7/10
An Idiot (Brother) Abroad.
15 December 2014
Warning: Spoilers
With having seen Paul Rudd recently star in David Gordon Green's Prince Avalanche,I was pleased to get told by a family friend that he had recently picked up another title starring Rudd,which led to me getting ready to find out how idiotic this brother could be.

The plot:

Released from jail after serving time for supplying a cop with marijuana,Ned Rochlin heads back to the farm,where he lives with his girlfriend Janet and their dog Willie Nelson. Receiving a slightly different reaction to the one he expected,Ned is told by Janet that a she now has a new boyfriend,and that he needs to get off her land.

Meeting his family for the first time in months,Ned is disappointed to find each family member (his mum and 3 sisters called Miranda, Natalie and Liz) being unable to get on with each other.Pressing on her daughter Liz and her film maker husband Dylan,Ned's mum gets Liz & Dylan to grudgingly offer him a job of helping them around the house.Initially wanting to keep their "odd" brother out of their lives,Ned soon begins to completely change his sisters lives.

View on the film:

Giving the film a kooky indie vibe,the gorgeous trio of Elizabeth Banks, Emily Mortimer & Zooey Deschanel each give splendid performances,with Banks showing a real relish in using Ned to get her first scoop,whilst Deschanel shows Natalie to be dazed over committing to a relationship,as Emily Mortimer gradually forces Liz out of her self-confined shell.Joining the gals,Steve Coogan gives an excellent slime-ball performance as Liz's husband Dylan.Countering Coogan's slimy performance,Paul Rudd brilliantly makes sure that Ned never becomes sappy,thanks to Rudd giving Ned a warm sincerity in improving his family members lives.

Keeping away from giving the title a bad bone in its body,co-writer/ (along with Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall) director Jesse Peretz uses Ned naivety to give the film a sweet natured innocence which allow for the hilariously seedy & peculiar aspects of Ned's family members to really shine,as they each discover that Ned is far from an idiotic brother.
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