First Look: Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones, Elizabeth Banks & Emily Mortimer In ‘My Idiot Brother’

9 New Photos From The Paul Rudd Comedy Premiering At Sundance


With the film set to premiere later this month at Sundance, Jesse Peretz‘s star-driven comedy “My Idiot Brother” has launched an official website featuring the first look at the band of actresses playing the sisters of Paul Rudd‘s protagonist including Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer as well as Rashida Jones who plays Deschanel’s character’s lesbian lover.

The story centers on Rudd’s “idealist dealing with his overbearing mother, who crashes into the homes of his three ambitious sisters and, in succession, brings truth, happiness and a sunny disposition into their lives while also wreaking havoc.” Banks will play a career-driven single about to get her big break in journalism; Mortimer a Park Slope mom too worried about having the perfect life and children to notice that her marriage is falling apart; while Deschanel will play a bisexual whose flakiness and lies are getting in the way of moving forward with her caring, responsible girlfriend, played by Jones.


On top the stellar central cast, there’s also support from Adam Scott who plays Rudd’s neighbour, Steve Coogan as a self-righteous documentarian and the likes of Hugh Dancy, Kathryn Hahn, Shirley Knight and Janet Montgomery in various roles. The film is already proving to be one of the most buzzed about films at Park City if the website’s Audience buzz section is anything to go by. Here’s the full synopsis courtesy of the website:

Despite looking for the good in every situation and the best in every person, Ned always seems to find himself holding the short end of the stick—being conned into selling pot to a uniformed cop, being dumped by his girlfriend, and worse yet, losing custody of his beloved dog, Willie Nelson. When he turns to family, he is passed from sister to sister while he gets back on his feet. Ned’s best intentions produce hilariously disastrous results, bringing the family to the cusp of chaos and ultimately the brink of clarity.

Director Jesse Peretz has a keen eye for idiosyncratic human foibles, especially those that make you laugh. My Idiot Brother rolls along with fine-tuned precision by enlisting the talents of Paul Rudd and a talented cast, who can make uncomfortable moments delightful by infusing characters with the perfect balance of humor and pathos. My Idiot Brother reminds us of something we know already: there is no such thing as a normal family.

Peretz made a name for himself as the helmer of the Foo Fighter‘s music video for “Learn To Fly,” which featured Tenacious D and went to win the Grammy for Video Of The Year, and was also a founding member of the band, The Lemonheads. Since then he has directed an adaptation of an Ian McEwan short story “First Love, Last Rites” and the forgettable Jason Bateman-Zach Braff-Amanda Peet starrer “The Ex.”

Lensing on his return to the silver screen took place just last summer in New York with the film’s script coming by way of David Schisgall and Vanity Fair writer Evgenia Peretz, Jesse’s sister. Anthony Bregman, Peter Saraf and Marc Turtletaub are producing.






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