Dir.
Bobby and Peter Farrelly, 2003, USA , 114 mins
Cast:
Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Cher , Meryl Streep, Eva Mendes, Wen Yann Shih
You almost get the impression that the Farrelly Brothers harbour a deep desire to break out of the gross-out formula they've boxed themselves into. On the surface Stuck On You might appear to be one extended offensive gag about conjoined twins (right down to that title), but underneath lies a sweet - and occasionally saccharine - look at brotherly love. Unfortunately, it comes at the expense of any real jokes.
Bob (Matt Damon) and Walt (Greg Kinnear) are proprietors of a busy restaurant in Martha's Vinyard, the fact that they're joined at the hip proving to be a vital asset in the art of burger flipping. One day Walt's acting ambitions take the twins (the apparent age difference between the two being "explained" away with Bob being graced with the sole liver) to the bright lights of Hollywood in search of fame and fortune. Naturally, it isn't long before they run into Cher, and Walt is cast opposite her in a new TV show - a fact hindered only by Bob's aversion to acting and propensity for panic attacks.
Much of the movie unwisely sidelines its initial premise, choosing instead to develop into a half-hearted movie industry satire. It's always difficult for a Hollywood movie to send up its own game without developing into a back-slapping exercise, and Stuck On You certainly falls victim this. Cher might start off being an uptight prima donna, but she turns out to be an essentially decent human being in the end. The Player this ain't.
Then again nobody expected Stuck On You to be smart. What they might have expected were a range of gross-out gags and hysterical one-liners, and in this Stuck On You mysteriously fails. The storytelling may be messy, but most of the time the movie remains resoundedly clean. Of course, many would hardly view the absence of yet more elaborate toilet set-pieces as such a bad thing, but the film doesn't have anything to offer in their place except a meandering plotline and the occasional obvious punchline. The Farrellys have admittedly always had a neat line in the throwaway bizarre image, and Stuck On You has its fair share from Seymour Cassel's shady agent (with elaborate hair parting and high-powered scooter) to the eyebrow-raising sight of Cher in bed with Malcolm In the Middle's Frankie Muniz. What it lacks however are the big hilarious scenes that marked the likes of Dumb and Dumber and There's Something About Mary. Stuck On You even chooses to end in a reasonably straight song and dance number; sure, it's nicely choreographed, but Roger and Hammerstein are usually a safer bet for musicals than the Farrelly Brothers.
Despite everything Stuck On You remains likeable viewing. All of their movies manage to convey a spirit of genuine friendship and, in examining the close ties of brotherhood, Stuck On You is no exception, the theme obviously something the Farrellys know something about. Much of this is down to great playing by Damon and Kinnear, oddly convincing in portraying the conflicting range of emotions their predicament places them in. As the potentially token love interests Eva Mendes and Wen Yann Shih are also very appealing, even if the parts are somewhat underwritten.
Likeable isn't enough though. Either the Farrellys are going to have to channel their obvious talents for characters into something more interesting, or their high-concept gross-out comedies are going to have to be funnier than this. For there's little denying that Stuck On You is their weakest film to date.
Matthew McAllister
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