Likable Paul Rudd takes center stage in “Our Idiot Brother,” a comedic offering about a well-meaning, sweet-natured schnook. Working a street food stand, Ned (Paul Rudd) is arrested when a cop dupes the gullible, good-hearted pushover into giving him some pot. His girlfriend (Kathryn Hahn) leaves him, he does jail time, and upon release, the feel-sorry-for-him family takes him in. Mooching off them and hanging around, Ned’s seemingly better adjusted than his sisters (played by Zooey Deschanel, Elizabeth Banks, and Emily Mortimer).
Director Jesse Peretz and his sister Evgenia Peretz co-wrote the screenplay of humor with unhappiness. Having Ned as a brother could be a blessing and a curse for the sisters, since his sheer honesty and straightforwardness unintentionally fouls up their already imperfect lives. Additional actors in smaller roles include Steve Coogan, Hugh Dancy and Shirley Knight as the matriarch of her kooky kin. Although the comedy has heart, I found watching Paul Rudd in this change-of-pace role as an imbecile to be a turn-off.
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