The Skeleton Twins

Despite occasional charming moments and a generally solid ensemble, The Skeleton Twins doesn't distinguish itself in any memorable way.

"The Skeleton Twins" is a lovingly calibrated mix of heartbreak and hopefulness, guilt and the will to do better.

Johnson's unfussy direction serves as a fine showcase for the two SNL veterans to demonstrate how their comic shorthand plays equally well in a slightly darker register.

The Skeleton Twins is all the better for keeping us guessing as to its intentions, because that makes it more true to life. Sometimes you have to smile through the tears, and vice-versa.

If a movie with suicide as a central theme can be deemed funny, then writer/director Craig Johnson has pulled it off, mixing heartache and humor and giving Wiig, especially, the opportunity to shine.

Even with performers as likable as Hader and Wiig, and characters as likable as Milo and Maggie, sympathy should be earned. Like an cocksure banker, Johnson takes our investment for granted.

With a commonplace technical approach, The Skeleton Twins could have used a more turbulent hand behind the camera to accompany the ups and downs of our lead arcs.

As a dark character piece with the occasional big laugh, "The Skeleton Twins" is as much a pleasure to watch as it is to digest once its end credits roll.

The real surprise of the film is Hader, graduating from more juvenile cinematic entries ... and giving a beautifully crafted performance that allows his knack for voice and facial expressions to shine in the stronger material

A wonderful and brutally engrossing dramedy about family and the lasting effects of growing up in dysfunctional households.

The Skeleton Twins makes for an engaging film that gets you emotionally involved, while also giving you some good laughs in the process, and for that intelligent mixture, it's a dramedy that's definitely worth seeing.

Wiig, Wilson and Hader all give great performances in this movie, almost enough to lift it out of the dark emotional pit at the heart of the story. It doesn't quite make it there in this comedy about a suicidal family.