Our Idiot Brother (2011)

A comedy centered on an idealist who barges into the lives of his three sisters.

Director:

Jesse Peretz

Writers:

Jesse Peretz (story), Evgenia Peretz (story),

Stars:

Paul Rudd, Nick Sullivan, Elizabeth Banks

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Rudd	...	Ned
Nick Sullivan	...	Customer
Francesca Papalia	...	Sadie
Bob Stephenson	...	Officer Washburn
Elizabeth Banks	...	Miranda
Peter Hermann	...	Terry
Adam Scott	...	Jeremy
Kelly Briter	...	Girl with Jeremy
Rashida Jones	...	Cindy
Zooey Deschanel	...	Natalie
Emily Mortimer	...	Liz
Steve Coogan	...	Dylan
Kathryn Hahn	...	Janet
T.J. Miller	...	Billy
Shirley Knight	...	Ilene

Storyline

Ned lived a happy life growing organic vegetables on a farm with his hippie girlfriend and his dog named Willie Nelson, but an unadvised incident with marijuana at a farmer's market lands him in jail. When he gets out of jail, he is off to live with his sisters. While Ned is still happy, his sisters are much less so after he manages to screw up one marriage, one job opportunity, one budding relationship and one domestic partnership. He sees those problems as breakdowns in communication, but his sisters see him as an idiot.

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Plot Keywords:

jail | hippie | farmer | marijuana | marriage | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content including nudity, and for language throughout

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 August 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

My Idiot Brother

Filming Locations:

Kaufman Astoria Studios - 3412 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$7,011,631 (USA) (26 August 2011)

Gross:

$24,809,547 (USA) (11 November 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Weinstein Company, The, Big Beach Films, Likely Story

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chris Pratt was originally cast as Billy but had to leave the project due to scheduling conflicts.

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Goofs

Close to the end of the film when Ned (Paul Rudd) and his friend have opened up a candle-store, his friend is dipping candles into obviously empty containers, since they come out as dry as when they go in, and in many shots you can see the jars being empty of candle mass.

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Quotes

Ned: Hey, you know, I've been meaning to tell you. You're doing a really good thing here, Omar. Seriously. I mean you talk to us screw-ups, you give us a reason for getting out of bed in the morning.
Omar: Thanks, man. So you get out of bed in another three weeks, OK?
Ned: I'll do it.
Omar: I appreciate the compliment. It's rare that we get love from the clients.
Ned: Well, you're a good dude. And I just needed this appointment today, I'm having a tough go of it. I swear, I try and do good, but I just screw it up. Man, I...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Bloopers and outtakes shown during the closing credits.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #19.200 (2011)

User Reviews

Sweet

As I write this review at the end of August, 2011, I realize it's my last one of a good summer, and the movie, Our Idiot Brother, is a good movie. It's a light-hearted, low-key comedy about a hippie brother Ned (Paul Rudd) returning home from prison for selling pot to a uniformed policeman.

That little episode that put him in jail is not only humorous because of Ned's naiveté but also because of his big heart that would empathize with the seemingly depressed cop and sell him the weed. Ned is a sweet idealist who believes the best about his fellow humans and rarely is disappointed. Although he has been a biodynamic farmer but now doesn't have a job, his real job is turning his family honest, sister by sister, without even trying, without even knowing that his Ibsen-like Wild Duck openness has changed lives for the better.

For instance, when he forces his sister Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) to be honest with her publisher about a source for an important story, she eventually is better for the setback. A little like Forrest Gump with less cluelessness, Ned changes things with the force of his own honesty.

His three sisters are not wicked witches; they're just New Yorkers who have lost their way in marriage, sexual orientation, or plain old occupation. Director Jesse Peretz keeps the cast underplaying as he allows the ripening of their lives through the gentle ministrations of this child-like brother.

While I always favor the outré Royal Tenenbaums or eccentric Little Miss Sunshine, it's pleasant to experience a relatively mild comedy about family dysfunction and want more.