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.”
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