Is it possible for twins to attempt suicide on the same day? After filmmaker Craig Johnson establishes this credibility-straining premise, The Skeleton Twins quickly finds its darkly comic groove. Kristin Wiig plays Maggie, a dental assistant living in upstate New York with the kindly Lance (Luke Wilson), while fellow SNL alum Bill Hader plays Milo, Maggie's gay actor brother in Los Angeles. Since his agent dropped him, Milo has been working as a waiter. When a breakup lands him in the hospital with slashed wrists, Maggie invites him to stay with her and Lance. Even if Wiig and Hader don't look like fraternal twins, they have a solid onscreen rapport in the biting dialogue that the duo employ to mask their pain and in the goofy moments they share when not stewing over old grievances. As a teenager, Milo entered into a liaison with harmful repercussions, and Maggie has been keeping a secret from Lance, leading her to sublimate her frustration in an affair with a scuba instructor (Boyd Holbrook). Although Hader's deft segue to drama has earned praise, the real revelation here is Ty Burrell as Rich, a figure from the siblings' past. For all of the secrets that Maggie and Milo have been keeping, at least they're trying to be true to themselves, but Rich has been living the kind of lie that destroys lives. Burrell serves up a subtle performance sure to evade award recognition, but it's the messy core of this deceptively tidy film. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include two audio commentaries (the first by director/co-writer Craig Johnson and costars Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader; the second by Johnson, co-writer Mark Heyman, and producer-editor Jennifer Lee), deleted scenes (16 min.), a “To Whom It May Concern” making-of featurette (15 min.), outtakes (6 min.), a gag reel (4 min.), a “Sweet Moves” dance segment (2 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for an edgy black comedy.] (K. Fennessy)
The Skeleton Twins
Lionsgate, 93 min., R, DVD: $19.98, Blu-ray: $24.99, Dec. 16 Volume 30, Issue 1
The Skeleton Twins
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: