The Skeleton Twins (2014)

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

'Skeleton Twins' is directed and co-written (together with Mark Heyman) by Craig Johnson. The movie follows the story of twins, played by Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, who are reunited after a 10-year period of not talking to each other. The reason for this reunion is the failed suicide attempt by Bill Hader's character, Milo. His twin sister Maggie decides to take him in to look after him but it's clear that she isn't even able to take care of herself. The movie opens with the suicide attempt by Milo, ready to slit his wrists and Maggie, ready to overdose on pills. Milo's failure results in Maggie's failure, because the hospital calls her up informing about her brother's radical decision, which prevents her from taking the pills. We as a viewer are the only ones who know about Maggie's failed attempt, which makes her character interesting to follow. The contrast between what she says and obviously (to us) feels elevates the dialogue and her relation with both her brother and her husband Lance, played by Luke Wilson. The cast in this comedy-drama is superb. The drama clearly outweighs the comedy in this picture, and therefore it's interesting to see how Craig Johnson opted for actors you usually see in pure comedies or even Saturday Night Live. It did pay off however, the entire cast was superb. Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader had an amazing chemistry - they both worked together on SNL – and were credible as twins. Maybe less credible as twins who hadn't seen each other in 10 years, because it felt as if they had never been apart. Luke Wilson and Ty Burrell (Modern Family) gave amazing performances as well. Wilson was great in both the comedic scenes and dramatic scenes. Ty Burrell played surprisingly a very restrained, serious character and delivered in every scene he was in. As I said, the drama outweighs the comedy in this one. There are some funny scenes but the themes the movie touched upon were quite heavy. Suicide and what comes after if you live is the main theme in this movie and this isn't the one you usually make jokes about. Craig Johnson looked more for comic relief in his characters than in this main theme, the comedy didn't go the dark way thus. Nothing wrong with dark comedy about sensitive, heavy topics however, '50/50' succeeded in making tasteful jokes about cancer and dealing with the disease. The characters are vital to the movie. Without you caring about them, this movie will bore you out of your mind. Craig Johnson succeeds at making you care about the characters, which makes the dramatic moments even more powerful. However, as the movie progressed, the movie didn't always get my full attention. The characters didn't develop throughout the movie, stayed more or less the same. When your story depends this much on your characters, it would be beneficial to the movie to have a story or character arch. The movie didn't and luckily the performances and comedic relief were good enough to save the movie from becoming boring.'Skeleton Twins' is a sweet movie about suicide, family, impermissible relations, with great performances. Don't expect a laugh out loud comedy, this is a drama with some subtle comedic tones.

SNL alums Bill Hader and Kristin Wiig star as twins who both cheat death coincidentally on the same day, which ends up bringing their lives closer together. I saw the title of this movie, and the stars, and just made the assumption this was some sorta wacky twins comedy- which there have been a few of in recent years-?? But this is more of a straight up serious drama. Both our stars are really good in this, and the starting out with the cheating death part really gives the movie that extra edge to get the ball rolling, which reveals more about their childhoods as the film goes on. I will admit- the movie was slow at times, but overall I'd give this a recommend, if for anything, to check out the performances of our two stars. Luke Wilson and Ty Burrell co-star.

Well done to the Saturday Night Livers Kirsten Wigg and Bill Hader, they were brilliant. I say it was hard for both to actually be serious because they have been in so much comedy shows and movie's.I found it sad that the twins were apart for 10 long years and Maggie's marriage fell apart. I was so gutted for her. Also the fact she accidentally forgot about the fish and they were left for dead, it was even more heartbreaking! I suggest people who love fish, don't watch this movie!I felt so sorry for Bill Hader's character for not having luck to find true love. He was better off without that married man because really, he didn't want to get involved with him ever again.At least, the twins have each other and who knows what will be around the corner for them!

At first, this film was perceived to me as a low causality art film, but I had advisedly realized that it is not so much. I was quite excited by the cast list, plot, and even the title clicked with me, and so I had high expectation for this film that was created by an indie director I was unfamiliar with, Craig Johnson. I feel as though this movie is a great representation of what a more widely accepted indie film will become or are has already been established to be. The Skeleton Twins is a family-based drama staring two well known comedians, Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader, with a plot dwelling on depression and suicide. The first scenes are of the brother, Milo, attempting suicide and the sister, Maggie, contemplating suicide with enough pills in hand to do the trick. The story proceeds with Milo moving into Maggie and her husband Lance's house which is located in their hometown. The siblings seemed to be well connected, regardless of going through ten years without any contact. The story unveils the past suicide of their close father, an uncaring and toxic mother, and a illegal past relationship of Milo and a high school teacher. Milo and Maggie are common in depression, suicidal thoughts, relationship problems, and both struggle with moving forward. The film ends as it does open; one sibling attempts suicide and the other comes to the rescue.There are many reoccurring symbols and hidden connecting motifs which some were not picked up until the third time around watching. It is evident that skeletons are a predominant symbol throughout the movie. The title, the toys Maggie and Milo had from a young age, the tattoos they share, and the mask the father was seen wearing in a flashback. Perhaps this symbolizes their relationship with their close father (a character he portrayed to them when they were young) and their bond they created going through the event of his death at a young age together. Other symbols tossed around is a goldfish and water. In the opening, Milo throws a picture of him and his ex-boyfriend into his fish tank and brings it up to Maggie that he doesn't want to leave his goldfish behind when he moves in with her. Maggie shatters two glass aquariums throughout the movie and unintentionally kills two goldfish she bought for Milo. Milo lays in a bath as he tries to take his life, Maggie soaks in a bath after having a bad day, Maggie is taking scuba lessons at a pool and eventually tries to take her own life in it as well. After all, the opening shot is one skeleton toy at the bottom of a pool as young Maggie dives in and retrieves it. Therefore water is a symbol of the struggles the siblings are experiencing throughout their life; a metaphor for suffocating from their complex psychological troubles and a literal means of how they try to end or 'fix' them.Some people seem to be questioning if the ending is realistic or not. I argue that the story is upheld and realistic in a many sense. Why does Milo suddenly hop off his bus and instinctively know that Maggie is attempting suicide at the pool? Well, one can reason that Maggie's calm and happy voice-mail ending with "See ya later" can be compared to Milo's suicide note: "To whom it may concern: see ya later". Their bond appears to be quite real throughout the movie and I think it is quite fitting and heartwarming in a way that they both end up saving each other. Although there are some of your typically Hollywood movie moments in the film that I would personally replace, such as the rooftop scene or Maggie dramatically dropping the fish tank, overall I quite enjoyed this film. There were many funny lines from both protagonists ("I showed up on dyke night? Sh*t!") and scenes (dentist office). The story reflects some dramatic and hard times people may face in a delicate and overall slightly uplifting way when focusing on the bond of two highly relatable siblings.