Customer Reviews

The Brothers McMullen

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a pleasant film about problems concerning love. There are three brothers who run into difficulties that they have to solve. My favourite is the second oldest brother. Barry has seen how his mother had to struggle for years with a man that she did not love. After Barry's father is dead, Barry's mother is finally able to marry the man she has always loved.
Barry's reaction to his mother's fate and also to his own relationship with his father, makes Barry afraid to form a steady relationship with the woman of his dreams.

This film touches important issues like love, committment and religion. There were many funny scenes in this film too, so it was good to sit down and watch it.

The Brothers McMullen is supposed to be about what it's like having grown up Irish-Catholic in America, which, in the context of this movie, is supposed to be about being sexually repressed. It's an outstanding movie that everyone should see.
The movie is about the relationship of three brothers to the women in their lives and to each other. I must warn you, this is a serious romantic comedy-there's no severed limbs, exploding buildings, or sensational car wrecks. It's a quiet movie with no action. It's also a movie you can watch more than once and still be equally engrossed.

The oldest brother is a high school basketball coach, but, oddly, he's very non-jock like. He's somewhat sensitive and a little thoughtful for crying out loud! And he doesn't drink enough beer for a coach. He is friends with another woman who has the serious hots for him, but he keeps turning her down out of respect for his marriage.

Middle brother was engaged to a Jewish girl, but it broke up due to his own moral and emotional conflicts. Later on, he then picks up an old friendship with the Irish-American girl that grew up next door. She repairs cars in the backyard, drinks beer like the guys and has big hair to remind you she's a girl. I liked her better anyway.

The youngest brother is the most likable. He hasn't been a practicing Catholic since junior high; yet, he considers himself a believer. His charismatic crudeness and way of treating woman remind me of the characters Sean Penn plays, but this guy's got better personality and looks. Both older brothers tell him he drinks too much, but I'd say he drinks just the right amount for his age and station in life! He doesn't seem sexually repressed to me, but his slightly overplayed male bluster and beer drinking might suggest to a shrink that he's keeping his true feelings on ice.

At first glance I thought the McMullen family didn't typify mine--the brothers seem like libertines by comparison! But they call movies and plays drama because they're supposed to dramatize. I think the characters act out things that all of us have thought, felt, wished we'd done, experienced or observed, either consciously or unconsciously. The incongruity of values and lifestyle between the conventional straight-laced oldest brother and the carousing youngest brother was interesting. Unlike most men and unlike most Irish-Catholics, the brothers talk about all their conflicts with each other and their wives and girl friends (Otherwise, there wouldn't be a movie!).

There's some funny, typically Catholic hypocrisy. Middle brother is sleeping with his Jewish girlfriend. When they go looking for an apartment together, he decides they can't live together before marriage because he's Catholic. In another scene, they are in bed together having hank-panky and he tells her they shouldn't be using contraceptives because he's Catholic. Oops. I didn't use the word sex or intercourse. Does that make me sexually repressed?

Apparently, if a woman pursues a man and he's attracted to her, but he chooses to remain faithful to his wife, Hollywood considers that sexually repressed. And if a person is torn between what they've been taught is right and what their passions command, that is considered sexually repressed. I'd call it being a normal human being. I don't think the movie makers were trying to portray the youngest brother as liberated; rather, I think they were trying to portray him as another kind of emotional cripple, but I'm on shaky ground here.

I thought the brothers did O.K. in their relationships to others, but I was a little disappointed that none of the brothers lacked the intellectual depth and sophistication to sort out and resolve their inner conflicts. This is the real tragedy.

Unfortunately, the movie barely touches on the woman's point of view. It would make a great sequel.

I love Ed Burns and I thought this film was good (I do like "She's the One" better) It's about 3 brothers, their lives and the reprocussions of growing up in a Catholic Irish American household in New York city.

I am a huge fan of romantic comedies, and I have gone on record as saying that "The Brothers McMullen" is my all time favorite. It is the story of three brothers from Long Island struggling to find meaning in their relationships while also dealing with their Catholic faith. It is written and directed by Edward Burns("Saving Private Ryan") who also plays one of the brothers. He does a fabulous job creating a movie that is insightful and entertaining. It only runs for 96 minutes, but I could have watched the story of the McMullen brothers for at least another hour. The DVD is definately one that will be added to my collection come its release in October. When looking for a sweet, character driven love story, there is nothing better then "The Brothers McMullen."

