Bad movie trends come about when every director in the world feels the need to capitalize on one interesting premise, even if it does not fit them. Take, for example, a comedy about two home-schooled, thirty-something brothers with funny haircuts and no experience in the dating world. Now imagine that their goal is to make a baby for their comatose, dying father. Could be funny, right?
It was funny when Steve Carell portrayed a nerdy, 40-year-old virgin. It was funny when Seth Rogen played a deadbeat addict who accidentally impregnated an attractive blonde. There were even moments during “American Pie,” of all movies, that had audiences clutching their sides. But when somebody writes a script taking (or better yet, stealing) inspiration from such movies, it is an unspoken rule that his movie must be better than all the rest. If it’s not, expect to be pelted with tomatoes.
Those who choose (against recommendation) to see “The Brothers Solomon” should not be surprised to see other audience members leaving the theater in hopes of catching the next showing of “Superbad,” playing one screen over. Said moviegoers might also want to load up on snacks at the concession stand so they can at least have popcorn to munch on once the story gets boring (about thirty seconds into the movie).
The plot, which is exaggerated and disconnected, follows John and Dean Solomon (Will Forte and Will Arnett), two middle-aged men who grew up in the North Pole, isolated from any human contact. As a result, the pair is clueless as to how to interact with other people, especially those of the opposite sex. This becomes a problem when the goons decide that the only way to save their dying father is to make a baby. They embark on a series of painful-to-watch dates before settling to pay an attractive blonde (Kristen Wiig) to carry their baby for them.
It is at this point where audiences will feel like ripping their hair out. What they are seeing is actually meant to be funny, but only comes off as awkward and unnecessary. Compare it to watching someone try and crack a joke that nobody laughs at. Stretch that out for an hour and that is, in a nutshell, “The Brothers Solomon.” Had there been a different cast and a different script, this movie might work.
One critic compares the movie to a Saturday Night Live skit that does not know when to end, and he is exactly right. Perhaps Forte saw the success fellow SNL star Tina Fey had with her movie Mean Girls and felt he could do even better by writing a movie that had already been done a dozen other times, except better.
To try and find the positive, Arnett would occasionally steal a scene all by himself, and Wiig’s skills were not all that bad (although she was underused). Had the cast not tried to exaggerate their characters’ stupidity so much, the movie might not seem so ridiculous.
Overall, unless someone enjoys paying ten dollars to sleep through a movie, an evening out could be better spent doing something productive. Socialize, for heaven’s sake, so the world can be free of buffoons like these.
Ω star out of 4
