John (Will Arnett) and Dean Solomon (Will Forte) aren’t exactly social Einsteins. Raised by their father Ed (Lee Majors) in the Arctic (with summer vacations in the Antarctic) these two may be trusted scientists where it comes to polar ice issues but when it comes to women their about as clueless as a blind rat trying to escape a catnip factory.

Will Arnett and Will Forte are clueless in Screen Gems' The Brothers Solomon

The brother’s ineptness with the female species is put to their test after their father’s failing health pushes him into a massive coma, his last words before succumbing to it having something to do with desperately wanting a grandchild. Now John and Dean have a mission, and with the help of beautiful surrogate mother Janine (Kristen Wiig) the duo is going to overcome their dysfunctions and bring another Solomon into the world; one can only hope the world is ready.

I have a feeling I’m about to come down far harder upon The Brothers Solomon then this slight comedy actually deserves. There is some honest to goodness sweetness to be found in Forte’s script, some of what he says actually having the ability to pull a heartstring or two. More, it’s moderately refreshing to see Blades of Glory, Hot Rod and RV rubber-face character comedian Arnett tone it down a little bit, some of his asides and facial expressions sort of amusing.

All that said, I did not like this movie. Granted, not in a wow-this-is-so-bad-maybe-Norbit-and-The Ten-weren’t-so-bad sort of way, instead in a dang-this-is-really-not-very-funny-and-I-think-I-might-be-falling-asleep type of scenario instead. The darn thing is boring, sometimes ponderously, and even with a clever touch here and there (what happens to Dean’s date is an audacious politically incorrect jaw-dropper) it isn’t near enough to make sitting through the whole thing remotely worthwhile.

In all fairness, the problem isn’t that Knocked Up just recently covered much of this very same material (and did it in a far more entertainingly heartfelt and hysterical fashion) so much that Forte’s script is nothing more than a sketch comedy concept stretched out to a ridiculous 90-minute length. The movie feels like it takes forever to get to its forgone conclusion of a climax, while finding a laugh amidst all the numerous dry spells is categorically nigh impossible. 

Really, though, what can you say about a film where the best performance in the entire thing is delivered by a former six-million-dollar man spending 99-percent of his screen time stuck in a coma? Not all that much, making The Brothers Solomon a truly labored comedy that should have been aborted before it even had a chance to begin. 

Film Rating:  ê1/2  (out of 4)

Additional Links:

-  The Brothers Solomon Theatrical Trailer