The Brothers McMullen

There is absolutely no redeeming quality to any of the characters. Zilch. And Burns' relationship to his little hottie he finds is about as believable in real life as an episode of Baywatch; and the dialogue between Burns and his little hottie is as stiff as a board. That about sums it up.

A good movie is one that takes two hours of your time and uses it to teach and inspire you. A decent movie will entertain and amuse. But a bad movie will cause you to check your watch every ten minutes and wonder, how much more of my life will you steal? The Brothers McMullen made me cry when I realized I had only gotten through a third of it. I understand that this movie was made on a low budget and so we can excuse the fact that the characters wear the same shirt in scene 12 that they wore in scene 6, but this film is guilty of being deficient in three key areas: acting, script, and plot. I realize that they didn't have a lot to work with, but I was convinced that at least a few of the actors were reading cue cards throughout the entire movie. This film's only saving grace was the fact that I got it for free at the the video place with my rent ten, get one free card. I can sum up the themes of this movie real quick: don't get married because commitment is scary, move to California if things get too rough, Catholicism is crazy, and finally, beer is your best friend. Don't make the same mistake that I and Mrs. McMullen made. Keep away from The Brothers!

THE BROTHER'S McMULLEN tells the story of three brothers from Long Island New York, who try to come to grips with life, their love life, and what it means to be a family. After their no good excuse for a father dies, their mother decides to leave them, so that she can be with the man she really loves. The oldest brother, Jack (Jack Mulcahy) is married, but is tempted by another woman. Patrick (Mike McGlone) is engaged to be married, but is having second thoughts about taking the plunge. Lastly, Barry (Edward Burns), is fearing he may actually be falling in love Directed by first-timer and former Entertainnent Tonight staffer, Ed Burns, this low budget comedy/drama is very good The film is another example of, what I like to call, "filmmaking on the fly" That's when you don't have a lot of money or time and limited resources yet, somehow, you manage to get the movie done. As a film school graduate, who has made a few small projects, I know a little about what Burns must have gone through, when making this film. He must have done something right though, because not only is the movie fairly "real"in its portrayals, but it won best picture honors at Sundance when it premiered there in 1995.You don't have to be an Irish-Catholic to like the film. It's themes are universal. The script also by Burns, has some funny moments, without being over the top or silly. Shot for "shoestrings and couple of pieces of lint", BROTHERS finds some way to entertain. It's a shame that almost every movie that Burns has made since 1995, plays like a carbon copy of this one. This one is the real thing though and comes recommended

The DVD commentary track from Burns gives a good idea about what was like for him as a first time director Anyone who has made, or wants to make a low budget first film, should listen to this commentary, before or after you do it. The only other "extra" on the disc are a few theatrical trailers **** stars