Our Idiot Brother

Our Idiot Brother marks the freshman effort for the screenwriting team of David Schisgall and Evgenia Peretz, and directed by Jesse Peretz (The Ex). That is a low pedigree on that front. Luckily for them, they have a stellar cast of up and coming thespians to help.

Paul Rudd channels his inner Forrest Gump, but with better social skills. He plays Ned, a carefree loving guy who just loves life and his dog Willie Nelson. He gets busted for selling pot to a uniformed police officer. Upon his release, he is required by New York law to live with a family member, meet with a parole officer, and take strides to not make the same mistake again. He first heads back to his old home on an organic farm with his girlfriend Janet (Kathryn Hahn). Janet has moved on and her new boyfriend Billy (T.J. Miller) has moved in. This leaves Ned with no choice but to move back in with his mom.

After deciding that he can’t live there, he tries to move in with his sister Liz (Emily Mortimer) and her documentary filmmaker husband Dylan (Steve Coogan) who pays Ned to take care of their son. Ned messes things up, and he gets booted from Liz’s house. Then, it is off to magazine-writer Miranda’s (Elizabeth Banks). While here, he accidentally meddles with her breakthrough article and her relationship with Jeremy (Adam Scott). Once again, he is kicked out. Finally, he winds up staying with Nat (Zooey Deschanel) and her girlfriend Cindy (Rashida Jones). This time he spills the beans unknowingly, causing yet another eviction. All of the sisters now hate their beloved, yet simple-minded brother. All the tension comes to a breaking point at a friendly-family game of charades. This leaves the sisters and the mother trying to make Ned feel better.

So, here we are again: yet another R-Rated comedy. Our Idiot Brother marks the first one that does not truly abuse the rating. They use the vulgarity for emphasis, not for easy humor. That was refreshing. The cast was excellent. Each one was different, and each one was great. Our Idiot Brother is as dramatic as it is humorous. The endearing and heartfelt script works to perfection on screen and does not have the campy, sappy feeling that plagued Crazy, Stupid, Love.

As I mentioned above, Ned’s dog is named Willie Nelson. The last time I heard that much Willie Nelson music in an hour and half, I was drunk in college at some redneck bar.  Even with that, I left the theater feeling satisfied that I did not waste my time or money on yet another vulgar, obscene, comedy. It has already made its budget of $5 million back, but this movie is better than its $6.5 million take. Our Idiot Brother is a smart comedy.


RATING: 8.5/10