Considering the scathing reviews that greeted The Brothers Solomon upon its theatrical release, you’d think the filmmakers had been guilty of beating children and small dogs. I am happy to report that the movie I saw was guilty of nothing worse than mediocrity. Directed by Bob Odenkirk and penned by Saturday Night Live alum Will Forte, The Brothers Solomon isn’t a great comedy, but it packs enough laughs to justify its existence. It’s not the highest praise imaginable, I grant you, but there are plenty of more offensive flicks out there.
Forte and Will Arnett play, respectively, Dean and John Solomon, two extremely upbeat idiot brothers who were homeschooled in the Arctic by their widower father. Left with a glaring lack of social skills, the well-meaning guys appear incapable of meeting women without creeping the bejesus outta them.
Their ineptness at dating becomes particularly nettlesome when dear old dad (Lee Majors – yes, that Lee Majors) lapses into a coma. The brothers find out that their father’s only regret is that he doesn’t have a grandchild. Hoping that good news will speed his recovery, John and Dean resolve to procreate as soon as possible. John is confident that the new motivator will ensure success. “Before, we were trying to enter women for ourselves,” he tells Dean.
When attempts at meeting women go nowhere, the brothers place an advertisement for a woman willing to carry a child to term. The eventual respondent, Janine (Kristen Wiig), is broke and needing money. At first, John and Dean are under the impression that one of them will impregnate her the old-fashioned way, until Janine stresses that the only thing they’ll be in is “a cold Dixie Cup.” The brothers are befuddled. “Well,” Dean says quizzically, “that certainly doesn’t make your vagina sound very appealing.”
If you don’t think that line is funny, this ain’t the flick for you. But taken in the Adam McKay–Judd Apatow vein, The Brothers Solomon boasts some legitimately hilarious bits, particularly when the hapless duo visits an adoption agency and practices diaper-changing. Forte’s script is wildly uneven, however; some gags, such as periodic use of the St. Elmo’s Fire theme, grow tiresome quickly.
But the movie is too genial and harmless to dislike. Forte is engaging enough and Arnett wrings a few guffaws for his brand of creepy cheerfulness. Chi McBride has some nice moments as Janine’s rageaholic boyfriend. The inexplicable waste, however, is Wiig. totally misused in a thankless role.
Cutting to the Chase with Phil Bacharach 