Peter Dinklage and Josh Brolin are unlikely twins

In “Brothers,” Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage play adult twins who have been partners in crime since their jewelry-stealing mother abandoned them as children.

You hear the pitch for director Max Barbakow's follow-up to his 2020 Sundance phenomenon “Palm Springs” and brace for the possibility that the two actors' incongruous performances will be the source of the laughs. Screenwriters Macon Blair (“The Toxic Avenger”) and Etan Cohen (“Tropic Thunder”) suggest as much, while Hollywood has a long history of producing “high-concept” comedies like “Stuck on You” and “Twins.” , can look back. ” for those old enough to remember the '80s flick, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito as long-separated (and far from identical) siblings.

It's a relief to realize that the difference in stature between Moke (Brolin) and Jady (Dinklage) isn't at all the difference that “Brothers” wants to focus on. Rather, it's their gentle or wild personalities and their conflicting life goals that keep these siblings fighting well into their 50s. After decades of assisting Jady in petty crime, Moke has decided to get his life in order, take a humiliating job and prepare to welcome a little “Blueberry” into the world with his wife Abby (Taylour Paige). The moment Jady is released from prison, the mustachioed troublemaker shows up with a plan to mislead Moke.

Now that he's free, Jady has no intention of coming clean. In fact, his early release hinges on a bad deal with a shady prison guard (Brendan Fraser), who hopes Jady will recover a stash of Rockefeller-caliber emeralds his mother stole many years ago. The timeline in “Brothers” is a little skewed, suggesting that the screenwriters didn't know who would play the titular couple, and once Brolin and Dinklage were hired, they had no desire to adjust the script (except for a gag, at where a security guard makes a mistake). a Jady wearing a hoodie for a “child” from behind).

Since being abandoned by their mother all those years ago, the brothers have been fiercely protective of each other – so much so that the “big” brother risks his marriage to help Jady with one final issue. Without fully realizing his destination, Moke lies to Abby about the reason for their two-day road trip and sets off for what we can only hope is more fun than the boring Thanksgiving meal that awaits him with the in-laws. Aside from one of the twins being sexually abused by an orangutan, it all feels pretty normal.

With “Palm Springs,” Barbakow shared the story for a truly clever script that found new wisdom (and refreshing irreverence) in the over-the-top formula of “Groundhog Day.” “Brothers” is also similar to countless films that have come before it – in this case, silly rural crime capers, from “Raizing Arizona” to “Logan Lucky,” but also/especially the mid-2000s sitcom “My Name Is Earl.” years – but lacks the original spin or improvised leads that might have set it apart.

If Jady's goal is to retrieve the emeralds his mother stole, he should probably try to recruit her her Help, not his brother's. In fact, Cath reappears, first seen in the prologue by Jennifer Landon and later played by a delicious foil Glenn Close, whose red-headed Southern chutzpah is reminiscent of Reba McEntire with a thieving streak. In any case, it's a complete reversal of her Reversal of Fortune character and just one of the film's surprising supporting characters.

The wide-eyed officer Farful is the kind of role you might imagine Fraser playing if he hadn't just won an Oscar. There's also a corrupt local judge (and Farful's father), played by M. Emmet Walsh, in a possibly shotgun-wielding iteration of his character from “The Jerk,” and a strange cameo from Marisa Tomei as a gold-toothed, aura- reading weirdo. Apparently her character has started some kind of pseudo-spiritual correspondence with Jady in prison, which the two now want to complete… while their pet orangutan hangs out with Moke in the next room.

While the entire ensemble gives the impression that it is fully focused on roles far below its expectations, it is not at all clear what purpose there was in portraying the characters Moke and Jady as twins. Two weeks ago, another Prime original — a tepid thriller called “Killer Heat” — featured identical twins who use their matching looks to swap places. This may be the oldest trick in the book, but it makes more sense than “Brothers,” which doesn’t do anything particularly unique with the premise.

“Brothers” opens in limited release on October 10th and will then be released worldwide on Prime Video on October 17th.