The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best (Ryan O’Nan, 2011): USA

Reviewed by Matilda Frid. Viewed at Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Ryan O’Nan both directed and starred in this drama comedy about a group of two men and one woman who are trying to succeed in music. You might recognize the classic story of a roadtrip that is turning into an emotional journey filled with lessons about pursuing what you love. This movie succeeds in doing that without feeling too old and cliché.

Alex is in the middle of a life crisis. He just had his heart broken by the love of his life and has to work in a place he hates to pay the bills. The only moment of happiness in his life is when he is playing music. When we first meet Alex, he just got kicked out of a band. When he the next morning gets fired from his job and loses his income it seems as if life can’t get any worse. Then he gets punched in the face by an unknown man called Jim, who is desperately trying to make him part of his band since the rest of the band members just left him. Just a few hours later, Alex agrees to the crazy idea of going on tour with a man he just met. With Jim’s grandfather’s tiny car and a ton of children’s instruments they head out on a roadtrip that is going to change everything.

The characters complements each other in a fantastic way. Alex is moody and pessimistic, or realistic as he might describe himself. Jim on the other hand is filled with optimism and never loses hope, no matter how hopeless the situation might seem at first. The actors all did a good job. Ryan O’Nan played the emotional Alex perfectly. When he was holding on to his ex-girlfriends note I really felt for him. Arielle Kebbel was great as the small town girl Cassidy who is desperate to get away from het home town. But the comical genius of this movie was Michael Weston as Jim, the guy that makes the most out of the little he has. He was the funniest, most well-written character I’ve seen in a while.

This movie had such a sweet story that turned it into something inspiring. You can’t help but immediately love it. I was laughing or crying through the entire movie. Some of the scenes were hysterically funny. And as you can expect from a feelgood drama comedy, it has a love story. Not just the traditional one between two people, but also between a man and his music. There’s nothing new about this movie. If you are looking for something original with surprising twists or heavy issues you should keep looking. This is simply a funny and charming movie that makes you smile for about one hour and a half.