Our Idiot Brother

By: Erin Michniacki, Posted: February 14, 2012

The Movie itself:

We thought we’d try something a bit different for Our Idiot Brother by offering two takes with the same positive viewpoint. Her is Erin Michniacki and Him is Iggy Michniacki.

HER
What’s more fun to do; make fun of hippies or be one? Our Idiot Brother does an excellent job of letting us live vicariously through good-hearted hippie, Ned Rochlin (Paul Rudd) and make fun of how stupid he is at the same time.

HIM
Honestly, I think it is more fun to make fun of hippies. However, I think you are correct in stating Our Idiot Brother lets us live vicariously through Ned (Rudd) and gives us a chance to laugh at somebody who just really takes it easy.

SYNOPSIS
Ned is your easy going organic farmer who’s just enjoying life and hanging out. One day that changes when he decides to sell some weed to a police officer, one that is in uniform no less. The trusting nature of Ned gets him into trouble, and after some jail time he quickly learns that life isn’t going to be all hemp and beads anymore. When he returns to the farm his girlfriend Janet (Kathryn Hahn) has moved on and kicked him out, his parole officer thinks he’s an idiot, and his sisters (Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer) all try to avoid taking care of him.

Along the way Ned’s trusting and free spirited style allows him to annoy his sisters enough that he’s passed around from home to home and never really finds a place to fit in. Luckily, his attitude is also what grows on everybody and eventually changes those around him and allows his family and friends to better understand what is important in life.

HER
I was really excited to see this movie because of the huge cast list, and Paul Rudd's recent success. It couldn’t hurt that the previews portray Our Idiot Brother as being one of the funniest films of the year right up there with something Judd Apatow should have his name on. Unfortunately, this is not a crazy laugh out loud movie, it’s more of a feel-good ironic comedy. Although Our Idiot Brother was not what I expected, I found it enjoyable in its own way. It's just that I was let down after viewing it for the first time because of how it was advertised. I should have known better though; when the Weinstein production credit rolled in the beginning, it should have clued me in from the start.

HIM
My expectations for Our Idiot Brother when I went to the theaters to see it last fall were actually quite low. Yes, it has a huge and impressive cast. Yes, it was marketed to be one of the funnier movies of the year. Yet, the previews made it seem to be a raunchy style comedy flick that was falling short. Our Idiot Brother isn’t that in the slightest. Instead it is a rather laid back, heartwarming comedy that doesn’t feel it needs to fit in too many curses or show plenty of raunchy (yet hilarious) scenes. No, Our Idiot Brother is more of a fun comedy that makes you feel good about things afterwards.

HER
The best reasons to see this movie are: Paul Rudd, Zooey Deschanel, and probably Willie Nelson. Not the singer, just the dog...but every part he’s in is hilarious because he’s surrounded by the dumbest hippies you’ve ever seen, and that’s something worth watching.

HIM
The acting really makes this movie and makes it a must see flick. Sure, Paul Rudd, Zooey Deschanel, and Willie Nelson are all great aspects of Our Idiot Brother, but Hahn’s performance mixed with T.J. Miller as Billy are probably the most impressive and hilarious roles in the flick. Overall, the entire cast was nearly flawless, taking an average script and propelling this into one of the better comedies of 2011.

HER
Just don’t go into this movie with knock out comedy expectations and you won’t get that let down feeling.

HIM
I agree. Taking Our Idiot Brother for what it is made the movie that much better the second time around. Knowing this isn’t a raunchy, cuss fest makes it a bit more enjoyable and the characters that much more entertaining.

HER: 6/10, HIM: 7/10

Movie Rating: 7/10

The Presentation:

Presented in 1080p via an Mpeg-4 encode, this Blu-ray transfer is grade-A quality. Our Idiot Brother holds exceptional details in backgrounds and foregrounds. You can spot all the leaves on trees when you're out on the farm as well as stubble on faces and detail in clothing. Colors are bright, accurate and noticeable. Greens and Reds pop out the most, as they're in your face making those juicy strawberries look pretty appetizing. The colors and the details make the image look incredibly life-like. Overall the transfer is great with a wide enough range in black and shadow varience being the only thing this movie seems to be missing. Overall, Our Idiot Brother looks great in Blu-ray.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track may not be much in the way of spectacular but it isn't a let down either. The audio won't be your primary concern though in Our Idiot Brother with nothing but talk, light music and sounds of nature to carry the film. The track does its job, as it delivers solid and clear conversations. The remaining sounds aren't as surround as they could be, but they do a good job none the less. No need to adjust the volume, dialogue alone is enough to make this a worthy audio transfer.

Video Rating: 9/10, Audio Rating: 7/10

The Extras:

Not a whole lot on board the Blu-ray release of Our Idiot Brother, but the little there is is worth it. Be sure to watch the alternate ending and deleted scenes.

Feature Commentary with Director Jesse Peretz
Deleted and Extended Scenes
Making of Our Idiot Brother
Alternate Ending

Extras Rating: 4/10

Overall:

Our Idiot Brother is a dry comedy featuring some big names we all know and love. No one lets you down in this movie except those crazy people who put together the previews. To fix that, don't go into this thinking it's going to be crazy funny, just expect a good, warm movie and you won't be disappointed.

Overall Rating: 7/10

Disc Details

Distributor:
Starz (Anchor Bay)

Release Date:
November 29, 2011

Tech. Specs:

Region A
50 GB Disc

Video:

Mpeg-4 AVC
1080p
1.78:1

Audio:

English DTS-HD 5.1

Subtitles:
English SDH, Spanish

Rating:
R

Genre:
Comedy

Runtime:
90 min.

Features:

Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Making Of

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