Who's in it? Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Rashida Jones, Zooey Deschanel, Steve Coogan, Emily Mortimer
The plot Fans of the current comedy crowd that have been crowned the ‘Frat Pack', will be in their element here with every quirky actor and actress worth their salt popping up.
Paul Rudd is Ned, a goofy man-child who is either refusing or is just unable to fully grow up, no one can quite figure out which.
Our Idiot Brother - Official Trailer [HD] - YouTube
After attempting to sell drugs to an undercover cop, perennially happy hippie Ned finds himself released on parole, but when he gets home, his girlfriend Janet (Kathryn Hahn) has moved the even dimmer Billy into their home, and - most shocking of all to Ned - refuses to relinquish custody of their canine version of Ned, Willie Nelson.
Finding himself homeless, Ned heads off to stay with each of his three sisters in turn, starting with uptight, self-righteous Liz (Mortimer), whose empty marriage to Dylan (Coogan) Ned is soon exposed as a sham of joint self-denial, whilst introducing the delights of play-fighting to their seven-year-old son, River. Next up, Ned visits the career-driven Miranda (Banks) and then flaky model/muse/whatever, Natalie (Deschanel in hardly-needing-to-act mode) - teaching each of them the apparent error of their lifestyles, whilst appearing to completely ruin their lives.
What we liked As usual, Steve Coogan's the standout here, and Ned's naive simplicity manages not to grate thanks to superb character-handling by Rudd.
What we didn't like A movie where a man has to come along and show the women how to live their lives in order to be happy? Haven't we evolved beyond this crock? Nice work, Hollywood.
Rating 3/5
