THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 21, 1995 TAG: 9509210048
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
``THE BROTHERS McMullen'' have women trouble.
Combine that trouble with equal doses of Catholic guilt and it's a lethal and occasionally hilarious mixture
This is a rare little gem - a low-budget, independently produced film in which the dialogue sounds like real people talking. As written and directed by Edward Burns (who also plays the middle brother, Barry), it conveys both the togetherness and disagreements of three Irish-Catholic brothers looking for love in and around New York City.
It is the perfect dating movie for the mature crowd. This is a guy movie, but women need to see it to get an inkling of how men think.
Jack, the eldest, is a happily married high school basketball coach. His wife is personable, loving and sexually compatible. She teaches school, but she'd like to start a family. He's hesitant. He's never cheated on her, but now a woman has set her sights on him. It's tempting even though he knows it would be a sin. Ultimately, he uses the old line: ``Men are made differently from women. Are we really meant to be with just one woman for the rest of our lives?''
His younger brother, Patrick, is always available to tell him about sins. Patrick is a gung-ho Catholic who still has guilt about not being married and not being a virgin. Patrick is on the verge of getting engaged to a Jewish girl, but he can't quite make the commitment.
Barry is the rounder of the three. He doesn't want to commit to so much as a second date. Barry, by his own admission, has never been in love, although he says he does love his brothers and loved his mother. He isn't about to hear a hint of marriage until . . . There is the tale of a bachelor's downfall here.
Their no-good father has just died and the mother has gone back to Ireland to be with the man she loved all her life. The brothers don't mourn the father's death, but they do ponder what love and marriage might be all about.
If you're a Catholic, you shouldn't miss this one. If you're not, it is still a humorous study on how dogmatic religion is interpreted by some young people in a fast-changing modern world.
The photography is as grainy as the budget was low. This independent little film, which got a surprise booking into the Lynnhaven 8 Theater, won the major award at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
The cheapo production values don't hide its rare ability to capture human nature. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
MOVIE REVIEW
``The Brothers McMullen''
Cast: Jack Mulcahey, Edward Burns, Michael McGlone, Connie
Britton, Maxine Rahns
Director and Writer: Edward Burns
Music: Seamus Egan
MPAA rating: R (some language, sexual situations)
Mal's rating: 3 stars
Locations: Lynnhaven 8 in Virginia Beach
by CNB