A gentle film about a gentle man, Our Idiot Brother is a warm and very funny comedy from director Jesse Peretz about family, honesty and sublime stupidity. Headline by the always endearing Paul Rudd, the film is packed with a pitch-perfect cast of under-rated actors and actresses all working from a clever, laid back script written — rather fittingly — by Peretz, his sister and her husband. The result is one of the better marriages of indie and mainstream comedy; an airy, light-hearted and consistently fun dramedy.

After an eight-month stint in prison for selling marijuana to a police officer (a uniformed police officer) the care-free, big-hearted Ned (Rudd; Dinner for Schmucks) is reunited with his three sisters; the career-obsessed Miranda (Elizabeth Banks; The Uninvited), directionless bisexual Natalie (Zooey Deschanel; (500) Days of Summer) and uptight mother of two Liz (Emily Mortimer; Harry Brown). Although generally nice people, all three of them are struggling with their own personal problems – problems that through his well-meaning dim-wittedness, Ned manages to make a whole lot worse.

What’s great about Our Idiot Brother is just how friendly it is. Rudd, essentially riffing on his minor stoner-dude role in the excellent Forgetting Sarah Marshall is not only hilarious, but also impossible not to love as Ned, a man who is not so much idiotic as he is un-cynical, trusting, idealistic and nice. Although he is often a nuisance to his sisters, the film continually makes the (admittedly rather obvious) point that their issues stem not so much from Ned’s big mouth as they do from their own dishonesty and selfishness, and audiences will come away from the film thinking exactly what Peretz wants you to – that the world would be a whole lot better if we all acted a little bit more like Ned.

The key to the films success is undoubtedly its cast, ever single member of which gives what could seriously be considered their best, or at least their most effortless, comedic performance. Deschanel, Banks and Mortimer fall easily into their roles as the three sisters, their natural interactions wonderfully akin to that of a real family. Likewise, each member of the supporting cast fits their role like a metaphorical glove – highlights include Steve Coogan as Liz’s inattentive husband, Adam Scott as Miranda’s laid back neighbour, Rashida Jones as Natalie’s professional girlfriend and Kathryn Hahn and T.J. Miller as Ned’s hippie ex-girlfriend and her new hippie boyfriend. Casting directors rarely get much attention from film critics, so let me take this opportunity to say thank you Jeanne McCarthy – this movie owes you an enormous debt.

The biggest flaw of Our Idiot Brother is the ending, which wraps up everyone’s problems with the speed and unlikelihood of many-a-big-screen comedies. Then again, it is a comedy, and a happy conclusion is more than befitting of such a happy tale. Even those who don’t laugh heartily during Our Idiot Brotherwill at the very least smile, because the film is just so pleasant and kind. And in this cynical day and age, there is a lot to admire about that.

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Tom Clift is a web-based film journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Visit his website here: http://reviewsbytom.blogspot.com.

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