iTunes Exclusive Episode The Skeleton Twins

The following is a sooner orgator production. We are ready for the jam. I said, are you ready for the jam?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Welcome, Empire, Member, and or members. If you are hearing my voice, it means one of a couple of things.

Number one, we hope you've at least once listened to the Clubhouse podcast. Your one stop shop for all things sports and entertainment. We need to appreciate that.

It also means maybe you subscribe on iTunes, which we also appreciate because at this time for another, I tune the exclusive welcome. My name is Rob and I am the executive producer of this circus. I want to personally welcome you and because you subscribe on iTunes, we give you these ones that the people that don't don't because that's how we roll.

Joining me for this particular iTunes is the official fact checker of this show and a man who's a casual observer this go around. You may know him is fun, done, go, but it's not my name and done for him, I'm going to call him Don for the welcome sir. Yeah, I might be a servant.

No, it's here to help out the Empire. We had to do split, but we had to do split duties for the Empire. We did.

And we pulled it off. Exactly. I said another screening.

That's why it wasn't on this one, but I'm here to help out totally for you. Normally we do these, we do, it's to review something and today's no exception. We are reviewing today the new movie by writer director Craig Johnson, which I believe this is his debut as a director of a feature.

If I am not mistaken, actually this is his second film was a director of what's called the True Adolescence in 2009. Your two majors in this are Kristen Week and Bill Hater, who spent nine years together on Saturday night live and as the title of the skeleton twins tells you, they're twins. Okay.

In the very beginning of the film, it's being built as them both cheating death on the same day. One of them kind of does, the one of them, the other one knows it. But they live on separate coasts, they haven't talked for 10 years.

Kristen Weeks, character Maggie, convinces Bill Hater's Milo to move across the country, moving with her, while he tries to get some things figured out. So they're twins, but they haven't talked for 10 years. Correct.

Like brother sister. Correct. Okay.

All right. Their father has passed away years and years ago, and I think that's what the catalyst that kind of pushed them apart, and there are other things that you find out as the film goes on. Milo is a gay man.

So what I really liked about it is they didn't play him as the gay man who's struggling to be, you know, welcome, struggling with his homosexuality. He's perfectly comfortable with his homosexuality. There's other things that he struggles with in the film.

Maggie is married to a man by the name of Lance, played by Luke Wilson. They live in New York, and it pretty much just goes from there about them kind of confronting issues from the past, which may or may not have drawn a wedge between them, and the roller coaster that is the two of them. On their relationship and trying to rebuild and deal with the past, in a nutshell, correct.

Spoiler free. Correct. So how would you look at the direction of this film?

Great Johnson, who is the director and co-writer of this film. He knows what he wants it to go after it. I mean, there's just no other way to describe it.

It's very in your face. It's very straight forward. He doesn't candy coat anything on this film.

There are parts of this film that will make you uncomfortable because of things that are faced and things that are addressed between the two of them. Get kind of tense. And what I loved about Johnson is he kind of lets his two leaves do what they do.

You really feel, because first of all, you've got two people that have known each other for over a decade. And have been in the pressure cooker trenches known as SNL. And if you've ever read anything about the behind of scenes of SNL, it is a pressure cooker every week.

Read Jay Moore's book, Gatsping for Air Time. Also read the book Live from New York or go to the entire history of it told by the people that were there. And I was a highly competitive environment that, you know, you kind of have to have allies.

And the two of them, along with Andy Sandberg and Jason Sudakis, in my opinion, really brought that show back to relevance, which is why they were in a whole ton of sketches in those nine years. So that chemistry for them was already there, but you can see that they have a genuine love for each other that bleeds into the characters. And it's sometimes Milo and Maggie care for each other so much, it's painful.

To almost a point of, I love you too much, but I want to protect you so much at hurts me. But how can that be when they haven't talked in 10 years? Twins are a very strange thing.

Okay, never mind. Twins are a different breed of cat as the saying goes. And they play that very, very well.

You see, Hater coming back to his hometown, or Milo coming back to his hometown, and thinking in some things he can just pick up where he left off, or maybe he can't. In what town is it's small town? Small town in New York.

Okay, small town. Country. It's not in New York City.

It's kind of rural. Almost country. They don't really, not really, almost country, but probably somewhere upstate.

Okay, they're never really specific as to where they live. And Johnson really captures that well, especially he films it in the fall so the colors are changing. The scenery is just ridiculously beautiful.

It's very well shot, which bleeds into the performances. This is Hater in Weeks Vehicle. This is their car, and they're going to drive it.

And I think that's what Johnson just kind of let them do, because when you look at the supporting cast in this thing, you have Luke Wilson, who we've already mentioned, Ty Burrell, who you know from modern family, Joanna Gleason, who is a veteran actress, and has been in everything you've ever seen, and when you see her, you go, oh, that's who that is. You've got Boyd Holbrook, who you'll see in some things coming up soon. But the beauty of it is, you've got these mega stars in this film, but they know who's house this is.

They don't overpower the leads, they actually enhance the leads, and they elevate Week and Hater's performances just to a different level. They kind of push without pushing those buttons, they push those buttons that makes the performance that much better. And there are scenes in this film that will break you down on a molecular level.

This is not the feel-good movie of the year. A lot of people will refer to this film as a dark comedy. You don't have to get this song in the background, see the movie.

I refer to it more as a character study, almost on a psychological level, because there are some funny parts in it. This song plays into a very funny part of the film, but it's not a dark comedy to me. To me, it wasn't.

Some people will see it that way. This was more about dysfunction within a family, and just that character study is what I took away from it. They don't tie everything up, and I see a little about it.

I will tell you that. Like, a character study, kind of like Austro-Jogas County, kind of. Walk as those days count?

