If Saturday Night Live didn't exist, this movie would have never been made. That won't mean anything to you now, but after you see The Skeleton Twins, let that sink in.
Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader star as estranged siblings who deal with the darkness of their past and present. Their relationship is vibrantly funny, somber, and emotionally engaging. Which is off for siblings who seem to hit it off so well after not speaking to each other for ten years. It might be hard to separate them from their SNL past, but they show you quickly that they are more than qualified to do the dramatic stuff.
We get glimpses of their backstory, and we're shown why these characters are so on edge. But with its scene execution, it teeters into the cinematic melodrama zone.
Despite telling a story with nuanced people with real problems, it's surprising that the film "checks out" of some of its intriguing storylines. And while the film doesn't need to tidy every subplot, the lesson of refusing to let the characters cop-out should have been applied in the plot process.
