My Blind Brother

source: My Blind Brother

All star cast being what I assume is their all star selves. I love watching messy people and stories made real and just a peek into this disabled life is uh yet another story I didn't know I'd be seeing. Dope.

Just dull and uninteresting and not funny ever. And quite asinine in a few parts.

Good watch, could watch again, and can recommend. Nick Krull, Adam Scott, and Jenny Slate carry this well together and are pretty funny. I'm torn on whether or not Scott's portrayal of a blind person is complimentary or insulting, but I'll have to wait until a blind person sees it to hear what they say. The "best friend's girl" trope is fun, and they definitely make this movie special, even for "blind movies", the idea of him being an over-achieving athlete is very unique. As funny as this movie can be, as much as a "romance" movie as this is, it is definitely a "bromance" movie first.

I must admit that I had initially expected a bit more from "My Blind Brother", given the synopsis of the movie. So it was a little bit disappointing that the movie didn't fully deliver up to what I had expected it to. The story in "My Blind Brother" is about the rivalry of two brothers; blind Robbie (played by Adam Scott) and Bill (played by Nick Kroll) whom both happen to fall in love with same woman Rose (played by Jenny Slate). While there certainly were some good and funny moments throughout the course of the movie, I just felt that there was something missing from the movie to add that special ingredient to it. And it felt like most of the scenes weren't really fully utilized to the extend of what they could have been. The story told in the movie was adequate, and it had potential to be much more than it actually turned out to be at the hands of director Sophie Goodhart. The acting in "My Blind Brother" was alright, and the two lead actors did a good job in carrying the movie. "My Blind Brother" lacked a certain key element of comedy that would have me in laughs. I was merely smiling or chuckling at best at some of the scenes throughout the movie. And that was also a disappointing factor to the movie, because I had expected more comedy from it. All in all, then "My Blind Brother" scores a mediocre five out of ten stars from me, as it didn't really live up to what I had expected, and it didn't really bring anything unique or particularly memorable to the comedy genre.

Robbie (Adam Scott) is a blind athlete, beloved by all, and an SOB to his brother Bill (Nick Kroll). Bill feels both bitter about his treatment and guilty about being responsible for the blindness. Bill falls for Rose (Jenny Slate) who also feels guilty about causing her boyfriend's death. They hook up but Rose can't commit. She decides to be a helper and takes on Robbie. She also takes him as his boyfriend before realizing that he's Bill's brother. Francie (Zoe Kazan) is Rose's roommate. These are funny people. There are some funny scenes. It's an interesting premise but the flaws in these characters make it less funny than it ought to be. Ultimately, it leads an incident that is almost too dark to be funny. These characters need some changes to improve their relationships. I actually love the banter between Jenny Slate and Zoe Kazan which makes their breakdown harder to take. I like the general premise but it just needs some changes.

Adam Scott stands out in the movie as the blind brother. He plays jerk real well. Perfectly made it hard to feel sorry for him. Making it easy for us to feel sorry for Nick Knoll's character, who is the protagonist. Knolls plays a man who has a one night stand with the girl of his dreams, only for her to become the object of his blind brother's affections when she sees him as a charity case. It's a crazy film about having an older brother who seems to be better at everything than you are (Except in this case, he can't see as well). The filmmakers tried to make a very quiet comedy that sneaks up on you, but it does not effect me as well as others like it. They're parts were the movie makes the blindness part of the joke was definitely funny without demeaning the handicap (as far as I...see). As a matter of fact, the movie attempts to make you see how blind people are people (and jerks) too, and they did a good job of that as well. My Blind Brother, is what it is and it has lots of fun moments, but not the best comedy on the block.

This film tells the story of a man who spends his life taking care of his over achieving blind brother, who seems to over shadow him in every way possible. "My Blind Brother" is a funny comedy. If you look at it from the point of view of the blind brother, it's a pretty empowering and uplifting story. The blind brother gets unconditional support from the able sighted brother, which is touching. If you look at it from the perspective of the able sighted brother, then things are not as rosy. He has no life, no nothing. He doesn't even get any respect from anyone, or receive credit for anything he has done for the blind brother. I feel rather sorry for the able sighted brother.

A story of disability, rivalry and jealousy; My Blind Brother raises the interesting conflict of duty vs. desire in the form of its two core protagonists: Robbie (blind) and Bill (brother). This dichotomy is only further enhanced through the introduction of Jenny Slate's character of Rose, who provides a very literal representation of the metaphor at the film's heart. Conceptually, the idea is fun and functional enough, however this does not elevate the action much beyond- what feels like - very low production values and generally low ambition; especially when considering the relatively high profile of the likes of Adam Scott. Admittedly, some of the scenarios which are devised or concocted do lead to genuinely enjoyable character interactions and memorable moments, yet there are times when glaring plot holes are concerningly evident; and worst still character motivations, decisions and actions are left unexplained (or probably more likely left on the cutting room floor). Considering its potential, this was a somewhat disappointing effort from a cast and plot capable of much more.

If you had any doubts about Jenny Slate, if you ever thought she was a trivial comedian whose only talent lay in wacky faces and nasal impersonations, this film will set them to rest. Although the title presumes a male protagonist and refers to his male sibling, this is a deeply feminine film (written and directed by a woman) and Slate's Rose is her brilliant avatar, full of all of the doubts, the striving successes and blunt failures of modern womanhood. Rose is worried she's a *, worried she's a bad person, worried she can't follow her heart or her instincts. She works through all of the heaped-up anxiety to do the right thing, stumbling now and then and never really overcoming a condition that still plagues women in our society. Throughout the film, she tells us she can't trust her feelings; in a climactic scene she confronts the fact that she's not really in love with her boyfriend with the line "But who am I to decide?" Slate carries this off, makes us feel the void of being a woman in what is still a man's world, with an Oscar-worthy performance. The film itself is short, engaging, maybe a tiny bit predictable but ultimately leaves you with a smile. I saw it months ago at Tribeca, and I just can't get Slate's performance out of my head.