THE BROTHERS SOLOMON
US, 2007, 93 minutes, Colour.
Will Arnett, Will Forte, Chi Mc Bride, Kristen Wiig, Malin Akerman, Lee Majors, Bob Odenirk, Jenna Fischer, Bill Hader.
Directed by Bob Odenirk.
This is the story of two adult brothers who might be called dopey (to say the least). But, they are also good-natured. (The IMDb summary actually says “socially inept but well-meaning�. How do you tell a story about these two child-men?
You get to see their smiling faces as they continually reappear during the opening credits. The two brothers, John (Will Arnett) and Dean (Will Forte) are great smilers, always optimistic, interpreting even the worst situations in a good light. They say they have inherited this from their father – who followed their every whim including taking them to the Arctic where they wanted to live, homeschooling them, giving them prizes for graduation… He is played by Lee Majors but spends most of the film in coma, waking up for a happy ending.
John and Dean have a great desire to get married and play around with filling in online dating programs which are the initial manifestations of their dopiness. They have a couple of dates but John is very awkward (his first date played by Jenna Fischer) and while Dean seems to getting somewhere with a large girl, she is hit by a bus! Then their father is ill and, instead of rushing to the hospital, they go to quibble about the debt at a video store and then are late again because they have credit for one more film! They decide then to make their father happy as he lies in coma. He had always wanted a grandson so off they go, dating, trying out adoption but proving absolutely inept, put in an online advertisement and getting a reply from Janine (Kristen Wiig).
Also in the act is the neighbour, Tara (Malin Akerman) whom John sets his sights on, even inviting her to a picnic, on the corridor floor, but she resists although she does volunteer to look after the father when he is in need, John having bought secondhand hospital equipment and setting up their father in the apartment, with various accidents when too much power is needed for the microwave…
Janine has a big boyfriend, Chi McBride?, big and black, a janitor, which gives rise to all kinds of jokes about race and racism. As the trimesters go on, announced by the boys, there are all kinds of comedy routines, with all at the pre-birth classes and causing a rumpus, Janine trying to get Tara to consider them sympathetically – but fails. Eventually, Janine says she can’t take it anymore and hides with James.
There is an extravagant sequence with a message attached to a plane, with comic responses to a lot of people looking up, and finally James while Janine is busy with headphones, music and reading a book. The message is expensive – it goes on and on… And on.
There is a happy ending, Janine comes back, everybody assists of the birth – but don’t seem to notice that the baby is actually black! Dad comes out of coma, is delighted to be a grandfather and everybody is happy. One year later they are all involved in a shop with babies’ goods.
For many audiences, this will be too silly and they will turn off. For those who persevere, there is some amusement even in the silliness and the performance are quite effective, the two Wills from such programs as Saturday Night Live, with Will Forte writing the screenplay. Direction by writer and director, Bob Odenkirk, best known for Better Call Saul and are serious performance in The Post.
