The Brothers McMullen (1995)

HAVING heard so much about this Film from our 2 Daughters (Jenn & Michelle Ryan), we never did make the trip to the Cineplex or to Classic Video Rental to actually see it for ourselves. Time went by and with the hum-drum of day to day work and survival; it went back onto the back-burners of memory; only to occasionally be put ever so briefly into the spotlight; via its being listed in the Weekly Movies on TV listings.FINALLY last evening, Fox Movie Channel had it on. It was Saturday, February 21st, In the Year of Our Lord 2009. Quite appropriately, this was Oscar Night Eve. We would not only have seen a great, low budget film; but also it provided an excellent way of contrasting a brilliant piece of Cinematic Art, as opposed to some of the out and out schlock that passes for a Movie nowadays.TODAY'S sacrificial lamb and Ryan Film Hall of Fame Inductee, THE BROTHERS McMULLEN (Brothers McMullen Productions/Marlboro Road Gang Productions/Videpgraphy Productions/Fox Searchlight Pictures, 1995) is a great example of a precursor of great things to come. Though the film has specificity of both setting and ethnicity of the principals; and yet, the story, the incidents and the final outcome of the story are all truly universally applicable to any and all segments of this or any other society.BEING a practicing Catholic of at least half Irish Descent (the other 50% being of the Teutonic Persuasion), we were able to truly identify with the characters, setting and situations in the movie. Our background was in Blue Collar (Proletariat to you Left Wingers), Parochial (Catholic) Schools and Democratic Political affiliations*. As a 14 year Irish High Schooler, old former Altar Boy,** it was a joyous day when JFK got the Democratic nod and nomination in 1960; with ever even more ecstatic days ahead when he and running mate, LBJ, won the election that November.ALL of the previous exposition was necessary to lay the groundwork for the proof; being that we understand everything here. So, we get it! Enough said already! EXPERTLY mixing all of the problems that we all face as we are growing deeper into adulthood and leaving the days adolescence far behind us, the Writer-Director-Co-Producer-Lead Actor, Edward Burns, manages to touch all of the bases in the slightly over 1 ½ Hours Running Time (98 minutes, to be exact). Adding fuel to the fire is the lack of any real family support; with the McMullen Clan being ever so dysfunctional. It is revealed that following the death of their abusive, alcoholic Father that their Mother split, going back to Ireland. It appears, as she confided to her Sons that there was someone she truly loved there. She had married Old Man McMullen because he had knocked her up! (Hell, where were these Colleens when I needed them!)SERIOUSLY though folks, Mr. Burns manages to blend all aspects of life with generous helpings of love, self-preservation, sex, acceptance and security being related in serious, humorous and even in pathetic moods. There seems to have been a natural instinct driving Mr. Edward Burns in his piecing together this jigsaw puzzle.AND to think, Mr. Burns reportedly brought it all together for a measly $17,000.00; which wouldn't pay a catering bill on a weeks worth of shooting on a major film. This BROTHERS McMULLEN project has proved his worth as Actor, Writer, Producer and Director.MOST importantly, this film proved young Burns' talents in possibly the most important area; that being 'the Bottom Line' A$ we all know, thi$ i$ probably the mo$t important a$pect of making the Movie$ a$ it concern$ all of the $uit$ back at the Big $tudio$ and Di$tributor$!NOTE: * In viewing things in a generalized manner, some have sized me up as: 1. Irish, 2. Catholic, 3. Democrat, with a 4. City Job (Chicago Cop for 35 years). Although I am: only half Irish (the other half of the pedigree being German), a Conservative and a card-carrying Republican. Ma & Pa, the Late Clement and Bertha Ryan, both loyal New Deal Democrats, are surely resting quite uneasily with what their Democratic Party has become and what these socialists are trying to do with our Republic.NOTE: ** Yeah, I was an Altar Boy, at St. Theodore Parish in Chicago, circa 1957-59. And just to set the record straight, honest, Fr. Chambers, I never drank any Altar Wine.POODLE SCHNITZ!!

