“Your Sister’s Sister” is a comedy that spends most of its time dealing with 3 characters talking about love, sex, etc. These characters are smart and funny enough to keep interest, but the stakes are so low that the film never surprises.
Jack (Mark Duplass) is middle-aged smart-ass with wind swept hair that is a bit too similar to Justin Bieber’s do. It’s been a year since his young brother has passed away and he is still lost from the death. His brother’s ex-girlfriend, Iris (Emily Blunt), has become a very close friend to Jack and she is worried that his head may never find the way of anus. She sends off to her father’s vacation home on a small island off the coast of Seattle. A place to take some time and reflect.
But when Jack arrives at the house he finds Iris’ half-naked sister, Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt) who is also looking for refuge after breaking up with her female lover of 7 years. Jack and Hannah share a bottle of tequila, one thing leads to the other thing and the two share a brief tumbling. It’s fine though, they are both single, attractive and in need of connection. Then Iris arrives unannounced and quietly declares her love for Jack to Hannah. Jack obviously has feelings as well as he begs Hannah to keep the tryst a secret. Soap drama and what, oh my, will happen?
What saves “Your Sister’s Sister” is the performances delivered by all three of the leads. The material is very textbook/cookie cutter and the tension is so very low- Jack does not cheat on Iris (he doesn’t think she’s interested) while Hannah has no idea that Iris has any feelings for Jack either. Nobody really does much wrong so the conflict is very weak. But the 3 of them are so likable that I could watch them go grocery shopping and be entertained.
Modern day Renaissance man Mark Duplass is everywhere and is the current king of these Mumblecore flicks. (I’m sick of that title for the subgenre but it has a better ring than “Hipster Rom Com”…. Or does it?) Duplass plays a guy you can cheer for and he’s a lucky guy to be juggling such lovely ladies. DeWitt stands on her own as Hannah and you get a sense of a woman looking for her next path. Emily Blunt gives another fantastic turn as the British actress never gives less than an amazing performance. Considering she’s in every other film that comes out these days, she has plenty of opportunity to let me down but never does.
Without a stellar cast, “Your Sister’s Sister” would be a forgettable trip to nowhere. Writer/director Lynn Shelton should thank her friends for saving her film.
Special Features:
-Filmmaker & Crew Commentary
-Commentary with Writer/Director Lynn Shelton and Mark Duplass
-And, of course, the Trailer