There are movies that approximate life through a thoughtful mapping of all this tragicomic randomness around us. And then there are movies which try that route, plan a deliberate dosage of fun and misery in advance, but end up looking doubly phony. American writer/director Craig Johnson's "The Skeleton Twins", about two estranged siblings reuniting and facing their demons, falls unfortunately more into the second category. It's less a dramedy than a comedy that prefers not to be called a comedy and/or a drama that'd rather not be taken too seriously.
Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader are two of the most brilliant comedians of their generation but apparently feel the need to prove their dramatic chops as well. Which is a shame, really, not only because they are so much better at making us laugh, but also their rightly celebrated SNL-personas are so established by now that any foray into humor-free territory is immediately put at an enormous disadvantage. Both are by no means bad actors, but it only takes a few minutes of lip-syncing dual of "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" for everyone to see where their true instincts and genius lie.
And so we've got two immensely likable entertainers acting against their impulses in a movie that strives to stay real but feels from head to toe manufactured. That I don't believe for a second Wiig and Hader are playing twins is just the first of its problems.
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