The Skeleton Twins

As I mentioned in prior reviews, in this day and age, comedies are typically a better bet for quality writing and directing when presented in a dramedy (comedy/drama) format and "The Skeleton Twins" is no exception. Rare is it when a comedy is funny enough to hold its own without drama, music or the like to make it work. I'm not sure if this is a trend that comedies are going or not, but be sure that a good quality comedy is worth its weight in gold when a solid writer can produce one.

After ten years of estrangement, twins Maggie (Kristen Wiig) and Milo (Bill Hader) coincidentally cheat death on the same day-- Maggie getting ready to take a handful of pills when she receives a phone call from a hospital to let her know that her brother tried to commit suicide but is now doing OK. This prompts her to reunite with her brother and has him come home with her until he gets better. Home is the hometown in New York state where they were raised in which Maggie still resides. As they are now together and exchange what's going on in their respective lives-- Lance (Luke Wilson), husband of Maggie, and Maggie working on being pregnant as to start a family, Milo trying to make it as an actor in L.A., they end up confronting how their lives went so wrong. As the twins' reunion reinvigorates them both, they soon realize that the key to fixing their lives just may lie in fixing their relationship with each other.

Others to round out the cast are Ty Burrell as Rich, Boyd Holbrook as Billy, scuba diving instructor, Kathleen Rose Perkins as Carlie, Joanna Gleason as Judy, Maggie and Milo's mother, Adriane Lennox as Dr. Linda Essex and Paul Castro Jr. as Eric.

This was directed by newcomer to theatrical films, Craig Johnson ("True Adolescents" '09). He really was able to get these two actors to open up and let these 'odd' characteristics shine which ran the gambit--from silly to fun to explosive to showing poignancy. I believe this guy will be around for a while-- he's raw and gritty which are the right ingredients no matter what the genre is. Since Hollywood is in dire need for comedy writers, now more than ever, the writers, Mark Heyman ("Black Swan" '10) and Johnson ("True Adolescents" '09) would be a shoe in to write some smart comedies, especially since they can write both comedy and drama. It would be interesting to see either or both write an incredible comedy that we could really sink our teeth into. And since these guys are relatively new to the theatrical realm, they wouldn't have all the fear and intimidation that Hollywood can thrust on newbies. Wouldn't that be a refreshing change?!

If you like quirky with a dysfunctional bent, this is definitely the film for you. This is not the comedy that everyone will get into, but if you watch this and get into the quality--both Wiig and Hader give solid performances considering they are comedians, it will be a film that will leave you thinking even if the bittersweet ending isn't your cup of tea.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                              Rated: R                              93mins.