Peter Dinklage & Josh Brolin’s New Comedy Movie Is A Terrific Reminder To Watch This 95% RT Rom-Com From 4 Years Ago

The Josh Brolin/Peter Dinklage starring Brothers is a great reminder to check out an underrated rom-com from 2020. Brothers is a riff on the Schwarzenegger/DeVito comedy Twins, with Brolin and Dinklage playing criminal twin brothers who reunite to pull off one last score. The cast of Brothers 2024 is what makes the movie click, with the leads sharing great chemistry, while Glenn Close plays their untrustworthy mother and Brendan Fraser is the maniacal police officer chasing after them.

Despite the great ensemble, Brothers has received mixed to negative reviews, and currently sits at 41% on Rotten Tomatoes. Regardless, the comedy appears to have performed well for streamer Amazon during its first week of release, and some viewers really enjoyed the chemistry between Dinklage, Brolin and Closel whether that will lead to a Brothers 2 is another question. The movie is also the first by director Max Barakow in four years, following the surprise critical acclaim that greeted his timeloop romance Palm Springs.

Max Barbakow’s Palm Springs Movie Is A Great Follow-Up Watch After Brothers

Palm Springs remains an underrated 2020 rom-com

Movies that remix Groundhog Day have almost become a subgenre unto themselves. Edge of Tomorrow (AKA Live Die Repeat) is the blockbuster version, where Tom Cruise’s soldier is doomed to repeat the same day where he’s slain during an alien battle, while the Happy Death Day movies are a slasher take on the same formula. 2020’s Palm Springs is very much the romantic comedy version, where Cristin Milioti and Andy Samberg play two strangers who attend a wedding – only to find themselves caught in a time loop.

The movie has a lot of fun with the central premise, but at its core, Palm Springs is a surprisingly sweet romance. Its two leads are both deeply flawed – which only makes them more interesting to root for. In stark contrast to the tepid critical response to Barbakow’s Brothers, Palm Springs earned an incredible 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. Of course, RT scores shouldn’t be the only way a film’s quality is judged, but it does underline just how much the 2020 film clicked with critics and viewers; the audience Popcornmeter also stands at 89%.

Palm Springs & Brothers Both Take Riffs From Iconic ’80s & ’90s Movies

Maybe Brothers 2 should introduce a time loop

Max Barbakow must be a big fan of 1980s and 1990s cinema since his first two movies feature multiple nods to that era. Palm Springs is one of the best Groundhog Day-inspired movies, with the premise giving the characters lots of time – quite literally – to get to know one another properly. It also explores the obvious subtext of Samberg and Milioti’s characters being trapped in the same bad habits and routines that are holding them back in life.

The Twins‘ inspiration on Brothers feels even more obvious, though the latter plays like a meaner, harder-edged take on the concept. From the mismatched brothers setting out on a wacky road trip that involves their mother to being chased by a relentless pursuer armed with a shotgun, both hit on many of the same plot points. Brothers nods to Clint Eastwood’s Every Which Way but Loose series too, with the scene involving Moke (Brolin) being attacked by a rather amorous orangutan named Samuel.

This parodies the bizarre relationship between Clint and Clyde the orangutan, while taking it in a much darker direction. Tonally, Brothers also feels in line with the fouled-mouthed buddy comedies of the 1980s, especially Midnight Run, starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin.

How Brothers’ Family-Centered Comedy Compares To Palm Springs’ Story

Familial drama is at the core of both Brothers and Palm Springs

Brothers sees a definite theme emerging in Max Barbakow’s work, with family dynamics being key to both. Despite Brothers centering on a somewhat toxic brotherly relationship, there is still genuine love and affection beneath all the dysfunction. If Brolin’s Moke was wise, he would have just walked away from his brother and mother around the midway mark, but after a wild night of drinking he almost can’t help but feel the connection between them.

This complicated dynamic is what drives Brothers and even the film’s villain Farful (Fraser) is motivated by his own awful relationship with his father. While Palm Springs is largely focused on the central romance, it also finds Milioti’s Sarah struggling with her relationship with sister Tala (Camila Mendes) – and the guilt of sleeping with Tala’s fiancee before the wedding.

Brothers and Palm Springs both mine black humor from their premises, but there is some warmth to be found under their cynical exteriors too. They’re about flawed characters learning to become… well, slightly less flawed and making some positive changes to their lives. Both films also end on hopeful notes – but don’t pretend that their protagonists have magically evolved into the best versions of themselves either.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, Rotten Tomatoes, Rotten Tomatoes, The Numbers

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  Brothers (2024) is a film centered around the complex dynamic between two siblings navigating personal and familial challenges. Directed by nan, the movie explores themes of brotherhood, loyalty, and redemption as the characters confront their past and seek reconciliation.

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  Palm Springs is a sci-fi comedy film that sees two strangers, Nyles and Sarah, who meet at a wedding reception and, after heading off for a night of debauchery, are tossed into a strange vortex that keeps them date locked in November 9th with no perceivable way out. Nyles and Sarah bond while trying to find an escape from the odd time loop as the truth behind the vortex slowly unravels.