Yeah. Not really? I don't know what I could compare it to.

That's not it though. That was a real character study. That was more of an ensemble piece, where this is really focused on two characters.

You don't really get backgrounds on the other characters. There's not a scene that at least one of them is not in in the entire film, because it's about Milo and Maggie. It's about that healing process that maybe goes well, and maybe doesn't, or maybe has those moments where you think, you know what, maybe this is going to be okay, and then the other shoe drops.

The storytelling here is spot on. I never felt like, okay, bump, bump, bump. You just, there's, I will tell you, there are certain scenes where you're heart just breaks, because you're just like, oh, you were so close, you know.

Haters, performance, besides the main characters, what's there any other stand out? There was, you didn't really have a lot of time to get to know any of their characters. I thought Tyborrell was very understated and needed to be as rich.

I really don't want to go into his character, because you really need to see that character in the film, Luke Wilson. I'm not a huge fan of the Wilson brothers. I think they get a little too slapsticky for me sometimes.

He plays Lance, very, like in the beginning you're kind of like, okay, this is another Luke Wilson character, but as the film goes on, because it's only an hour and a half long. That's it. Okay.

And on, you really, Lance kind of grows on you a little bit. And he winds up being this guy that's kind of caught in the crossfire. And he, I thought he, he did some great acting chops in this film, because again, I really don't want to give anything away.

Yeah, there's so many moments in this film where you just go, ah, and there's so many films are like, hey, it's, it is an emotional role. Absolutely. There's no other way to put it.

Any downfalls? If you're expecting, like I said earlier in the podcast, if you're expecting this thing to be tied up in a nice little bow, you'll be disappointed. Put that side of the demo fall, that could be good movie making.

Right. No, it is good movie making. I just don't know that there is a downside.

I don't know if I could be critical of this film. If I had to give a criticism, this is not for everybody. That's my criticism of this film.

This is not for everybody, don't expect, don't bring the kids, ah, no, no, but would you say, hi, teenager or college, college minimum, college minimum, because there's a lot of things that are addressed in this film that if you're a parent, there may be questions you're not prepared to answer yet. So you really want to be able to see this film and have an adult conversation afterwards. Would this be a date night movie first date or fifth date date, or married couple?

This would be one, or a two preference going out for something. This would be more go out with your friends and see this. Yeah, because this is not a date movie by any stretch of the imagination.

This is one of those films that I think everybody will find something they relate to on a certain level, but it's not for everybody. Milo's character, if you are a conservative, we'll probably bother you a little bit. He's not over the top, and let me be clear on that.

He's not over the top, you know, hi, but he's, he's plays it, hate or plays it like it's supposed to be played, where he's got that part of him, but that's not the major part of who he is as a character. Again, not for everybody, but if you're, if you enjoy, if you want to see an acting clinic, brother, this is it. This is it.

And I've always been a big fan of Christian week. I think she's amazing. I've always been a fan of Bill Hader.

He is, he's just that guy that can play just about anything without turning it into a bit, which I love about him. So let's get into the final analysis, because that's what we're leading up to. People want to know, Rob, what do you think about this film?

We don't give you stars or numbers or grades, it's just not how we roll, man. Our empire is better than that. Our fan base is better than that, both of them.

But it's a two-prong question. Question number one, what is would I see this movie again? The answer is no.

Then we're done here. But if the answer is yes, it becomes, how would I see this movie again? Will I pay for price?

Will I pay Twilight, Matt Nay, early morning, second run, DVD or Blu-ray or cable? Okay. Question to you, then Rob.

So, would you see this film again? I absolutely would see this film again, it's, I think it's going to fly under a lot of people's radars. I truly do, because it's a small independent film with a word of mouth help, do you think?

Absolutely. Absolutely. I just, I don't know that it's going to make up a Jillian dollars, but I don't think it's meant to.

Okay. And how would you see this film again then? I think I would recommend it as a Matt Nay, go mid after noon and then kind of go hang out somewhere and talk about it afterwards.

I mean, I wouldn't have a problem paying full price to see it, but I just think you want to give yourself more of your day afterwards to just kind of absorb it and maybe discuss it with a group of friends you go with. I really think that there's some people that should pay attention to the performances in this film, especially if you are one of those people that might influence nominations of certain things. Really.

I think that catering, we are phenomenal in that. Okay. It's starting to get, it's later in the year, we're getting into a word season.

I don't know if I would not make them for an Oscar, but I think there are some acting awards out there that, you know, independent spirit awards. Maybe a golden globe nomination, maybe, but they're both phenomenal in this. You think they deserve an Oscar nod?

I don't know if I go that far because this is going to be a really deep pool this year. Okay. And a year where maybe the acting pools a little bit less intense perhaps, but I just don't know if they might get lost in the shuffle in this.

But that's, and that's to no way say there's anything wrong with it, because I think they're both amazing in this. And like I said, your heart will break in certain parts of this film. No matter how tough you are, you can't have a steel heart and it's going to hurt.

You're just, you just want to bang your head against the rail in front of you, because you're like, come on man. But yeah, go check this movie out. We got to think Carol Smith from Gales.

Yeah, thank you so much, Carol, for giving me the opportunity to see this film. And we're looking forward to seeing more of films with you. Exactly.

Sorry. We had to do a split duty. We had to.

We got to cover. No. There's no apology.

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We love to have you keep subscribing on iTunes, listen to wherever you are, love to hear some feedback from you. So until next time we talk for Don for the Empire, I'm Rob and the clubhouse is closed. You can put pretty palm or just, you know, maybe like a poster or something?

That'd be cool. The preceding was a sooner or later production. Gotta go get a go!

Why? Because I have to.