Our Idiot Brother
Director: Jesse Peretz
Cast: Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel
Rated: PG
Running time: 90 minutes
As the summer season wraps up, the distributors are busy puking out their "contractual obligation" films while most of us are suddenly realizing it's back to non-summer reality.
Which brings us to Our Idiot Brother. It would be foolhardy to bring anything but low expectations to a film with the word "idiot" in the title. Thankfully, those low expectations were met and, dare I say, raised just enough.
Starring in and carrying the entire film is the constantly grinning and happy Paul Rudd. However, the term "idiot" in the title must be ironic because he's really just over-the-top, gosh-shucks honest and truthful. This is an idealistic way of being that is difficult in our "real" world, where he quickly gets tricked into selling a uniformed cop some weed. Once out, the eternal-optimist style plays havoc when he crashes with his three sisters, each living a stereotypical complicated lives: busy stay-at-home mom Emily Mortimer, career-crazy Elizabeth Banks, and low-rent potty-mouth comic Zooey Deschanel. Also worth mentioning is the appearance of not one but two Parks and Recreation alumni (Rashida Jones/Adam Scott), which is always great to see.
Light and airy with an almost cotton candy consistency, this film would be great to stumble upon on TV one hung-over Sunday. But for a Labour day week when reality comes crashing down for so many, it's nice to escape to an imaginary place where someone can be nice, open and honest and things work out.
