Durham Library is showing "The Skeleton Twins" with Bill Hader and Kristin Wiig this Thursday, January 29, at 1:30PM.

Movie Notes by Don Bourret

My wife and I ended up liking The Skeleton Twins a lot, and that was unexpected when we started watching it. It is a quirky film, often depressing, often funny, with performances often in low key. On the surface there might not seem to be much to like about it.

Milo and Maggie are fraternal twins that have not spoken for ten years. Their father had killed himself when they were youngsters, and both have suicidal tendencies. When Milo actually makes an attempt, Maggie comes to him in Hollywood and brings him back to their home town, Nyack, New York, to live with her and her husband, Lance. She is unhappy in her marriage, has affairs and secretly takes birth control pills while pretending to want a baby. Milo is gay and reunites briefly and sadly with his high school teacher, Rich, with whom he had a sexual relationship when he was fifteen. Milo and Maggie work on recapturing their childhood bond, which you glimpse from time to time, but you are never sure if it will be enough to overcome their deep depressions, which regularly erupt in sullen or heated exchanges. Sound like fun?

So why would you want to see this movie? For one, because of its stars, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, both celebrated alumni of Saturday Night Live. They have been best friends for many years, and their chemistry makes this film work. Because of their comedic backgrounds, you would expect the film to be a comedy. But this is a serious drama exploring tortured relationships in a dysfunctional family, and the two stars are sensational, revealing outstanding acting chops. They make you care about these two lost souls and want them to find release from their lifelong torments. And if you are a fan of SNL, you will see that their signature characters Stefan and Gilly are nowhere in sight.

But given who the stars are, there is much more comedy than you would expect in such a serious film. Their dialogues are punctuated by dozens of very funny one-liners, all the funnier for the contexts in which they pop up. Also there is a hilarious scene in a dentist’s office after the two of them have been inhaling nitrous oxide and begin solving all the world’s and their own problems. And they as well as we have a marvelous time as they lip-sync Starship’s “Nothing’s Going To Stop Us Now.”

Spoiler alert: the movie has an unexpected and very satisfying ending, pointing out that sometimes unconventional choices may be just the right choices. This is a film that makes you think; and, although you may not think so at the outset, you will leave it with a nice warm feeling and a smile. Check it out.