if he can scrape together two month’s rent. Ned happily reunites with his mother, Ilene (Shirley Knight), and his three sisters, Liz (Emily Mortimer), Miranda (Elizabeth Banks), and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel). He soon grows tired of living with his mother and shows up at Liz’s house looking for a place to stay until he can get back on his feet. Much to the displeasure of her husband Dylan (Steve Coogan), Liz allows him and agrees to give Ned $250 per week babysitting her son, River (Matthew Mindler), and helping out her husband on the set of his new documentary film. Due to his clueless, good-natured demeanor, Ned unintentionally wrecks havoc on his sister’s life and is kicked out. He does the same to Elizabeth and Natalie, leaving him bewildered as he simply only wants a place to sleep and be reunited with his dog. 

“Our Idiot Brother” succeeds solely because of Paul Rudd’s performance but if you take him out of the equation, what’s left is a largely pedestrian affair punctuated by a number of small funny moments that ultimately never illicit more than a chuckle or two. The only truly hilarious moment is when Ned ends up participating in a threesome with a couple but gets freaked out when the man starts kissing him. True to his kind nature, he apologizes profusely. It’s not hard to grasp that the overall theme is the importance of family and that everyone should always strive to be honest with each other no matter how hurtful the truth may be. Ned’s sisters come to realize this and the film ends with a typical Hollywood happy ending but the problem is that it does not deserve it. The three sisters are all completely unlikable, so self-absorbed and living in denial that they are content to just sweep all their issues under the rug if it meant keeping the peace. [SPOILERS] When Liz finds out that Dylan has been having an affair with a younger woman, she blames Ned for ruining her ‘perfect’ marriage. Miranda, who is a writer for Vanity Fair magazine, is trying to catch her big break and attempts to get an important client named Lady Arabella (Janet Montgomery) to open up about her infamous divorce with her ex-husband but she is unable to due to Arabella’s agreement with her lawyer. However, she is charmed by Ned’s friendliness and opens up to him about her divorce. Seizing this opportunity, Miranda forces Ned to spill the beans but he is unable sign off on the validity of the article because it will embarrass Arabella. Finally, Natalie ends up getting pregnant from a one-night stand and Ned encourages her to be honest with her girlfriend, Cindy (Rashida Jones), but implies that she did without actually confirming it. Ned takes this at face value and later remarks to Cindy that he’s glad she and his sister stayed together despite the infidelity. [END SPOILERS] In all these situations, Ned is just trying to help and have his sisters be more honest but they are so afraid to confront their own faults that when the peace is shattered, they blame it all on Ned. The turning point in which they realize how important Ned is to their family isn’t convincing because it just happens, like flipping a light switch. I understand what writers Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall are trying to accomplish but in their effort to differentiate from Ned, the sisters all end up unlikable and it’s hard to root for their happiness. 

The ensemble cast that Jesse Peretz has gathered is certainly impressive and everyone gives solid performances, their comedic talents mixing together in a way that may not always be laugh-out-loud funny but there’s never a dull moment in the film. However, it is Paul Rudd who shines and “Our Idiot Brother” would’ve been a failure without him as he greatly elevates the film thanks to his dim-witted yet overly optimistic outlook on life. The sweet charm he exudes counterbalances the shallowness exhibited by his female co-stars in a way that makes it hard to truly hate the film despite its noticeable flaws. 

Released on August 26, 2011, “Our Idiot Brother” has received mildly positive reviews with 68% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted the film was ‘decidedly uneven, but like Paul Rudd's performance in the title role, [it] is too charming to resist.’ Unfortunately, this was another flop at the box office as it debuted with a measly $7 million during opening weekend. Part of the blame can be laid at Hurricane Irene but I doubt the film would’ve done any better. Still, its production budget was only $5 million so it’s not a total loss. In contrast to “Colombiana,” the theater sat virtually empty when I saw the film as I only counted around fifteen people in attendance. “Our Idiot Brother” won’t be remembered as one of the best of this summer’s comedies, its humor is just too low-key but for all of its flaws, the film earns a mild recommendation thanks to Paul Rudd's sweet and charming performance.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5

“I like to think that if you put your trust out there, I mean if you really give people the benefit of the doubt and see their best intentions, people will rise to the occasion.”