Slapstick in ‘The Brothers Solomon’ Dumber Than ‘Dumb & Dumber’

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CHICAGO – With 2007 films like “Knocked Up” and “Superbad,” the smart and embarrassingly truthful geek comedies are the current wave of humor in America.

Will Arnett in “The Brothers Solomon”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
Unfortunately, “The Brothers Solomon” is still on the beach with its head in the sand. The story is simple: Brothers John and Dean Solomon (played by Will Arnett and Will Forte, respectively) are two loveable and well-intentioned buffoons.

When getting news that their father (Lee Majors) is in a coma, they decide the only thing that will revive him is if they can bring him a grandchild. Kristen Wiig (comedy’s new “it” girl) plays the surrogate mother and the straight woman to their wacky foibles.

“Saturday Night Live” player Will Forte wrote and co-starred with Bob Odenkirk in the director’s chair, which explains why the movie feels like a 90-minute sketch. They don’t let things like plot or exposition get in the way of retreading the same gags over and over.

The 1980s song “St. Elmo’s Fire” is kitsch. We get it! The movie relies heavily on slapstick and brainless humor that makes the comparison to “Dumb & Dumber” obvious. The problem with this film’s two fish-out-of-water goons is they are never actually pulled out of the water.

Will Forte in “The Brothers Solomon”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
This world they act silly in is the one they live in from day to day.

Going in, I had high hopes because I’m a fan of everyone involved in the project. Most of them are green to the mainstream comedy world. Odenkirk has a knack for finding and writing for new talent as his track record of Chris Farley and Jack Black will show.

Unfortunately, his talents as a writer and producer haven’t shifted into feature-length direction.

In a recent interview on the “Sound of Young America,” Odenkirk claimed that while he was disappointed with his final product of last year’s bomb (“Let’s Go to Prison”), “The Brothers Solomon” is hilariously redeeming.

Will Forte (left) and Will Arnett in “The Brothers Solomon”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
While “The Brothers Solomon” is miles and miles of improvement over “Let’s Go to Prison,” Odenkirk hasn’t yet found the promised land.

Despite the potential from such a great pool of talent, the movie fell flat and was mostly unmemorable. While there were parts I laughed out loud at and thought were surprisingly clever, they’re buried between monotonous, lowest common denominator chuckles.

Most moviegoers won’t have the patience to justify 10 minutes of funny material in 90 minutes of work.

By DUSTIN LEVELL Senior Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com dustin@hollywoodchicago.com

© 2007 Dustin Levell, HollywoodChicago.com