The Brothers McMullen is a 1995 American comedy-drama film written, directed, produced by, and starring Edward Burns. It deals with the lives of the three Irish Catholic McMullen brothers from Long Island, New York, over three months, as they grapple with basic ideas and values—love, sex, marriage, religion and family—in the 1990s, this is the first Fox Searchlight film.
The film begins with Finbar "Barry" McMullen standing at the grave of his recently deceased father, along with his mother, who tells him that she's returning to her native Ireland to be with Finbar O'Shaughnessy (after whom Barry is named), her sweetheart of long ago. She tells Barry that while she gave Barry's father 35 of the best years of her life, she's going to start living life her way with Finbar O'Shaughnessy, the man she really loves.
Jack has purchased their parents' home and lives in it with his wife Molly. Jack is torn between his love for Molly and his lust for Ann, a former romantic interest of Barry.
Barry and the youngest brother Patrick ask to temporarily move in with Jack, to which he reluctantly agrees. Patrick plans to break his engagement to Susan, but becomes depressed when she breaks up with him. After much pleading, Susan decides to take him back. Patrick then decides to end the relationship for good for Leslie, an auto mechanic. They head to California together in a classic car that Leslie has been working on.
Barry shows no interest in a long-term relationship until he meets Audrey, a woman whom he accuses of "stealing" an apartment that he was trying to rent for himself. Although things do not go well between them at first, they warm to one another and start a relationship.
Molly learns of Jack's affair after finding a wrapped condom in his pants as she is cleaning up after him one day. She confronts Jack, but he refuses to discuss it.
Jack finally breaks it off for good with Ann. He then returns home determined to rebuild his wounded marriage, but not before paying a visit to his father's grave, promising (in a voice-over) that he will be a better husband to his wife than his father was, pouring a bottle of Irish whiskey over the grave.
Barry decides to move in with Audrey and take their relationship to the next level. The movie ends with all three brothers gathering at the family homestead with a newfound belief in love and a desire not to let the ghosts of the past stand in their way.
Edward Burns wrote the screenplay in the spring of 1993 while working as a production assistant for Entertainment Tonight, where he worked for cameraman Dick Fisher, who later produced and edited the film. Burns' own Irish Catholic background fed into the screenplay, and film was mostly shot in Burns' real-life family home, a house in the Valley Stream community of Long Island, New York.[2] Shooting took place on weekends over an eight-month period in New York.
The film, which was shot on 16mm film, originally cost only $28,000, essentially the cost of raw stock and processing. Burns saved money by placing an advertisement in Backstage magazine looking for Irish-American actors willing to work for free.[3]
When Robert Redford was at the Entertainment Tonight studios for an interview, Burns approached him at the elevator and gave him a copy of the film, asking Redford to watch it. Redford later extended an invitation to show it at the Sundance Film Festival.[3] The showing led to a distribution deal, which included an additional $200,000 for post production work and to get the rights for the Sarah McLachlan song "I Will Remember You", which was added over the closing credits.
Reception
The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. It was picked up for distribution by 20th Century Fox and grossed over $10 million at the US and Canadian box office. It grossed $19.3 million worldwide[1] and, based on a cost-to-return ratio, it was the most profitable film of the year.[4] According to Tom Rothman, it was also the first film ever released by Fox Searchlight Pictures, which Tom Rothman started for 20th Century Fox, in order to release Independent, Dramedy, Foreign and Arthouse films, despite being in Hollywood. Edward Burns was called "The New Woody Allen" and even continued to make Woody Allen-esque films afterwards.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 87% rating based on 38 critics with the consensus: "Like many twenty-somethings, The Brothers McMullen can be a tad self-absorbed, but they're still likely to win you over with their (slightly profane) charm."[5]
^ ab"Selected Sundance alumni domestic vs international". Screen International. 17 February 1997. p. 18.
^Lipson, Karin (1995-08-13). "Little 'Brothers' in Big Time : Ed Burns' low-budget film made in his parents' home is opening with the sort of buzz that a young filmmaker dreams of". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
^ abMeek, Andy (2015-02-06). "Ed Burns on The Brothers McMullen, finding your voice, and the meat grinder of independent filmmaking". The Week. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
^Klady, Leonard (January 22, 1996). "Big clicks from little flicks". Variety. p. 1.
