Summary:Every family has one: the sibling who is always just a little bit behind the curve when it comes to getting his life together. For sisters Liz, Miranda and Natalie, that person is their perennially upbeat brother Ned, an erstwhile organic farmer whose willingness to rely on the honesty of mankind is a less-than-optimum strategy for a tidy,Every family has one: the sibling who is always just a little bit behind the curve when it comes to getting his life together. For sisters Liz, Miranda and Natalie, that person is their perennially upbeat brother Ned, an erstwhile organic farmer whose willingness to rely on the honesty of mankind is a less-than-optimum strategy for a tidy, trouble-free existence. Ned may be utterly lacking in common sense, but he is their brother and so, after his girlfriend dumps him and boots him off the farm, his sisters once again come to his rescue. As Liz, Miranda and Natalie each take a turn at housing Ned, their brother's unfailing commitment to honesty creates more than a few messes in their comfortable routines. But as each of their lives begins to unravel, Ned’s family comes to realize that maybe, in believing and trusting the people around him; Ned isn’t such an idiot after all. (The Weinstein Company)…Expand
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Elizabeth and her sisters think that Ned is an idiot. Only their half-employed hippie brother, a biodynamic farmer, would sell marijuana to a policeman. Worse yet, this bust was no undercover sting in which a plain clothes cop posed as some chronic in order to entrap the unsuspecting seller. Uniformed and on-duty, Ned could plainly see it was a cop, and yet he still made the unwise transaction, in broad daylight, no less, with a little rhubarb on the side for appearance's sake. The Rochlin girls don't suffer fools gladly, so the moviegoer can imagine Ned's sisters regaling themselves with the same story, while their brother grew a Jesus beard during his eight-month sentence in prison. But you had to be there, and you have to know the son of God, whose job it was to heal the sick, so Ned, Jesus incarnate, seeing that the law officer needed Mary Jane for his weary soul, offered the man her services, then pays the price. Ned is a christ figure. While crashing with Liz, in his capacity as the cool uncle, he introduces Inspector Clouseau, the idiot detective, to her sheltered boy River by showing him "The Pink Panther". The Peter Sellers film establishes a subtext, but it's not the bumbling Frenchman's genetic code that courses through Ned's blood, since slapstick, with the exception of the familial freeloader slamming the door on his nephew's fingers, is not the comedy tradition at work here; it's satire, of the deadpan variety, as Paul Rudd channels the mentally retarded gardener from "Being There", where at the end of the 1979 classic, Chauncey Gardiner walks on water, like Jesus. This miracle explains why the man who raised Chauncey never allowed him to leave the premises. Maybe the government would lock his boy up; a government that would resist ceding their power back to the church, transforming the country back into a theocracy. In the seventies, there was still such a thing as separation from church and state. Apparently, Ashby saw the future. "I like to watch," Chauncey says, who spends his whole life in front of a T.V., just as earth must be one big program to god, a couch potato himself, in the sense that all he does is observe the human struggle with the same indifference as the idiot gardener. Whereas "Network" anticipated FOX news, "Being There", anticipated the rise of the evangelical president. The two films complete each other. In the final scene, after taking leave from his rich friend's funeral, Chauncey wanders through the woods, faintly recalling former President George W. Bush on his ranch. Back at the service, the gardener's name is bandied about among the pallbearers as a potential presidential candidate; pallbearers who seem to hold the real power. The aging men need Chauncey because they lack his charisma and don't look good on television. Ben, a conservative ideologue, perhaps, knew all along that Chauncey was an idiot, and knew he would make the perfect chief executive puppet for his people to pull the strings on, and be at their beck and call. Maybe Ned had the makings of a president, but like Harold(Sellers, again), in "I Love You Alice B. Toklas", some hippie chick(maybe it was that dognapper Janet) baked him some pot brownies and transformed him into a bohemian. Like Chauncey, whose ruminations on the garden turns the general public into idiots, misconstruing his every prosaic utterance as minimalist wisdom, Ned also has the talent of making imbeciles out of folks by simply being there. While all the Wall Street devils who were selling false dreams to a duped nation got off scot free, a cop sends an immaculate agriculturist to prison. Jesus Christ, indeed. Later, as a favor to his wife, the documentary filmmaker husband lets Ned assist him, and on one of Dylan's shoots, a ballet academy, he catches both the director and dancer in various states of undress. When he recounts the incident to Miranda, the middle sister can't