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Luke Greenfield ’s “Half Brothers” is a tale of two stories. One track gives the movie its title: two half-brothers who could not be more different meet for the first time when their father is dying. Because this is a comedy, disaster ensues. Their father dies suddenly, and because their old man loved puzzles, he sends them on a midwestern road trip to answer their questions about his past, including why he left his oldest son Renato ( Luis Gerardo Méndez ) back in Mexico. The other is their father’s dramatic and unpredictable story of an immigrant’s life, one that leads him away from a family in Mexico to starting one in the United States. It’s a complicated story, not just in the way in which it comes together, but in its ethical, emotional and financial quandaries. 

The movie begins in the mid-'90s, with a boy and his cool dad, Flavio ( Juan Pablo Espinosa ), who happily indulge in mischief and flying airplanes. But when the economy tanks, Flavio heads north and never returns, leaving a young boy to grow up in anger and resentment. Now a grown man, Renato is caustic and has no friends—yet he somehow managed to find himself a fiancée with a small boy of her own. A call from his dying father’s new wife brings that rage to the surface, yet when he goes to the States to say his goodbyes, he instead learns he has an annoying half brother, Asher ( Connor Del Rio ), and now has to solve his father’s last riddle to find out the truth behind his life’s story. 

Flavio’s story about coming to America to find work is an infinitely more compelling story than the boy’s bickering road trip. He discovers a cruel immigration system, racism against Mexicans, and at first, very little money. But he also finds his way into opportunity and the kindness of others. Unfortunately, his tale is told in stop-and-go fragments as his sons piece together his journey. Sitting in the car with the half brothers of the movie is just short of punishing. Separately, they’re pretty rough to tolerate on their own. Renato has the makings of a low-grade socio-path, thinking only in unfeeling logic and unsympathetic to anyone he perceives as lesser than he is. Asher is by all accounts a stand-in for all the terrible stereotypes about Americans. He’s entitled, rude, lazy, hasn’t a work ethic in sight and talks for hours without saying anything at all. In short: he’s Renato’s antithesis. But instead of the Odd Couple-like match-up working as comedic fuel, it sputters. Espinosa and Del Rio have little to build on than their characters’ flimsy outline, and neither can really make their rapport work.

From the outset, the narrative begins with a strained premise, one that could have easily been reduced to a quick bedside confession were it not for Flavio’s twisted scavenger hunt. Ali LeRoi and Eduardo Cisneros ’ story, which was brought to the screen by Cisneros and Jason Shuman , holds little surprise in the brothers’ tale. They fight, they make up, they fight and make up, repeated until the end. There’s a bit more care given to Flavio’s side of things, although the dots connecting the threads of his story feel fairly disjointed. 

Greenfield’s film has some fun at the expense of the American side of the border, and not undeservedly so. There’s a running joke that Renato must contend with American’s limited knowledge of their neighbors, which often revolve around questions about ziplining. So while “Half Brothers” lands a few good laughs, there are a few slapstick sequences that make almost no sense at all, like why Asher drives 60 miles out of the way just to steal a goat. There could have been many smarter scrapes and awkward conversations that would have gotten the audience to laugh without veering the movie so off-course. Because of the movie’s uneven story and characters, it’s a bumpy ride no matter which route you take. 

Monica Castillo

Monica Castillo is a critic, journalist, programmer, and curator based in New York City. She is the Senior Film Programmer at the Jacob Burns Film Center and a contributor to  RogerEbert.com .

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Half Brothers (2020)

Rated PG-13 for some violence and strong language.

Hayes Hargrove as Chatty Ride Pair Driver

José Zúñiga as Evaristo

Shira Scott

Vincent Spano as Mr. B

Alma Sisneros as Sister Helen

Beatrice Hernandez as Sister Marisa

Jwaundace Candece as Doris

Stephen R. Estler as The Foreman

• Luke Greenfield

Writer (story by)

• Eduardo Cisneros
• Jason Shuman

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• Joe Mitacek
• Jordan Siegel

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Review: ‘Half Brothers’ is fun, but something’s rotten

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There’s much to like about the road-trip comedy “Half Brothers.” It’s funny, smart, topical and even touching at times. But it’s hard to overcome the inescapable rot at its center.

As a boy in rural Mexico, Renato adored his engineer father, Flavio (Juan Pablo Espinosa). Then the economy crashed . Flavio was forced to go to the States to try to support the family — and Renato and his mother never saw him again. He didn’t disappear; he became successful and remarried in America. Two and a half decades later, buttoned-up aviation executive Renato ( Luis Gerardo Méndez ) is preparing to wed his fiancée when he learns that his father is terminally ill in Chicago. He reluctantly goes to see Flavio for the first time in 25 years — and Renato learns he has a half brother. Wacky Asher ( Connor Del Rio ) is a millennial “idea guy” who sports a headband and makes up for his lack of intelligence with positive energy. Flavio’s dying wish is for his two sons to go on a long drive to the border to find clues he left that explain how they all got there. There are funny references to stereotypes Americans and Mexicans have of one another (such as a running gag about ziplining, or when Asher tries to “comfort” Renato, newly arrived from Mexico: “You’re safe now”).

Del Rio is appropriately harmless and goofy. Méndez is a fine leading man: Charming, multi-dimensional; this fish out of water is worldly and intelligent. We see him getting caught up in the ride.

The film is also unapologetically set in the world we currently live in. It effectively comments on the humanity often ignored in highly politicized immigration debates. When we see detained families in foil blankets, it hits the target. There are direct references, such as when Asher blabbers, “I didn’t even want a wall,” but the commentary mostly comes in unspoken details.

