Stuck on You (2004, VHS)

Bob (Matt Damon) and Walt (Greg Kinnear) are conjoined twins from a small fishing town. They ve grown to adulthood joined at the waist, under the promise never to hold each other back. Bob has become a timid but sweet short order cook who s prone to panic attacks and Walt has become the smartly dressed ladies man and would-be thespian. Walt, tired of small town life, convinces his brother to move to Hollywood in hopes of him becoming a movie star, and reluctantly, Bob agrees to leave his burger joint behind and head for the big city (which also happens to be where his internet girlfriend lives.) But can two people live their entire lives stuck together?

The Farrelly brothers have a talent for creating fun and often sentimental comedies that root for the underdog or social outcast. And usually, they do a fairly good job. While their last effort, Shallow Hal leaned a little too far to the sentimental side and ended up giving up some of the laughs because of it, it remained a sweet and watchable movie nonetheless. Stuck on You suffers from the same thing, but does a better job doing it.
The performances here are what make this movie good. Damon and Kinnear throw themselves into the role as Siamese twins, creating distinct personalities for each of their characters, and are likeable and believable throughout every minute of it. It took me all of four gags to realize how much I loved to watch these guys. They have excellent chemistry.
Eva Mendes gives one of the film s best performances, as the ditzy aspiring actress who lives in the same Hollywood apartment complex as the twins. She s obviously having a lot of fun here, and it shows through. Wen Yann Shih is a little too sweet to be believeable, but it s easy to overlook that, since she s just so damn cute, and Cher is great here playing herself in a role that is making fun of her career.

The film is worth watching simply because of its originality. I mean, when was the last time you saw a movie about two grown men who were living their lives stuck together. It s an interesting concept, and the Brothers Fare execute it well. Consider how oddly interesting it would be to go see a one-man play in which the actor has someone hanging on his back the whole time, or to be on a double date where the guys were never separate, or to have to make love with a sheet between you and your brother. Not only does the Siamese twins idea make for some good comedic moments, but it also is simply an interesting thing to watch. Though, at 118 minutes, the film does seem to overstay its welcome.

There s a healthy dose here of brotherly love, sibling rivalry, and heart-tugging sentimentality. The only problem is, there aren t all that many laughs. The film is fun, and entertaining, but there are too few moments that are just laugh-out-loud funny. This year has already had a few really good comedies (Finding Nemo, Bruce Almighty, The Rundown) and measured against them, this one just doesn t stand up. It s also fairly tame by Farrelly standards (which can be a good or band thing depending on who you talk to.) That s not to say it s a bad movie. It isn t. It entertains, and that s really all it needs to do. The movie might not be really funny, but it s cute. And that counts for something these days.




The has been an entry into the Lean N' Mean writeoff.