Cyrus (2010)

Cyrus (2010)

Bottomline: Delightfully quirky, uncomfortably funny film.

Where Can I See This Movie? It's in theaters, but you better hurry.

QMR Opinion: This film is showing on exactly one screen in all of Birmingham, Alabama, and its surrounding area (thank you Rave at Vestavia Hills). Such is the fate of smaller, independent films that are not shown in 3-D. This movie is directed by the Duplass Brothers (Jay and Mark), who have made the Indie mark by bringing to the screen movies such as The Puffy Chair (2005) and Baghead (2008), neither of which I have seen but will soon be in my Netflix queue. This movie stars John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, Catherine Keener, and Jonah Hill. Reilly plays John who is having a difficult time getting past the fact that his ex-wife (Keener) is getting re-married. John meets Molly (Tomei) and they hit it off immediately. Only problem? Molly lives with and has an uncomfortably relationship with her 21-year-old son, Cyrus (Hill). I found this movie delightfully quirky and quite funny. There are moments that fall flat but it recovers nicely. Interestingly, while the movie was scripted, the Duplass Brothers are proponents of improvisation and essentially asked the actors to forget the script and just be natural. Reilly, Tomei and Keener are quite good at this while Hill struggles from time to time. If the movie is still playing in the theater when you read this, go check it out. If not, it is definitely worth the rental. If you're interested in listening to what John C. Reilly has to say about working with the Duplass Brothers, this movie and improvisation, go to iTunes, search Bob Edwards Weekend and download for free the 6.18.10 podcast.