Paul Rudd is excellent in this smart little quirk of a film that slyly but clearly portrays the ways in which we rely on mutually agreed-upon lies to make it through our lives. As the "idiot" brother Ned of the title, Rudd infiltrates the lives of his three sisters, each successful by her own definition: Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), the pansexual lesbian-ish sister in a loving monogamous relationship with Cindy (masterfully played by Rashida Jones); Liz (Emily Mortimer), the hyper-conscious and sensitive Mom committed to raising self-actualized kids; and Miranda (Elizabeth Banks, who bears a very spooky resemblance to Parker Posey in this film), the cutthroat journalist who writes for Vanity Fair. By sheer virtue of his almost child-like honesty, Ned manages to learn secrets about each one of his sisters—secrets that, once revealed, have very amusing but also very profound consequences. The script is intelligent, the performances are superb all around (including Adam Scott, T.J. Miller, and Shirley Knight in supporting roles), and the comedy is leavened by a very subtle wisdom that permeates the film. In some ways, this is a male version of a "chick flick," and I mean that in the best way possible.
Review of Our Idiot Brother
