‘Brothers’ Review: Two-Bit Criminals (original) (raw)
Advertisement
Moke (Josh Brolin) is a reformed thief who gets roped into one last job with his twin brother, Jady (Peter Dinklage).
From left, Jady (Peter Dinklage), Cath (Glenn Close) and Moke (Josh Brolin) in “Brothers.”Credit...Prime
Oct. 17, 2024, 7:00 a.m. ET
Brothers
Directed by Max Barbakow
Action, Comedy
R
1h 29m
For a road-trip buddy comedy, a greater crime than being unfunny is perhaps, amid all of the shenanigans, being dull. That is partly the feeling one is left with in the R-rated movie “Brothers,” which, even with an A-list cast, seems to move on autopilot through all of its pit stops.
There’s the slapstick violence; there’s a sexually excited orangutan named Samuel; there’s Glenn Close as a two-bit criminal scaring a naked Josh Brolin off a motel balcony. But one is ultimately left with the prevailing feeling that this comedy, directed by Max Barbakow, is not particularly bad, but rather just fine.
In a one-last-job setup, Moke (Brolin), a reformed thief trying to go straight, teams up with his twin brother, Jady (Peter Dinklage), to track down a stash of valuable jewels. Family issues between the brothers get in the way, and then get complicated when their long-lost mother (Close) comes into the picture.
Their road-movie antics all play out with little comic imagination, making for a disappointing answer to the invigorating originality of Barbakow’s last comedy, “Palm Springs.” Brolin and Dinklage might seem like a magnetic pair of bickering twins — and they are what is keeping this ship from sinking — but mostly it’s dismaying to see such strong dramatic actors stifled in such a sedate comedy.
The same can be said of the entire cast, which includes Marisa Tomei as a kooky lover and Brendan Fraser as the villain on their heels. The silver lining is seeing Fraser in a comedic role, showing flashes of that easy charisma from his blockbuster days.
Brothers
Rated R for language, sexual content and drug use. Running time: 1 hour 28 minutes. Watch on Amazon Prime Video.
Advertisement