In case you weren’t aware, Peter Dinklage and Josh Brolin had a new movie come out. In the aptly titled Brothers, Dinklage and Brolin play twin brothers involved in a family of crime. When a job goes wrong, Jady (Dinklage) is arrested and put in prison for 5 years. When he gets out thanks to a crooked cop with an agenda (Brendan Fraser), he goes to visit his brother Moke (Brolin) who’s started a new life with a wife and child on the way. Jady convinces Moke to join him on one last job with their mother (Glenn Close).
Obviously, this movie is billed to be a comedy. Yet, what I couldn’t help but notice as I was watching is that it really wasn’t all that funny. With the exception of Brendan Fraser, who plays a delightfully unhinged police officer, there’s nothing that really stands out for me. The attempts at comedy fall pretty consistently flat.
That couples with the fact that Brolin and Dinklage really don’t have a ton of chemistry together on screen. I was never sold on their relationship as brothers, which I chalk up to their performances. While both are incredibly talented, it just feels phoned in for a lot of the film.
It was clear too that even the filmmakers were struggling for ideas to make this a feature length film. A strange scene with the brothers and Marissa Tomei and an ape is randomly shoehorned into the middle of the film that has little to do other than fill time. Moments like this feel rampant across the film.
I do appreciate though that the film is at least made well. There are plenty of practical sets and shots that add some whimsy that the film is going for.
Final Thoughts
Inevitably, a movie like Brothers is something that will be lost to time. In 10 years it will become a trivia answer for movies that star both Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage. but that’s about it. On the bright side though, it doesn’t do anything totally wrong either. It makes for a good film to put on in the background while you’re cleaning your house or doing laundry. But that’s really about it.
