Brothers Solomon

Rating: out of
Released: 2007
Directed by: Bob Odenkirk
Cast: Will Arnett, Will Forte, Chi McBride, Kristen Wiig

When you go to a film on opening day and find yourself the only person in the theatre, that should be a bad sign.

That is what happened when I saw THE BROTHERS SOLOMON. No one else was there in the large screening room.

So, I was prepared for the worst.

But, the good news is, I quickly got over that premonition of doom, as I laughed quite a bit.

In the film, Will Arnett (ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT’S Gob) and Will Forte (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, who wrote the film) play brothers John and Dean Solomon. They don’t have the best luck with women.

Arnett hangs around grocery store checkout lines, buying groceries for them, hoping that it will impress them enough to go out with him. It doesn’t. Forte may seem to have slightly better luck, but then he does something that, well, I won’t give it away. It is one of the funnier moments I have seen this year.

Their mother died early in their life and they were raised by their father (Lee Majors). He has always been a good father. So good that, as children, when they said that they wanted to live with Santa Claus, he moved the family to the North Pole and raised them.

But, dad has fallen into a coma. The only way they think they can revive him is to give him something to live for. They decide to make him a grandfather.

The brothers eventually find a woman willing to become the mother of their child (SNL’s Kristen Wiig), even though her boyfriend (the very funny Chi McBride) doesn’t approve.

The film does have quite a few laughs early on. But, as the film goes on, it seems to slow down. I will admit a weakness for Will Forte though. There is something about him, on SNL and this, that just makes me laugh everytime I see him. And, the climactic banner sequence is quite funny.

As much as I love Kristen Wiig, she has essentially a straight role here. She isn’t doing the Target Lady, or Penelope, or the inappropriate news reporter. I think she had more laughs in the couple scenes she had in KNOCKED UP than in this entire film.

Bob Odenkirk, one half of the brilliant comedy team of MR. SHOW, directs this film and has a small role. As funny as he is as a writer and performer, I don’t know if his directing skills are quite up there with the rest of his abilities. He seems to shoot a lot of this in close up. I felt like I was watching Bresson’s LANCELOT DU LAC at times. But, the film is a lot more entertaining than his previous LET’S GO TO PRISON (which also starred Arnett and McBride).

The film deserves to find an audience, as there are quite a few laughs here. But, I don’t know if it is one you have to run to the theatre to see. It may play better on DVD and cable.

Reviewed by: Jim Magovern

Sep 07,2007