4.5/5 The Skeleton Twins We meet Milo and Maggie right as they are about to turn in, Milo with a razor and Maggie with a handful of pills. You are already dying to see this one, I can tell. And guess what, it’s a comedy! Like 2014’s equally moving down, HBO's Olive Kitteridge, we meet our protagonists looking death in the face, only to fail and discover what life is really worth. Despite the obvious depressive overtones these movies send off, both are endowed with a hearty, welcome dose of hope. Milo and Maggie, played with career-best performances by SNL alum Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, are siblings from a troubled family. After their dad killed himself, their mom remarried and became some kind of faith healer that only contacts her kids when it is convenient. It does not stop there; the siblings’ troubles run much deeper. Milo is a struggling actor who sees his chances at stardom dwindling away. Maggie, though married, lies to her mild-mannered husband Lance (Luke Wilson) about birth control while regularly cheating on him with her scuba instructor. They both know they are living lies, and it takes a group suicide attempt to bring them together to face their issues. Dealing with a topic like suicide takes serious guts and talent. Craig Johnson, whose resume includes only one other feature (2009’s True Adolescents), proves himself to be more than capable. With help from his perfectly cast twin leads, Johnson juggles the humor and the heartbreak like a pro. There is light in his darkness and his laughs leave stings. The director does not hold back when it comes to the sticky issue of depression. His impressions are deep and true. You may not be as funny as Hader and Wiig, but anyone who has battled depression will relate | Director: Craig Johnson Starring: Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Luke Wilson, Ty Burrell Writers: Mark Heyman, Craig Johnson |
and feel their pain. Throw in some more, equally dark sub-themes like adultery and deception, but do not think you will be stopping Johnson. I anticipate his next move.
Johnson employs a series of flashbacks to both give revealing history of the siblings’ childhood and offer meaning to the film’s title. Where most movies would use the flashbacks to ramp up the sap factor and take up space, Johnson uses them sparingly. We know all that we need to know. As the movie goes on and we become closer to the characters, the recurring flashbacks begin to mean more and more. In “The Skeleton Twins,” this often-overused technique gets used right.
Not only do Hader and Wiig disregard our expectations of how this type of depressive suicide drama is supposed to go, but they upturn our preconceived images of them as performers. This turns out not only to be their greatest triumph, but the film’s greatest achievement. Hader’s character is gay, but his acting never devolves into Queer-Eye caricature. Considering Hader’s most notable SNL character was the flamboyant Stefon, this is particularly impressive.
Though the role of a straight, married woman may seem like easy business to a real-life straight, (previously) married woman, Wiig goes beyond the call of duty to reveal deep cracks in Maggie’s psyche that most other actresses would have never bothered to touch. Adultery is commonly thought of as a pretty despicable moral crime, but Wiig manages to keep us sympathetic towards Maggie with a heartfelt portrayal of a woman in crisis.
One scene in which Milo and Maggie karaoke to Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” is simply hilarious, showcasing the firecracker chemistry between the two stars. Another scene finds the pair getting high on laughing gas - Maggie is a dental hygienist - and ruminating on the past. Time capsule-worthy scenes like these help offset the bleaker anecdotes. I don’t think I can stress this enough; do not let the dark themes of depression and suicide turn you off to this singularly wonderful and enlightening film.
(Available on iTunes)
Johnson employs a series of flashbacks to both give revealing history of the siblings’ childhood and offer meaning to the film’s title. Where most movies would use the flashbacks to ramp up the sap factor and take up space, Johnson uses them sparingly. We know all that we need to know. As the movie goes on and we become closer to the characters, the recurring flashbacks begin to mean more and more. In “The Skeleton Twins,” this often-overused technique gets used right.
Not only do Hader and Wiig disregard our expectations of how this type of depressive suicide drama is supposed to go, but they upturn our preconceived images of them as performers. This turns out not only to be their greatest triumph, but the film’s greatest achievement. Hader’s character is gay, but his acting never devolves into Queer-Eye caricature. Considering Hader’s most notable SNL character was the flamboyant Stefon, this is particularly impressive.
Though the role of a straight, married woman may seem like easy business to a real-life straight, (previously) married woman, Wiig goes beyond the call of duty to reveal deep cracks in Maggie’s psyche that most other actresses would have never bothered to touch. Adultery is commonly thought of as a pretty despicable moral crime, but Wiig manages to keep us sympathetic towards Maggie with a heartfelt portrayal of a woman in crisis.
One scene in which Milo and Maggie karaoke to Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” is simply hilarious, showcasing the firecracker chemistry between the two stars. Another scene finds the pair getting high on laughing gas - Maggie is a dental hygienist - and ruminating on the past. Time capsule-worthy scenes like these help offset the bleaker anecdotes. I don’t think I can stress this enough; do not let the dark themes of depression and suicide turn you off to this singularly wonderful and enlightening film.
(Available on iTunes)