Movie Review - Your Sister's Sister

Your Sister's Sister (2012)

Starring Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt, and Mark Duplass

Directed by Lynn Shelton

Essentially a three-character comedy -- one that could easily have been a stage play prior to this cinematic incarnation -- Your Sister's Sister tells the tale of Jack (Mark Duplass) whose brother died a year prior.  While Jack tries to make it seem as if he's come to terms with the death, he still finds himself emotionally struggling with the heavy ordeal and after he overreacts at a party commemorating his brother, Jack's best friend and his brother's former girlfriend Iris (Emily Blunt) invites him to stay at her father's isolated cabin in the woods.  Jack agrees to some alone time, but when he arrives at the cabin, Iris's sister Hannah (Rosemarie Dewitt) happens to be there seeking some alone time for herself.  The two chat it up over tequila and, despite Hannah's lesbian tendencies, the two sleep together.  The next morning when Iris surprisingly shows up, Jack and Hannah try and hide their romp in the sack, but the three find themselves piling lie on top of lie.

Buoyed by three nice performances, Your Sister's Sister has a natural rhythm to it that I found very much echoed Humpday, the previous Lynn Shelton directed and written film I've seen.  Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt, and Mark Duplass seemingly improvise many of their lines and (even if that's not the case) make nearly everything they say believable for their characters who are rather complex despite the film's comedic leanings.  Ultimately, it's the layered characters that make the film successful.

The film takes a twist towards the end that knocks the realism down a few notches and while Blunt, Dewitt, and Duplass do their best to make it not seem far-fetched, they simply can't make the storyline work.  It's a bit unfortunate because prior to the last thirty minutes, I was thoroughly involved in the proceedings.  Don't get me wrong -- the final act doesn't ruin things, but it just turns an otherwise great indie film into a better than average one.

The RyMickey Rating:  B