Film Review – The Skeleton Twins (2014)
Twins Maggie (Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) and Milo (Bill Hader, Superbad, Her) have not seen each other for ten years. They are reconnected after an attempted suicide by Milo, who then goes to live with Maggie and husband Lance (Luke Wilson, Legally Blonde, The Royal Tenembaums). Milo then connects with old friend Rich (Ty Burell, Modern Family, Muppets Most Wanted) and we find more about Maggie’s own internal struggles and problems with her marriage.
With their history of working together on Saturday Night Live and films like Adventureland, Wiig and Hader are perfectly cast as twins and their undeniable chemistry is magically captured in the film. The scenes featuring the two of them together are what makes the film and we see them handle difficult conversations and drama with sincerity as they try to figure out their lives and the way they turned out.
Don’t worry though, however dramatic and sad this film gets, with Hader and Wiig at the forefront there’s still plenty of goofball comedy. There’s one scene featuring Starship’s ‘Nothing Can Stop Us Now’ that will make you cry with laughter (catch a glimps of it in the trailer below) and they also pretty much cover every joke you can get out of a dental hygienists’ office.
We’ve seen Wiig in this style of dramatic-comedy film in last year’s charming Girl Most Likely. And this time around she does a great job of the role and capturing the essence of a woman confused that she is unsatisfied and wants to jepardise her life with ‘perfect husband’ Lance.
It is however Hader’s performance that really steals the show, and you will be pleasantly surprised by his understated performance. His sharp wit is tuned down from his usual brash, surly and sarcastic delivery that we’ve seen in films such as Superbad, and his portrayal of the flawed and confused Milo is very sincere, likeable and compelling, I hope to see him in similar roles in the future.
Luke Wilson is just great as the perfect but a bit simple utilitarian Lance and Joanna Gleeson plays their hippy and self-important mother with aplomb.
This is the second film by Craig Johnson after 2009’s True Adolescents and was written by himself and Mark Heyman (Black Swan), and was part funded by the Duplass Brothers Production company. As a film it builds and develops ideas from True Adolescents, however it’s results are more accomplished and coherent and also and shows the complexities of sibling relationships beautifully. This film will make you cry with sorrow and laughter, a real gem of an indie drama-comedy, with strong performances from both Hader and Wiig.
★
Alice Hubley
Genre:Drama, Comedy Distributor: Sony Pictures Release Date: 7th November 2014 Rating: 12 Director:Craig Johnson Cast:Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Ty Burrell, Luke Wilson
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