Fifteen thousand pounds to many is a great deal of money, but in Hollywood it'd barely make a runner's salary. So really it's an unbelievable effort to produce a movie for this amount of money and win a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1995, as well as recognition for Ed Burns as an all-round director/actor/producer/writer extraordinaire. The end product being The Brothers McMullen; a project made literally in his own backyard, using his own friends and associates as his crew (such as his 'then' girlfriend who is his girlfriend in the film and his friend).The protagonist is Burns' character Barry, the middle brother, who is the wittiest, has the sharpest lines, and many would think the film is partly autobiographical because of this. Barry is a writer, jumps from woman to woman, makes wise guy remarks, and then he meets Audrey, played by Maxine Bahns, and is forced to get over his fear of commitment. How does he deal with it? Jack, the older brother, is a middle-aged teacher, who's quieter and loves his wife, but has to deal with the feelings of infidelity. How does he deal with it? Then there's Patrick, the younger religious sibling, a do-gooder who's soon to get married into a Jewish family, but he gets cold feet. Then hot feet. Then cold feet. He then gets his fiancé pregnant. Then he meets someone else. He then has to deal has to deal with the guilt. Or does he learn not to? Three very different brothers, the three Irish New Yorkers feed each other their advice and wisdom of love. It's not an original plot, but it works. Conversations flow from JFK, women, families, love, alcohol, their violent father, to family bonding, with a whole lot of swearing in between and Irish fiddle music in the background. Burns is something of a Plastic Paddy. Nevertheless, there's a lot of great word play, the plot isn't pretentious or trying to be too clever. It's heart-warming, without being soppy.Minus points: one can appreciate Burn is an all-rounder, but he should maybe step outside his own box and become a character in the movie – stop writing and starring as himself – it's a bit egotistical. The acting was a bit amateur, especially Maxine Bahns – though this can be forgiven for the fact they were at the time just that - amateurs. The editing was a bit disjointed in places. It doesn't flow as well as it could do. Then again, it only cost, as stated £15,000. It has to be expected.I appreciated it a lot. A debut movie, that cost £15,000, cannot get much better. If you like Irish-American culture, take pleasure of budget movies and enjoy witty rom-coms – try this.

I'm a big Edward Burns fan, since he's shown time and time again that it's possible to make an interesting film on a low budget that simply focuses on people and their relationships with one another. I always feel that the best movies are ones that I can most relate to. The reason why I don't even have a slight urge to see any of the "Lord of the Rings" films is because what is there to relate to in those stories? How am I supposed to connect with characters who are saving the world from monsters? However, I can relate to the characters and situations in Edward Burns's films. I feel like I'm part of their lives. And most importantly, they talk like REAL people! Burns has a knack for sharp, yet realistic dialogue. The movie was shot on an extremely, and I mean extremely, low budget. I learned a lot from Burns's DVD commentary and he gives a lot of confidence to aspiring student filmmakers like myself. Most of the locations are either in someone's house, in the park or on the sidewalks. There ya go! No permits, no shooting within private property--yet is it sacrificing the integrity of the film? Not one bit. The film stock itself isn't the best of quality, but that goes to show audiences that a movie doesn't have to be "visually spectacular" to be good. Good script and good actors--that's what you need.End of story! Burns could've shot the whole movie on an old video camera, and that wouldn't have made the finished product any less effective. Now, onto what didn't work about this film. Low-budget doesn't exactly translate to low quality, but there's usually at least a few sacrifices to be made. For example, some of the acting in "The Brothers McMullen" is wooden. What surprised me was that Jack Mulcahy is the only actor in the cast with previous experience, and he's the worst of the bunch! He delivers his lines with hardly any emotion and rarely changes his facial expression. Maxine Bahns, who basically was hired because she was Burns's girlfriend at the time, isn't a great actress and proves that she's not much more than a pretty face. Mike McGlone gives the best performance, as he seems the most natural and comfortable with his role. People tend to criticize Edward Burns as an actor, and he's no Robert DeNiro, but at the same time he's good at playing an extension of himself. Some actors, or performers I should say, are good at playing one type of role and there's nothing wrong with that. "The Brothers McMullen" is not a brilliant film, but it's very good for its budget and serves as a fine escape from all these corny special effects extravaganzas.

Circumstances bring together two brothers under one roof in Long Island with their oldest brother Jack. Jack is happily married but is falling into a reckless affair, Barry is scared to commit and is threatening to be a bachelor for life while Patrick is a devote catholic who is struggling with the idea that his Jewish girlfriend has mapped his whole life out for him. Can they work out the differences between men and women and get their lives in order.This was Burn's first feature and was made on a total shoestring budget. However the grainy film style is not a bad thing and the film is made to feel lively by the rough nature and witty dialogue of the characters. The story is not exactly rocket science (men and women are different) and the ‘happy' ending is a little pat, but overall it works well. The stories are littered with plenty of wit and humour and is amusing if not fantastic.The performances are quite rough and ready. Burns is not great in the lead - he feels like a sub-par Woody Allen as he makes his observations etc. Mulcahy is OK but not great while McGlone is probably the best of the bunch. Connie Britton (best known for Spin City) holds her own and is good. But lets not forget this was never a top-notch film with the best cast available. That said, Burns and the rest's proximity to the material make them appear quite natural.Overall it's not earth shattering - it's quite slow and is rarely laugh out loud funny. At times you get tired of hearing the cast complain about their relationships all the time, but for the most part it has enough charm and wit to keep the interest.