Brothers (2024)

For whatever reason, genuinely funny comedies have become an increasingly rare cinematic commodity in recent years, so it’s a real treat when one comes along that satisfyingly tickles the funny bone. Such is the case with director Max Barbakow’s third feature effort, the wild and wacky tale of a dysfunctional crime family seeking to recover the hidden loot from a heist carried out by the family matriarch (Jen Landon) 30 years earlier. Leading the charge are twin brothers Jady (Peter Dinklage), a career criminal recently released from prison, and Moke (Josh Brolin), a gifted but long-reluctant thief who’s now trying to go straight. The goal is to find and retrieve a stash of emeralds stolen by their long-absent mother (Glenn Close), who originally pilfered the goods but has been on the run ever since – and who now shows up out of the blue to collect the gems for herself. The unlikely trio thus launches their quest to get the jewels, an odyssey finding them aggressively pursued by Officer Farful (Brendan Fraser), a crooked prison guard who arranged Jady’s early release through his father, a corrupt judge (M. Emmett Walsh in his penultimate screen performance), in exchange for a sizable cut of the stash. And, along the way, the parties to this wayward caper bungle themselves through an array of inventively inspired comic challenges that include Jady’s spacey new girlfriend (Marissa Tomei), Moke’s pregnant wife (Taylour Paige) and an unusually randy gorilla, among others. It’s also a cautionary tale on the notion of there being no honor among thieves, even when they’re members of one’s own family. While some of the film’s segments are obviously a little overwritten and overplayed (especially by Fraser), much of this romp plays fairly well, reminiscent of one of the Coen Brothers’ movies (though admittedly not quite as polished). If nothing else, though, it represents a huge step up from the filmmaker’s last outing, the positively horrendous “Palm Springs” (2020) (my worst film of that year), as well as a major improvement over many of Amazon Prime’s recent disappointing offerings, an accomplishment largely made possible by the performances of its stellar ensemble cast (particularly the three principals). “Brothers” isn’t epic filmmaking by any means, but it’s a good way to get some hearty laughs at home on a Friday night with a big bowl of popcorn, and that’s pretty satisfying all by itself.