Every former Saturday Night Live star deserves their depressing, gay, drama moment and Craig Johnson's The Skeleton Twins provides just that. This film is a mediocre drama surrounding the lives of a brother and sister reconnecting and while the writing itself feels very bland, the performances from these leads definitely show off their range of skills. I knew nothing of this film before watching other than its title and so seeing these former SNL costars take on a much darker premise while still maintaining their trademark brands of humor and flexibility in their work is quite impressive. While I will most likely forget about the majority of this film rather quickly, it has definitely done nothing wrong. I'm sure lots of people will be able to connect with this film more than others but the dry, monotone blend of humor and drama seemed like something that the Duplass brothers would come up with. And sure enough, they turned out to be executive producers, which for better or worse depending on one's taste, will definitely show how well their work resonates with someone.
After narrowly avoiding death on the same day, twin siblings Milo (Bill Hader) and Maggie Dean (Kristen Wiig) reconnect after ten years of not speaking to each other. While they each individually deal with the relationships and troubles in their lives, they come to realize that they need each other more than ever, as much as they would both hate to admit it. The script for this film, written by Craig Johnson and Mark Heyman is extraordinarily passable. Which I say in the most optimistic of ways because while this story presents absolutely nothing new, it still manages to get its audience involved very well. The writing was not anything special and followed a typical drama and three-act route, just like Johnson did with his cookie-cutter direction. The way that Johnson shows these characters in the routine of their lives is fairly predictable in how their worlds came crashing down around them. While there was nothing utterly disrespectful or not handled well throughout this film, all of these elements simply play into its mediocrity. The progression of the characters and their arcs are perfectly adequate and the film does not do much to make the audience care that much more about them once the film is over, which is to be expected in something the Duplass brothers oversaw. Johnson works really well within his producers' signature, bleak, depressive style and this story goes along with that just as fine. The cinematography and editing were effective and while I can not stress enough how run-of-the-mill the filmmaking was, the movie itself still manages to be a bit more than mildly interesting.
Writing anything substantial about this film proves to be fairly difficult, as I was not impressed by much but not disappointed, either. While the dialogue and overall writing throughout the film were fine as is, this story is still a great vehicle for Hader and Wiig to show off their dramatic side. I'm aware of how cliché it is to praise a comedy star's turn into dramatic territory, but I will always continue to be impressed when actors and actresses show their multi-dimensionality. Hader and Wiig look surprisingly similar all things considered and their portrayals as siblings were just as believable. The one element that really sold this film to me was their chemistry together and even in the most troublesome of scenes or if they were fighting in the dialogue, they were incredibly convincing. Brothers and sisters personified in film always seem to exaggerate certain characteristics for the sake of the story but that is what this entire film was about. The dynamic between Milo and Maggie is wonderfully explored and the leads embody this bond with authenticity. I am an only child myself but from what I've learned over more than two decades of being on this planet is that siblings carry some of the most complicated relationships in their lives and this film was no different. The supporting performances from Luke Wilson and Ty Burrell were also fantastic. Wilson and Burrell's characters helped to enrich the story very well and added so much depth to Maggie and Milo's upbringing. This film is really just a big ol' showcase of comedy stars coming together and utilizing a different breed of humor to bring out a different type of story but thankfully, they all worked together excellently.
The Skeleton Twins is a very good watch for anyone who is looking to see the range of Wiig and Hader but not as good of a watch if that person is looking for an emotionally deeper story to resonate with. This is a very responsibly made film that touches on a few different important topics like mental health and parental issues, but just like many other films of the genre, it does not do much to set itself apart. I would still recommend this film but sadly, it is not nearly as special or outstanding as I wanted it to be.
My Rating: ★★★½
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