The people who criticise the film for not having a plot or storyline miss the point of this film. We watch the Brothers McMullen struggle with morality and love. It is nice to see a film that deals with love and sex on a deeper level than just love and sex. Edward Burns has a great ear for dialogue, keeping the dialogue real-sounding and never stilted. It's too bad that as a filmmaker, he has not reprised the artistic success he had with this film.

Having worked in the entertainment industry for years I have found that the idea of "story" has become passe and "flash and glam" has replaced the craft of fine moviemaking. This film has resored my faith in the art. I would like to see what the result would be if we were to give the "great" film directors of the modern cinema a couple thousand bucks to shoot a film. Chances are they would fall far short of this first effort by a very talented writer/director/actor. Please sit down, enjoy, and laugh yourself to death.

If you're interested in the filming and scripting of this (and other) Ed Burns films... check out his book "Three Screenplays." It's well worth the read. Oh, and if there are any Irish-Americans out there looking for a film to relate to... this is the one!

For anyone who grew up in an Irish or Italian home, and had more than one brother, this film hits home. Burns paints an accurate picture of three headstrong men who deal with the often funny, sometimes frustrating psychotic quirks that come with having a real SOB for a father.

Although this film has its slow moments, and its characters sometimes come off as one-dimensional, it's excusable since it was Burns' first effort. The three brothers are likable and transparently decent. And the plot deals honestly with the issue of relationships -- on the new, mid-point, and latter levels -- from a man's perspective, which is a refreshing change from the gross feminization that deluges the American male in cineams these days. (Cameron Crowe, please take note)

Those who are interested in screenwriting will enjoy how Burns explores and develops his protagonists.

So, on some Friday night, find you favorite rump-sprung chair, pop open a beer, and enjoy the tale of the Brothers McMullen.

After a gap of nearly two decades, I serendipitously came across the movie, The Brothers McMullen. I dimmed the lights, sat down with a glass of wine, tube of Pringles and luxuriated in the preparation, for what I guessed would be a nostalgic and schmaltzy experience. What a surprise! This is a wonderful movie!

It is set in pre 9/11 New York, where nothing casts a shadow and anything is possible. Three brothers from an Irish American family are united again as young adults and despite their differences, they capture the essence of what makes blood ties so unbreakable. We expect great things from our siblings, yet when they are less than they can be, when they shatter our illusions, we forgive them and cheer them on. Because what we are essentially doing is forgiving ourselves, shouting out to the little boys and girls that we still are.

Jack, the eldest and most handsome, and let me digress here; When I watched this for the first time in 1995, I enjoyed it immensely, because I was Irish and had lived in Queens, NY. I had big hair and wore baggy shirts, but I didn't think the Brothers were so attractive. Now with the advantage of hindsight and the clarity of age, or maybe just envy at their timeless youth, I was beguiled by their perfect skin, toned physiques and of course their Irish charm (which unbelievably, Irish men in the old country have yet to perfect!). Anyway, getting back to the storyline - Jack is married to Molly, who could also have been called Jane, for her girl next-door loveliness. He is seduced by a temptress from the city and to my horror, poor Moll forgives him.....

Patrick is the youngest brother, a devout Catholic, overwhelmed by his longtime, Jewish girlfriend. Though he has prospects for big business and a moneyed lifestyle if he marries her, he makes a break for it. After much soul-searching and heart to hearts with his bros, he makes peace with his soul and takes a big bite out of life.

Barry (Finbar), the Casanova of the piece is the budding screenwriter, who basically falls for the perfectly pert, gazelle-like leading lady. He could not but succeed, so driven, cock-sure and confident is he. Despite his questionable style (long hair, yellow shirt and white trousers, way after Labor Day), he is breathtaking!

Let me say it again. This is a wonderful movie. If you have ever spent a vacation in the Big Apple and loved it - you should watch this movie. Where Woody Allen's Annie Hall and Manhattan have become dated, this is as fresh as a cup of Chock Full o'Nuts. Buy it and add it to your collection. This is a precious movie, a gem that will only increase in value as we all mature. God Bless Ed Burns!

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF IT. EVERY ACTOR AND ACTRESS WAS EXCELLENT===THE STORY WAS GOOD AND WHEN IT ENDED I WANTED MORE...GREAT, GREAT STORY AND ACTING.. LOTS OF LAUGHS......

Ed Burns made this film in a few weeks on a small budget but created a great little film that can be watched over and over again. I don't buy a large number of movies but this a keeper. Strong caracters that bring real life to three young New York brothers trying to get life sorted out and in the case of the eldest brother JACK , back on the right tract. True to life "brotherly love" prevails and romance developes without the film being corney.
AL AB