Saturday, January 10, 2015

The Skeleton Twins (DVD)

Though billed as a comedy, The Skeleton Twins is a pretty dark offering. It’s got a stellar cast and an engaging storyline, but aside from two brief moments of levity, thanks to dentist office laughing gas and a cheesy Starship lip synch moment, this indie is mostly a bleak affair.skeleton-twins-dvd-cover-50


Saturday Night Live alums Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader play estranged siblings living on opposite sides of the country who coincidentally attempt suicide on the same day. The two are brought back together – thanks mainly to lack of any other real family – and struggling actor Milo (Hader) moves in with his sister Maggie (Wiig) and her husband (Luke Wilson, in a pretty understated role) in their upstate New York hometown. The movie unfolds in typical Hollywood fashion (running into old friends, exposing old family secrets and the aforementioned goofy lip-synch-orama), but given how solid Wiig and Hader are together, you can’t help but enjoy the result, even if you know exactly where the movie if heading.


The Skeleton Twins/93 mins/Lionsgate/2014