This is a much gentler comedy than the advertising would suggest, but language, drugs, sex, and adult subject matter make the film inappropriate for children. Fans of all the stars, especially Paul Rudd, will have a lot to savor here.
Every family has one: the sibling with a peculiar knack for messing things up, despite having nothing but good intentions. For the three Rochlin sisters — Liz (Emily Mortimer), Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel) – that person is their perennially upbeat brother, Ned (Paul Rudd), a biodynamic farmer whose willingness to rely on the honesty and goodwill of humankind is a less-than-optimal strategy for a tidy, trouble-free existence.
Ned’s latest encounter with everyday duplicity and selfishness has found him (1) jailed for selling pot to a uniformed police officer and (2) booted off the farm by his girlfriend, Janet (Kathryn Hahn). None too pleased with Ned’s gaffe, Janet has taken up with a new guy in his absence, but what really smarts is her refusal to grant Ned custody of his adored canine sidekick, a Golden Retriever named Willie Nelson.
Homeless, jobless, and sadly dogless, Ned hoists his backpack and heads to his childhood home on Long Island. Mom Ilene (Shirley Knight) is thrilled to have her parolee son back in the fold, and Ned’s story is greeted with shock, sympathy and more than a few jokes when the family gathers at Ilene’s for their weekly dinner. As usual, the entire clan has made the pilgrimage from various parts of New York City. All the siblings offer Ned support and ideas for how to get back on his feet and back to his dog, before rushing back to their regular lives in the city and leaving to Ned to the dubious comfort of his old bedroom.
About the Production
Family. The source of so much drama, so much comedy, so many movies. And in the case of the new comedy, OUR IDIOT BROTHER, the source of the film itself. The story of three tightly-wound sisters and the well-meaning brother who unintentionally wreaks havoc in their lives, OUR IDIOT BROTHER is a collaboration between director Jesse Peretz; his sister, Vanity Fair contributing editor Evgenia Peretz; and her husband, documentary filmmaker David Schisgall. The three developed the story together, and Evgenia Peretz and Schisgall co-wrote the screenplay.
Our Idiot Brother combines outlandish, yet realistic situations with playful observations about contemporary urban life. “We loved the idea of an ensemble movie about adult siblings,” explains Evgenia Peretz. “And we wanted to write a movie about people our age, living in New York. The seed of the idea was imagining what would happen if a very open, laid-back brother came into the lives of three sisters who are all sort of Type-A personalities.”
From that kernel came the story of the Rochlin siblings of Long Island: Liz, Miranda, Natalie and the only boy in the family, Ned. All the sisters have left the nest for different parts of New York City and are pursuing their various goals, be it family, a high-profile career or artistic expression. Says Jesse Peretz, “They’re all on their own distinct paths, and each is a sort of classic Brooklyn or Manhattan type: the bright, driven West Village career woman; the eco-conscious, culturally sensitive Park Slope mom; the artsy Bushwick bohemian.”
Ned has ambled in a different direction; he’s never had a “real” job and is perfectly content to take each day as he finds it. He’s spent the past three years on a small biodynamic farm with his girlfriend, Janet, and his canine BFF, a surpassingly mellow animal named Willie Nelson. He’s less the black sheep of the family than its unfailingly upbeat different drummer. “Ned has clearly broken away from this family of smart but neurotic sisters,” says director Peretz. “He’s made the choice to live a life of less cynicism, to have more faith in people. He figures that even if people might be taking him for a ride, trusting them completely will challenge them to live up to a higher standard.”
In a world that doesn’t generally operate on good faith, Ned is bound to hit speed bumps – beginning with the uniformed cop who dupes him into committing a misdemeanor at the opening of the story, and continuing with his expulsion from the farm by his girlfriend, a drill sergeant in dreadlocks. Yet through all his troubles, Ned maintains his positive attitude. Neither childlike savant nor overgrown teenager, Ned is a simply a good-hearted person with an altruistic belief system – a kind of latter-day Jimmy Stewart in baggy shorts and a bushy beard. Remembers Schisgall, “We kept Frank Capra in mind when we were writing the screenplay,”
In imagining the personalities and lifestyles of Ned’s three siblings, the filmmakers didn’t have to look too far beyond their own backyards, as it were. “We all know so many type-A New Yorkers, like Ned’s sisters, who crave something, are always out to achieve something, and are never really happy,” says Evgenia Peretz. “What happens when someone comes along who has none of those goals, none of that suspicion and competitiveness, and is really happy? How do these characters react to that? That was a fun dynamic to play.”
Our Idiot Brother
Ned’s new involvement in his sisters’ lives also presented juicy possibilities for sending up different aspects of the modern urban landscape, from cultish life-coaching seminars and open-mic nights in closet-sized clubs; to ultra-p.c. child-rearing protocols and charity events of the rich and famous. “We exaggerated some details, though maybe not as much as you might think,” laughs Jesse Peretz. “The beauty of Ned is that whatever situation he’s in, he’s the same sweet, sincere guy who gets along with everybody. He never pretends to be someone he’s not, to the occasional dismay of his sisters.”
As they were conceiving and writing OUR IDIOT BROTHER, the creative brain trust had one actor in for the title role: Paul Rudd, who had worked with Jesse Peretz on THE CHATEAU and THE EX. The filmmakers wanted to give Ned a persona that was believable as well as humorous; with Rudd in mind, Ned became a character of depth and self-awareness and as well as affability and eccentricity. “A lot of the characterization came from knowing who we wanted the performer to be,” allows Schisgall.
As sunny as Ned is, he faces his own moments of pain and doubt as he inadvertently causes pandemonium in his loved ones’ lives. Peretz felt confident that Rudd would be at ease with the emotional themes of the story as well as its broad comedic elements. “I am a huge fan of Paul’s ability to play comedy and drama and play them simultaneously,” says the director. “Tonally, my favorite kinds of comedies are the ones that are coming out of a real, emotionally true place. And that’s really his specialty.”
With the screenplay completed, Jesse Peretz’s first mission was to get a commitment from Rudd, a friend as well as a colleague. “For me, the key piece of making this movie happen was when I gave Paul the script to read, and for the first time in my entire friendship with him, somehow I got him to read it in 24 hours and say ‘yes.’”
For Rudd, the decision was easy. “I read the script and thought it was really funny. But not just funny — I really loved the drama in it. I thought Ned was an interesting, unusual character and would be fun to play,” the actor says. “And it was Jesse directing it. He’s one of my best friends and a great director. It was like, well, we get to shoot a movie this summer for six weeks in New York City. How cool is that?”
Our Idiot Brother
Directed by: Jesse Peretz
Starring: Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Steve Coogan, Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones, Kelly Briter, Emily Mortimer, Victoria Gates
Screenplay by: David Schisgall
Production Design by: Inbal Weinberg
Cinematography by: Yaron Orbach
Film Editing by: Jacob Craycroft, Andrew Mondshein
Costume Design by: Christopher Peterson
Set Decoration by: Susan Perlman
Art Direction by: Michael Ahern
Music by: Eric D. Johnson, Nathan Larson
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content including nudity, and for language throughout.
Studio: The Weinstein Company
Release Date: August 26, 2011
Hits: 94
