The Skeleton Twins

After a failed suicide attempt, struggling L.A. actor Milo (Bill Hader) reluctantly takes up an offer from his estranged sister Maggie (Kristen Wiig) to head back east and stay with her and her straightforward nice-guy husband (Luke Wilson) in upstate New York. Milo soon reconnects with a former teacher (Ty Burrell) with whom he had a relationship in high school, while Maggie (whose own suicide attempt was only halted by the news of her brother’s attempt) is using a relationship with her scuba instructor (Boyd Holbrook) to distract herself from her own depression. It might not sound like a whole load of laughs, but director Craig Johnson has created a wryly funny film that refuses to boil its characters down to two dimensions.
Hader and Wiig (former Saturday Night Live co-stars) have real chemistry even when they’re shutting each other out, and while the subject matter is serious there’s plenty of laughs and sharp observations – plus a scene where they lip-synch to ‘Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now’ – to keep this from becoming a dirge. If you have a sibling, there’s a lot here that’s going to stay with you after the credits roll.
By Anthony Morris