Review by SmoothGrooves

Edward Burns took Sundance by storm with this wonderful debut film centering on three Irish Catholic brothers from Long Island dealing with love, loss and brotherhood. Burns made the film using a $15,000 loan from his father, casting complete unknowns and shooting on weekends over the course of a year. "The Brothers McMullen" helped independent film become what it is today. Written in the tradition of other no-budget classics "El Mariachi" and "Metropolitan", Burns manages to do something that those films couldn't. While Robert Rodriguez had sharp and witty dialogue, it was the bullets and blood that made "El Mariachi" as exciting as it was. While "Metropolitation" kept you on the edge of your seat for the first half an hour, my interest lagged as the film progressed. "The Brothers McMullen", on the other hand, uses a completely dialogue driven script to excite the audience for the complete duration of the picture. If you're looking for cheap laughs and T&A, you might want to look elsewhere. But if you're looking for a heart warming indie classic, I'd definitely suggest "The Brothers McMullen".