Brother Nature

While it remains the pinnacle of televsied-sketch comedy, Saturday Night Live isn't a guaranteed springboard to future stardom. That's not to say that the show hasn't has its share of success stories, even its early cast members had great runs, but for many cast members a few good years on SNL are precisely that. So what are the hallmarks of ongoing career after the show? In some cases it's undeniable talent (a la Eddie Murphy and Bill Murray) or perhaps a good run in supportin roles (holler at Tim Meadows). However  the method with the most longevity may belong to those that create their own material (Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, and Kristen Whiig). As such, many SNL cast members attempt to make their films and shows before they leave. Case in point today's film starring and written by recent SNL departure Taran Killam.

Killam stars as Roger Fellner, an up and coming politician who wants to propose to his longtime girlfriend Gwen (Gillian Jacobs). Believing a get-together at Gwen's family cabin is the perfect opportunity to get her parents blessing and ask for her hand, Roger is prepared for a fun-filled week. That is until he meets his soon to be sister in law's long term boyfriend/manchild Todd, a manic camp counselor eager to bond.

Brother Nature is a movie I wanted to like more. I like the cast, I generally like the premise (even though it's basically Meet the Parents), and I'm all for making R-rated comedies with concepts beaten to death in PG-13 films. The problem is Brother Nature isn't funny or gutsy enough to deliver the goods.

The main problem is that despite carrying an R-rating the movie doesn't fully embrace it aside from a few choice moments or scenes. For a majority of the film it feels like we're watching a PG camp comedy and then out of nowhere someone will make a bawdy joke. But not a series of bawdy jokes. Just one really quick joke before the movie delivers some big physical comedy gag or scattalogical piece of humor. It's rather jarring for the audience and makes it incredibly difficult for the film to develop any momentum.

This would be more forgivable if the movie had killer jokes, but so much of this movie is stuff you've seen before from the plot, character beats, and all of the gags. I'm also not a fan of movies that make everything a single person's fault. Perhaps it's because I emphathized a bit with the lead, but most of the time these movies make me wonder why everyone is on one person's side, including the movie.

All of this is a shame because there is a great collection of talent on display here. Taran Killam has a face made for stuffy sarcasm, Gillian Jacobs is great as Killam's slightly miffed girlfriend, and the coupling of Rita Wilson and Bill Pullman is a treat. Still the best performances come from Bobby Moynihan as the titular Brother and Kumail Nanjiani as Killam's assistant. As generic and silly as his bits often are, Moynihan is fully committed to Todd's "kid who never grew up" and sincerity. It's less physically manic that someone like Chris Farley but it's still gets way more laughs than it should.

Nanjiani, who is a longtime cameo favorite of mine, is equally amusing as Killam's assistant who delivers line after line of masterful deadpan throughout the film. I'm sure they're in the pipeline but I really want a leading role in a film for him yesterday.

Still this stacked cast can't save a script that can't decide what kind of movie it wants to be, and as I mentioned earlier, there's not enough fall on the floor funny moments for a straight-forward comedy. Well-intentioned but lacking bite, Brother Nature shows signs of something bettter than never materializes. You can skip this one.