The Skeleton Twins Rebuild Their Bones

The Skeleton Twins is a small movie with a big heart. Estranged twins Maggie (Kristen Wiig) and Milo (Bill Hader) both attempt suicide on the same day, unaware that the other has done so, but to no avail. Maggie and Milo are a pair of broken skeletons who had parted ways 10 years ago because of a dark past that the twins haven't seemed to shake. A cheated death brings them together again.

Hader and Wiig play their dark, conflicted characters as if they'd never been a comedy duo before - as if Saturday Night Live, Adventureland (2009), and Paul (2011) had never happened. It is really something to watch these actors at the top of their game, moving in unison. Bill Hader's Milo is a struggling actor, and Maggie's gay brother from Hollywood who is now staying with her and her husband (Luke Wilson) at their home in New Hampshire. Milo is completely comfortable with his sexuality and in his own skin, unlike the people he encounters away from home. Milo uses comedy to keep him going through this dark situation. The Skeleton Twins is really a vehicle for Bill Hader - he carries this movie. He makes it seamless for the audience to laugh with him, and then cry with him. Ty Burrell (Modern Family) really shines as Hader's closeted former teacher who lives his life in a lie. Kristen Wiig always has a way of winning the viewer's sympathy with her glowing soul that shines through, yet this time it is more powerful with her heartbreaking portrayal of a damaged woman stuck on a destructive path. Luke Wilson provides solid backup support as Kristen Wiig's polar opposite husband, who is optimistic about life. If he has demons, they are nowhere to be seen.

Who knew it would take getting high off Novocaine to bring the twins together? Which then leads to their legendary lip sync to "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" and cross-dressing Halloween stroll. Playing dress-up; donning disguises serves as an alternate reality from a fractured childhood. The Skeleton Twins is a mood movie - a dramedy of familial proportions. At times the dialogue can cut like a knife when it mirrors reality. The film is relative to anyone because we can all be disappointed with the way some aspect of our life has turned out. We have big dreams (like Milo's of being a famous actor). We try our hardest not to give them up. Some of us live our lives in hiding, exposing the truth only to certain people. The Skeleton Twins is a beautiful, quirky, touching ode to siblings. Sometimes you feel like you only have each other in this world. Rebuild your bones.

Comments

Poltergeist Curse: Urban Legend or Production Nightmare?

Gather 'round ghoulies. Come into the light. Let me tell you a story revolving quite possibly the best horror film ever made: Poltergeist (Steven Spielberg, 1982). The following information are facts, based on actual events that happened to many of the cast involved in the Poltergeist movie trilogy. Six cast members died deaths shrouded by mystery or tragedy, while the other cast is said to be "cursed." So why were they cursed? Remember the scene (pictured above) where JoBeth Williams is swimming in a muddy pool of bodies? Production decided to use real human cadavers as props because it was allegedly cheaper than using prop skeletons. The Poltergeist cast and crew thereby cursed by the angry spirits of the deceased used in the making of the 1980s box office hits. Actors and actresses in the Poltergeist trilogy who died untimely deaths are: Dominique Dunne , who played older sister Dana in the first film, was st...

Once Upon Maleficent

Tale as old as time...No, wait... that's Beauty and the Beast . Disney's ideals have changed since its classic Sleeping Beauty was released in 1959. Then, female animated characters were driven by "true love," or rather, the idea of romantic perfection: a dashing hero who will save them from dreaded despair. If her Prince found her , then all was well in Dislandia. The fairy tales provided escapism for viewers, but also exceedingly high expectations, thereby disappointment. But, fear not! The Beauty re-imagined Maleficent validates that things are different now; in fact, one may not even have to do anything to attain the message in this Fairytale 2.0. Maleficent begins with a classic Disney opening, along with narration from a friendly voice...a young fairy named Maleficent. A compassionate healer, she cures trees and such in her fairy kingdom The Moors. Maleficent's pre-black-rubber days consisted of protecting her land and the creatures who inhabited it...

Lifetime's 'Witches of' Eastwick... I mean: 'East End'

Lifetime witches can be so caring and generous, I've heard. Lifetime has ordered ten episodes of the new TV show Witches of East End , about a mother witch of two ( Julia Ormond ), and her adult daughters Jenna Dewan-Tatum ( American Horror Story ) and Rachel Boston ( American Dreams ) who are unaware of their powers and immortality. Virginia Madsen ( Sideways ) has recently been cast to join the Lifetime coven. Recently ABC's Eastwick (2009) only survived one season of fledgling sorcery before getting the axe. The series is loosely based on the novel by Melissa de la Cruz of the same name. This all sounds charming, will probably be a little practical about the magic used, but we can all hope for some real Hocus Pocus since there won't be any teenage witches.

Ed & Lorraine Warren: 'Conjuring' Up The Wicked

We love to be scared. We love it even more when it's based on a true story. Director James Wan who brought you Saw and Insidious , has a new horror film out - The Conjuring . The bone chilling tale based on the true events experienced by husband and wife Ed and Lorraine Warren - the paranormal investigator dream team. The film takes place in 1971, where the Warrens give lectures on demonology at Universities, aside from debunking paranormal cases with their years of expertise. The Warrens even have a museum of haunted artifacts in their abode, taken from cases so haunting, they have a priest on the payroll who regularly visits to bless the room. The Warrens are brought on by Carolyn Perron, played by Lily Taylor ( The Haunting , Six Feet Under ), to help her family of five daughters who are being haunted and taunted by dark spirits in their farmhouse. Things go bump-in-the-night, to say the least....

The Triumph of Camp X-Ray

After premiering at Sundance Film Festival in January to critical praise, Camp X-Ray , the directorial debut from writer/director Peter Sattler which stars Kristen Stewart and Peyman Moaadi was picked up by IFC Films and released OnDemand, on iTunes, and Amazon Oct. 17. Sattler opens the film with a shot of the Twin Towers up in smoke, which is then revealed to be current news on the television at Ali Amir's residence, played by Peyman Maadi ( A Separation ). Privately praying in his humble apartment, Ali suddenly has his head enveloped by a black bag and is whisked off on a boat, along with other visibly-and-audibly shielded men across the ocean. Sattler cuts to eight years later, where we follow Kristen Stewart 's Army private first class Amy Cole who has just arrived to Camp Delta located at Guantanamo Bay, and stationed to guard the detainees. Informed by her superior that this is a war zone, the guards are put on suicide watch every 3 minutes. While she's just be...

Peculiar Reviewer

Search This Blog