The Overbrook Brothers

Man I love this movie.

One of the hardest things for a truly independent filmmaker at a festival is competing with the high-profile titles. I try to balance what I watch when I'm in a festival environment, known and unknown, and sometimes it really pays off. I like taking a chance on something you've never heard of starring no one you know written and directed by a name that's totally unfamiliar to you. And I like when I'm rewarded for it.

John Bryant's "The Overbrook Brothers," from a screenplay co-written by Jason Foxworth, is one of those lovely surprises, a strong, consistent, occasionally ugly comedy about sibling rivalry taken to a punishing extreme, adoption, identity, and maturity. It's of the current school of the uncomfortable, comedy that is about a sort of unbearable reality. Mark Reeb and Nathan Harlan play Todd and Jason, brothers who have been locked in a sort of hyper-exaggerated Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner rivalry that reduces both of them to six-year-olds every time they're together.

This flick would play perfectly with Awful Nice, another recent SXSW comedy about sibling rivalry. Add Darjeeling Limited and you've got yourself a fine triple feature.

Find this movie if you can. It won't disappoint.

I viewed this flick because it was FREE on the Comcast 'on-demand menu. It surprises me that it didn't open in theaters and come out on DVD. And why didn't it become a hit with the twenty-something crowd. I had no prior knowledge of the film, but the story line was continuously tense and brutally funny and the acting was grade A+. If you have any experience with sibling rivalry (especially between males), this movie will have you snickering nervously and occasionally laughing out loud. The only scene that might have been deleted from the movie was the puerile scene where they compete via a 'freeze-out' in the car. Otherwise the humor, acting, & directing were quite good. For a synopsis of the plot, you might check the other reviews.