The Brothers McMullen (1995)

Three Irish Catholic brothers from Long Island struggle to deal with love, marriage, and infidelity.

Director:

Edward Burns

Writer:

Edward Burns

Stars:

Jack Mulcahy, Michael McGlone, Edward Burns

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Shari Albert	...	Susan
Maxine Bahns	...	Audrey
Catharine Bolz	...	Mrs. McMullen
Connie Britton	...	Molly McMullen
Edward Burns	...	Barry / Finbar McMullen
Peter Johansen	...	Marty
Jennifer Jostyn	...	Leslie
Michael McGlone	...	Patrick McMullen (as Mike McGlone)
Elizabeth McKay	...	Ann
Jack Mulcahy	...	Jack McMullen

Storyline

This angst-filled tale of three Irish-Catholic brothers explores men's relationships with women. Three different situations are set up on parallel plotlines, with each brother facing a different kind of crisis. Their common bond as family, as well as close lifelong friends, allows them to express their feelings frankly and intimately, as they talk and discuss their concerns among each other. Jack finds himself in a marriage gone stale and under pressure to start a family that he does not yet feel ready for. Barry, dedicated to his film career and almost pathologically averse to any type of commitment in a relationship, is suddenly artistically successful and finds true love, both for the first time and both pulling him in opposite directions. Patrick is torn between his love for his religion and ethnic heritage and his love for Susan, his longtime Jewish girlfriend. Ultimately, they are all asked to resist temptation of one sort or another, with various poignant outcomes.

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Plot Keywords:

irish catholic | long island | low budget film | loss of father | abusive father | 

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Taglines:

Jack is trying to save his marriage, Patrick is in a hopeless relationship, but their biggest problem is Barry's brotherly advice.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Edward Burns.

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Goofs

At the end of the movie, the two main characters are on the sidewalk talking, and a New York trash can jumps back and forth all around them between shots.

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Quotes

Patrick McMullen: Repression is not such a bad thing.

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: The Newton Boys/Meet the Deedles/A Price Above Rubies/No Looking Back (1998)

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Soundtracks

Weep Not For The Memories
Written and Performed by Seamus Egan

User Reviews

What movie did the reviewer watch?

I wound up watching the movie by accident and it turned out to be an experience much like passing road kill: It's so horrid you can't look away.

And because it was so awful, I thought it might be fun to read a few reviews of it (reading reviews of bad movies is somewhat cathartic; you watch something awful and then let someone else vent about your wasted time....). What I found here was somewhat unbelievable. Somebody actually thought it had some redeeming features. It doesn't.

This film did not just have a surfeit of uninteresting characters who spoke extraordinarily turgid dialogue (one character says to the other "I don't think we should see ONE ANOTHER for awhile...." Nobody, really nobody, ever says ONE ANOTHER except in church.) It was also woodenly acted, nonsensically directed and had a plot so boring I kept switching to Tony Robbins infomercials for excitement. Shoestring budget or not, there's no excuse for inflicting this kind of movie on the paying public. Okay, I didn't actually pay to see it because it was on Bravo, but I paid my cable bill and that should count for something.

Bottom line is that this movie isn't funny, isn't sad, isn't thought provoking and isn't interesting. It is annoying.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 August 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Brothers McMullen

Filming Locations:

50 Commerce St, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$238,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$167,815, 13 August 1995

Gross USA:

$10,426,506

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,426,506

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brothers McMullen Productions, Marlboro Road Gang Productions, Videography Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1