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*Minor spoilers ahead
Jady (Peter Dinklage) and Moke (Josh Brolin) are brothers who, as we learn from the opening narration, come from a family that values a life of crime. In fact, we see the boys in the backyard right away, practicing their safe-cracking abilities. One Thanksgiving, their family is preparing for dinner and waiting for their mom to come home. What they weren’t expecting was for their mom, Cath, and her boyfriend, Glenn, to come flying in after their latest heist with the police hot on their tail. Cath and Glenn quickly grab their go-bag and race back out to their car. Jady and Moke can’t believe what’s happening—they wanted their mom there for dinner, and now she’s running from the police. Cath hugs them both, tells them goodbye, and instructs them to look after one another.
We flash forward twenty-five years and see Jady and Moke still upholding family traditions, as they are about to carry out a heist. However, things go sideways, and as the brothers attempt to flee, Jady gets caught. It helps to have a criminal mind, though. You see, Jady was resourceful and found himself a crooked cop by the name of Farful (Brendan Fraser) while in prison. Farful’s father, a judge (M. Emmet Walsh), is just as crooked as his son. Jady uses this to his advantage and cuts a deal with Farful: he’ll do a heist job for him in exchange for an early release. With that, five years after being locked up, Jady finds himself a free man.
In the five years since Jady was put away, Moke has managed to turn his life around. He found a job, fell in love, married Abby (Taylour Paige), and they are expecting their first child together. So, it goes without saying that Moke is not thrilled when Jady shows up at his doorstep. Jady tries his best to convince Moke to join him on this job, but Moke vehemently rejects the idea... for as long as he can. Eventually, Moke finds himself tied up in Jady’s mess. What’s worse is that he also finds out Jady has been keeping in touch with their mother, Cath (Glenn Close). Moke had no idea his mother was even alive; let alone why she’d contact Jady but not him.
Can it be that the family that steals together, heals together?
Possibly, but one thing is for certain: the cast does some heavy lifting here. Yes, Dinklage and Brolin play off one another and have chemistry together, but the supporting cast here are no slouches. Brendan Fraser, Marisa Tomei (in an uncredited role), Taylour Paige, M. Emmet Walsh, Glenn Close—those are some pretty big names, and they all deliver in their respective supporting roles. Yes, even Glenn Close. Although, I’m tired of her hillbilly grandma phase and hope it ends soon.
Seeing that Max Barbakow directed this piqued my interest, as I happened to enjoy his feature debut Palm Springs, admittedly more so on a second viewing. Between that and the names involved, I was in. An hour and a half later, I’m not disappointed—I guess I just wanted more.
There are funny moments throughout—Brolin's wildlife encounter, for instance—but unfortunately, it’s also rather forgettable. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t entertained, though. What works in Brothers' favor is that it’s a brisk eighty-eight minutes in length. So, while it might be a rather paint-by-numbers comedy, it doesn’t overstay its welcome.
What’s truly unfortunate is that Brothers came out in 2024 and not 1994. Had this been released in the mid-’90s, it would have been on TNT and/or TBS every weekend afternoon.
In today’s age of streaming, it’s most likely to get lost in the shuffle.
Before it does, do yourself a favor and go check out Brothers on Prime Video.
🍿 SCORE = 78 / 100
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