^"The Brothers McMullen". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to The Brothers McMullen.
brothers, mcmullen, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, october. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Brothers McMullen news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Brothers McMullen is a 1995 American comedy drama film written directed produced by and starring Edward Burns It deals with the lives of the three Irish Catholic McMullen brothers from Long Island New York over three months as they grapple with basic ideas and values love sex marriage religion and family in the 1990s this is the first Fox Searchlight film The Brothers McMullenTheatrical release posterDirected byEdward BurnsWritten byEdward BurnsProduced byEdward BurnsDick FisherStarringJack Mulcahy Mike McGlone Edward Burns Connie Britton Maxine Bahns Elizabeth P McKay Shari Albert Jennifer JostynCinematographyDick FisherEdited byDick FisherMusic bySeamus EganProductioncompaniesFox Searchlight PicturesBrothers McMullen ProductionsMarlboro Road Gang ProductionsVideography ProductionsDistributed by20th Century FoxRelease datesJanuary 1995 1995 01 Sundance Film Festival August 11 1995 1995 08 11 United States Running time98 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget 28 000Box office 19 3 million 1 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 5 Awards 6 References 7 External linksPlot EditThe film begins with Finbar Barry McMullen standing at the grave of his recently deceased father along with his mother who tells him that she s returning to her native Ireland to be with Finbar O Shaughnessy after whom Barry is named her sweetheart of long ago She tells Barry that while she gave Barry s father 35 of the best years of her life she s going to start living life her way with Finbar O Shaughnessy the man she really loves Jack has purchased their parents home and lives in it with his wife Molly Jack is torn between his love for Molly and his lust for Ann a former romantic interest of Barry Barry and the youngest brother Patrick ask to temporarily move in with Jack to which he reluctantly agrees Patrick plans to break his engagement to Susan but becomes depressed when she breaks up with him After much pleading Susan decides to take him back Patrick then decides to end the relationship for good for Leslie an auto mechanic They head to California together in a classic car that Leslie has been working on Barry shows no interest in a long term relationship until he meets Audrey a woman whom he accuses of stealing an apartment that he was trying to rent for himself Although things do not go well between them at first they warm to one another and start a relationship Molly learns of Jack s affair after finding a wrapped condom in his pants as she is cleaning up after him one day She confronts Jack but he refuses to discuss it Jack finally breaks it off for good with Ann He then returns home determined to rebuild his wounded marriage but not before paying a visit to his father s grave promising in a voice over that he will be a better husband to his wife than his father was pouring a bottle of Irish whiskey over the grave Barry decides to move in with Audrey and take their relationship to the next level The movie ends with all three brothers gathering at the family homestead with a newfound belief in love and a desire not to let the ghosts of the past stand in their way Cast EditShari Albert as Susan Maxine Bahns as Audrey Catherine Bolz as Mrs McMullen Connie Britton as Molly McMullen Edward Burns as Barry Finbar McMullen Peter Johansen as Marty Jennifer Jostyn as Leslie Michael McGlone as Patrick McMullen Elizabeth McKay as Ann Jack Mulcahy as Jack McMullenProduction EditEdward Burns wrote the screenplay in the spring of 1993 while working as a production assistant for Entertainment Tonight where he worked for cameraman Dick Fisher who later produced and edited the film Burns own Irish Catholic background fed into the screenplay and film was mostly shot in Burns real life family home a house in the Valley Stream community of Long Island New York 2 Shooting took place on weekends over an eight month period in New York The film which was shot on 16mm film originally cost only 28 000 essentially the cost of raw stock and processing Burns saved money by placing an advertisement in Backstage magazine looking for Irish American actors willing to work for free 3 When Robert Redford was at the Entertainment Tonight studios for an interview Burns approached him at the elevator and gave him a copy of the film asking Redford to watch it Redford later extended an invitation to show it at the Sundance Film Festival 3 The showing led to a distribution deal which included an additional 200 000 for post production work and to get the rights for the Sarah McLachlan song I Will Remember You which was added over the closing credits Reception EditThe film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival It was picked up for distribution by 20th Century Fox and grossed over 10 million at the US and Canadian box office It grossed 19 3 million worldwide 1 and based on a cost to return ratio it was the most profitable film of the year 4 According to Tom Rothman it was also the first film ever released by Fox Searchlight Pictures which Tom Rothman started for 20th Century Fox in order to release Independent Dramedy Foreign and Arthouse films despite being in Hollywood Edward Burns was called The New Woody Allen and even continued to make Woody Allen esque films afterwards On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 87 rating based on 38 critics with the consensus Like many twenty somethings The Brothers McMullen can be a tad self absorbed but they re still likely to win you over with their slightly profane charm 5 Awards EditSundance Film Festival 1995 Grand Jury Prize Independent Spirit Award 1995 Best First Feature Deauville Film Festival 1995 Jury Special Prize Edward Burns References Edit a b Selected Sundance alumni domestic vs international Screen International 17 February 1997 p 18 Lipson Karin 1995 08 13 Little Brothers in Big Time Ed Burns low budget film made in his parents home is opening with the sort of buzz that a young filmmaker dreams of Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2016 09 20 a b Meek Andy 2015 02 06 Ed Burns on The Brothers McMullen finding your voice and the meat grinder of independent filmmaking The Week Retrieved 2016 09 20 Klady Leonard January 22 1996 Big clicks from little flicks Variety p 1 The Brothers McMullen Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved 25 April 2022 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to The Brothers McMullen The Brothers McMullen at IMDb The Brothers McMullen at the TCM Movie Database The Brothers McMullen at AllMovie The Brothers McMullen at Box Office Mojo The Brothers McMullen at Rotten Tomatoes The Brothers McMullen at Metacritic Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Brothers McMullen amp oldid 1128038300, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
