Brother Nature

Former SNL cast member Taran Killam portrays Roger, a straight-laced and fastidious Chief of Staff to a Seattle Congressman, who suddenly informs Roger he's retiring. The Congressman offers to endorse Roger if he wants to run, and he enthusiastically accepts.

First though, Roger will take a week off and go with his girlfriend Gwen (Gillian Jacobs) to visit her family at their lakeside cabins, where he intends to propose. I imagine you have already guessed things will not go according to plan.

I'm sure most of us have seen movies where there's always one character that is incredibly frenetic and obnoxious with no respect for other's boundaries, yet the remainder of the family just thinks he's wonderful. Such is the case here with Todd (Bobby Moynihan), possibly Roger's future brother-in-law, who makes Roger's time at the cabin a living hell.

The late Chris Farley often played this type of character, but Farley had such an endearing quality about him that it was usually very funny. Unfortunately, the character of Todd here just became highly annoying, even painful to witness for me, as the film progressed. Despite the customary 180's near the end of the movie, the damage had already been done for me, The one bright spot in the film was the understated humor of Kumail Nanjami, who I thought was quite funny as Riggleman, Roger's top aide.

Overall, I felt this movie provided a few laughs here and there, but the intended humor just didn't work for me.

I hesitated to watch this film because Lorne Michaels produced it and he's turned SNL into a pathetic political commentary instead of the hilarious show it once was. However, a handful of SNL alumni left Michaels and consistently put out funny movies so I figured why not give this a try. Plus, I have to admit, the casting was pretty decent.

Gillian Jacobs, Bobby Moynihan, and Rachel Harris all have the potential to deliver solid comedic performances if they don't allow themselves to use the platform to express personal views. I was most excited about the additions of Jennie Pierson, and Kumail Nanjiani who both know comedy and are capable of great one liners. Bill Pullman was a unique choice and a pleasant sight. For those of us old enough to remember Space Balls, we know he can add a lot to a funny script.

The premise of the movie instantly reminded me of a mix of Tommy Boy and Black Sheep. I'm willing to bet that I am not the only one who felt this way either. In fact, it seems like a deliberate attempt on the part of Michaels and film executives to ride the coattails of those classics. So, how did they do? As the title of this review says, it really depends on how well you manage your expectations while watching it.

Brother Nature is a cookie cutter comedy that sticks closely to the recipe of the late 90s and early 2000s. That's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I see a lot of films that get categorized as comedies when, in reality, they're anything but funny because they completely ignore some of the key ingredients of humor.

For example, Taran Killam's missteps and blunders are not so vaguely reminiscent of Ben Stiller's performance in the Meet The Parents line of movies. Another more "in your face" example is the character played by Moynihan (Todd Dotchman). Anyone with eyes, ears, and an ounce of common sense can see he really sticks to the comedy template provided by Chris Farley.

The problem is, at least in my opinion, in the latter example Moynihan stuck too close to Farley's recipe for comedic gold and he doesn't have near the talent Farley did to pull it off. In fact, it seems like he was stealing his lines and mannerisms directly from old Farley characters. I almost expected him to gush that brothers don't shake, brothers gotta hug when he met Killam's character. One COULD easily grow annoyed at his barrage of high intensity antics and allow it to ruin the whole movie for them if not managing those expectations.

At the end of the day this movie isn't blazing any new comedic trails and it's probably not going to be a classic on anyone's list, but it's not bad. The cast plays off of one another very well. There's plenty of humorous dialog to keep you entertained providing you don't take things too serious. The one-liners are witty enough and well placed to keep at least a little smile on your face. Yes, a lot of it is recycled SNL material, but watching it allows the viewer a break from all of the garbage going on outside right now. Overall the cast did a good job. Although there should have been more of Nanjiani's trademark low key quips to help even out Moynihan and his antics.

My best advice is to sit back, relax, and give it a fair chance.

What can a middle age movie lover tell you about Brother Romance? I'll start with that I was immediately alarmed about the more than a passing resemblance to "The Great Outdoors" (TGO). A film about a man who goes to a cabin for a holiday only to find it ruined by a brother in law. Brother Romance is basically a remake, and, as with most of our current crop of remakes doesn't do it as well. Which is troubling, TGO is not exactly a classic (although I like it, John Candy is gold), meaning Brother Romance falls squarely in to the "meh" rating of films.

Acting and characters are in line with the genre. Generally scenarios are OTT and over played. The story line leans on plenty of clichés; Animal attacks, fart jokes, in laws messing things up, repentance of lead character. I could go on, but there's nothing more that needs to be said.

TGO is a better film, but being nearly 30 years old, probably won't hit the mark with younger audiences and I guess, Brother Romance will have to fill the spot to modernize lake based comedy of errors.

I liked it better when it was called Black Sheep. SNL writers should feel ashamed.

"Brother Nature" is reminiscent of countless comedies, ranging from "What About Bob" to "The Great Outdoors." It's one of those classic formulas where a straight-faced, straight-laced guy (in this case, Taran Killiam, from "SNL") encounters someone who is obnoxiously wacky and has a potential mean streak that no one else ever seems to notice (Bobby Moynihan, also from "SNL").

Killiam's character becomes more and more exasperated, and there are hints at times that Moynihan's character is deliberately sabotaging him a la "The Cable Guy." The first half is quite funny -- Killiam is a weak lead, but Moynihan is hilarious, and has a number of moments that made me laugh out loud.

But they don't really go anywhere with the idea that Moynihan is subversively destroying Killiam (the film seems to hint at it, and then promptly drops it); they also opt for a safe conclusion by fundamentally changing the nature of Moynihan's character, as, in the first half, he's an obnoxious goofball who no one would ever like, but towards the end he's suddenly a calmer, more sympathetic version of the same character, as if his apparently intentional attacks on Killiam earlier in the film never happened.

Whether this is studio intervention (the ending certainly seems like something that would be tacked on after poor test screenings), who knows, but ultimately this movie goes from a 7/10 to a 5/10 simply because its second half egregiously missteps and the movie is never able to recover from it.

Those early scenes with Moynihan, though, reveal great potential for the actor.