For your consideration: The Skeleton Twins
The Skeleton Twins is more drama than comedy, but you simply can’t put Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig together and not get a laugh. The two play the roles of estranged twins, Maggie and Milo. Watching Hader and Wiig play siblings is very believable, due to their amazing chemistry, and it gives the film such a true-to-life feel.
Maggie and Milo haven’t spoken in ten years, but once Maggie is notified of her brother’s suicide attempt, she flies to Los Angles to be by his side. Their reunion is far from warm and fuzzy. We see right away these two have had an odd upbringing, with their depressed father and free spirited mother. They have tried to move on, despite the dark cloud they have felt throughout their lives, but their emotional baggage is not easy to let go of. Milo’s acting career in Los Angeles is going nowhere and Maggie suggest he come and stay with her and her very dude-like husband Lance, played to perfection by Luke Wilson. Lance is into dude stuff—rock climbing, the outdoors—and loves his wife. Milo and Lance begin to bond and there are some great comedic moments between them. Milo quickly sees that Lance is a little dimwitted at times, but his heart is always in the right place.
Maggie has done her best over the years to seem “normal”. She fights her emotional demons by having sex with various men she meets through hobbies she’s taken up, such as, scuba instructors, and cooking class chefs, but finds she feels even worse afterwards.
Maggie and Milo have secrets, skeletons in the closet that are just rattling the cages trying to get out, and they realize how much they need each other to get through life.
It’s a believable and interesting story, but what makes this movie so good is the casting. This movie could have been a sappy story of two depressed siblings who frequently consider suicide and find strength in being together. It is about depression, suicide, and family, but the chemistry and the dialog play out to make it a richer and more relatable film.
Rating – 4 stars