beleive how her brother fell for the adulterer's story about his nakedness being part of an artistic process. But as a christ figure, Ned wouldn't consider nudity a sin. Genesis teaches us that Eve wasn't conscious of her exposed body until she took a bite from the serpent's apple, so Tatiana, with her ballerina's reputation for eating very little, would explain why Ned saw nothing wrong with the set-up. Metaphorically, the apple went untouched. Ned knows his commandments though, punishing Natalie for breaking number 7("You shall not commit adultery") when she cheats on Cindy, and then punishing Miranda for breaking number 9("You shall not steal"), after the Vanity Fair writer takes the words from a socialite to use in her article, which were only meant for Ned's ears. The idiot brother also creates miracles; he doesn't walk on water, but how can you explain a dog named Willie Nelson meeting another dog name Dolly Parton? That's more than mere happenstance; that's a divine act.…Expand
To be honest when I first saw the trailer for this movie I was on the fence, I wanted to see it but I didn't expect much. I was pleasantly surprised when I walked out of the theater and couldn't stop talking about how much I enjoyed it. This movie is the quintessential feel good movie, and aTo be honest when I first saw the trailer for this movie I was on the fence, I wanted to see it but I didn't expect much. I was pleasantly surprised when I walked out of the theater and couldn't stop talking about how much I enjoyed it. This movie is the quintessential feel good movie, and a great watch for anyone who likes quirky, charming movies.…Expand
See-it - Paul Rudd is the nicest moron on the planet, and quite possibly the funniest. Don't miss the second best comedy of the summer (Bridesmaids is #1) about that one sibling that everyone can relate to (only took my sister an hour to further investigate this statement).
Honestly, this movie was not what I expected but that was not a bad thing. A little less comedy than the trailers display, but the overall goodness of Ned's character makes the audience (as well as other characters) feel the need to be better. I must say the movie was also very well castHonestly, this movie was not what I expected but that was not a bad thing. A little less comedy than the trailers display, but the overall goodness of Ned's character makes the audience (as well as other characters) feel the need to be better. I must say the movie was also very well cast from Ned down to Janet's new boyfriend. Not a great movie, but definitely worth checking out.…Expand
Ok so I legit thought it was an Apatow film just because of Rudd and the poster and the brief plot I just love when they're together but this was not that and I wasn't too disappointed the movie is not complex it has its light drama its own little humor with Rudd leading this boat and WillieOk so I legit thought it was an Apatow film just because of Rudd and the poster and the brief plot I just love when they're together but this was not that and I wasn't too disappointed the movie is not complex it has its light drama its own little humor with Rudd leading this boat and Willie Nelson the lovable golden retriever with other great actors that weren't too much in their own thing they were just like cogs I swear lot of stories left inconclusive only letting Rudd being the idiot brother have the only conclusion that was I suppose satisfying I feel that at the end the writers just bowed out from the film leaving me like... that's it? The movie had some legit themes that a lot of people can relate too but they just leave those themes their with their characters and that kinda sucks I saw more potential for this movie so if you want background noise or a nice popcorn sitting well there's this movie.…Expand
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Too American for me/the only 3 people in the film who were not attractive. The mother, the policeman at the market at start and the policeman who closed the jail cell 2wards the end. In a family there are all sizes and looks, not in this one-typically American. Could have done more to make it FUNNY because it wasn't. I agree with BobbyG it is the one critics love to love but the everyday person doesn't really.…Expand
This movie just promised a lot, and not even the wonderful cast could save it. The story was weak: Ned, the main character does not change, evolve or learn anything of value. Paul Rudd plays it cool but he is no Duderino. He is presented as this hipster messiah come to save us from our vainThis movie just promised a lot, and not even the wonderful cast could save it. The story was weak: Ned, the main character does not change, evolve or learn anything of value. Paul Rudd plays it cool but he is no Duderino. He is presented as this hipster messiah come to save us from our vain lives and teach us humility by doing... nothing. The sad truth is that hippies are as prompt to be shallow, egotistical liers as anyone else from this planet. Being lazy and aimless does not make you an honest, kind or caring person. The joke is lost because the film never manages to laugh at itself and is not nearly as illuminating as it pretends to be.…Expand