The Skeleton Twins (2014) - Wiig and Hader deliver in indie gem

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SNL regulars Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are to sell Craig Johnson's The Skeleton Twins on its poster

 

A man, who goes through a failed suicide attempt, subsequently moves temporarily into the home of his sister, whom he hasn't seen in a decade, and her husband. As it turns out, both twin siblings have deep-rooted problems in their lives.

Bill Hader (The BFG (2016)) and Kristen Wiig (Ghostbusters (2016)) are credible as twins and are both really funny and well-functioning dramatically in this little indie pearl from co-writer-director Craig Johnson (True Adolescents (2009)).

As The Skeleton Twins unfolds, I was waiting, somewhere in the back of my mind, for it to give in and collapse as a film, because it appears to be a bit of a fragile house of cards, but this never happens. Luke Wilson (Henry Poole Is Here (2008)) and Ty Burrell (In Good Company (2004)) do well in supporting parts. SPOILER It is a shame for the stars, the film and us as audiences that the plot anchor of the marriage in it is cut short so rapidly, because it is a good enough film that I would have sat for a longer final section about its crisis and the solution to it.

The Skeleton Twins is co-written with Mark Heyman (Black Swan (2010)).

Watch a trailer and a short interview with Hader and Wiig here

Cost. Reportedly 1 mil. $

Box office: 5.7 mil. $

= Huge hit

[The Skeleton Twins premiered January 19 (Sundance) and runs 93 minutes. Filming lasted 22 days in New York in November 2012. The film opened #25 with a 380k $ first weekend in 15 theaters, widening to 461 theaters and a top position at #11 with a 1.2 mil. $ weekend 3 in North America, where it grossed 5.2 mil. $ (91.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets (of 7 foreign markets) were Australia with 279k $ (4.9 %) and the UK with 63k $ (1.1 %). The film won the screenwriting award at Sundance and was included as one of the year's 10 best independent films by National Board of Review. The Skeleton Twins is certified fresh at 86 % with a 7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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