It’s directed with Hollywood sheen by Luke Greenfield of the underrated “Let’s Be Cops” (yes, I said it, “the underrated ‘Let’s Be Cops.’ “ Fight me). That means everything’s brightly lighted, the score tells us what to expect, etc. But it also means the film moves at a good clip and has a sense of humor.

Unfortunately, it’s also built on a foundation of poorly packed landfill.

It’s no spoiler to say that the overarching point is for Renato to understand why his father abandoned his family and to forgive his absentee dad. Every cinematic clue tells us we are to sympathize with Flavio. And here, “Half Brothers” suffers a complete failure.

Even with the elaborate, telenovela -style backstory that’s gradually revealed, the rationale for Flavio’s actions does not stand up to reasonable scrutiny. “I should have found a way to see you,” or something like that, says the wealthy, successful man who essentially divorced his devoted, loving son along with his wife. Méndez dutifully plays the “I get it now” beats, but none of it rings true. To make matters worse, Flavio turns out to be a terrible father to Asher, apparently because that boy was “different.” He traumatized both kids, and we’re supposed to go with it?

“Half Brothers” is a fun comedy with some heart and intelligence, and it embraces topicality. Then, we’re force-fed that poorly thought-out string of excuses for terrible behavior. It’s like enjoying a fluffy pastry, then biting into something decomposing in the middle.

‘Half Brothers’

Rated: PG-13 for some violence and strong language Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes Playing: Starts Dec. 4, Mission Tiki Drive-in, Montclair; Rubidoux Drive-in, Riverside; Van Buren Drive-in, Arlington; Skyline Drive-in, Barstow; and in general release where theaters are open

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‘Half Brothers’ Review: Distant Relations

An uptight Mexican aviation executive and an American doofus learn they’re related in this mawkish comedy.

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By Ben Kenigsberg

Only a few minutes have elapsed in Luke Greenfield’s dual-language road-trip comedy “Half Brothers” before the mawkish meter hits the red. The movie never stops revving it.

Renato (Luis Gerardo Méndez as an adult), the head of an aviation company in Mexico, resents that his father, Flavio (Juan Pablo Espinosa), didn’t return after leaving to find work in the United States. But days before Renato’s wedding, he gets a call from his dad’s current wife (Ashley Poole). The old man is dying, and he wants his son to come to Chicago.

There, at the hospital, Renato learns that the ginger-haired doofus he’s just chewed out at a coffee shop is actually his half brother, Asher (Connor Del Rio). Flavio, a lover of elaborate games, sends the two of them on a southwesterly scavenger hunt that involves mystery items like a key, a pawnshop ticket and a combination safe. He promises that following his instructions will reveal everything. It’s as cruel a prank for the audience as it is for them.

Not that there’s much to reveal. The trip is a transparent excuse to get the siblings to spend time together — to bond over a baby goat and to make gasoline from moonshine, which cannot possibly be more difficult to stomach than this film. Asher learns to stick up for himself; Renato adjusts his empathy deficit. The movie clearly intends to send a serious message about how draconian immigration policies tear families apart. But a hard-hitting drama would be preferable to this strenuously wacky bromance.

Half Brothers Rated PG-13. Half bros will be half bros. In Spanish and English, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes. In theaters. Please consult the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before watching movies inside theaters.

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‘Half Brothers’ Review: A Labored Bilingual Buddy Comedy

Mismatched Mexican and Yankee siblings clash in this contrived, sometimes maudlin road-trip comedy.

By Dennis Harvey

Dennis Harvey

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So many movies intended for the big screen are having to forgo it these days, it seems odd when something as apt for home viewing as “ Half Brothers ” makes the COVID-defying move of opening on 1,200-plus American screens. Those looking for undemanding entertainment may give it a passing grade, but this formulaic, sometimes maudlin buddy comedy about reunited Mexican and Yankee half-siblings is not the sort of thing that cries for a public auditorium’s bigger scale or the collective viewing experience. Nor does writer-producer Eduardo Cisernos’ concept (its story co-credited to Ali LeRoy, the screenplay to Jason Shuman) add much to culture-clash politics beyond contrivance and reinforced stereotypes. It’s a slick film that’s forgettable at best, annoyingly broad and unfunny at worst.

A 1994 prologue has engineer Flavio (Juan Pablo Espinosa) enjoying a close, playful relationship with only child Renato (Ian Inigo) in their native San Miguel de Allende. But a steep economic downturn forces dad to leave his wife (Bianca Marroquin) and son behind in order to seek work up north, along with many others. While he promises he’ll soon return, that promise is broken.

As a present-day adult, Renato ( Luis Gerardo Mendez ) is the founder of his own successful aviation company, engaged to doting Pamela (Pia Watson). Yet he has trouble relating to her admittedly weird kid (Mike Salazar) by a prior relationship, and has no real friends due to his general unbending humorlessness. When a call comes informing that his long-estranged father is dying in Chicago, the fiancée insists he travel there, as Flavio is “the source of all your issues.”

In contrast to Renato’s stiff formality and expensive sartorial style, the Ugly Americanisms begin piling up as soon as he lands, compounded by a chance encounter with an obnoxious idiot in a coffee shop. Unfortunately, that idiot turns out to be his own hitherto-unknown half brother Asher ( Connor Del Rio ), to whom he’s formally introduced over dad’s deathbed. Before expiring, Flavio tasks the two siblings with what Renato not-inaccurately terms a “scavenger hunt,” a cross-country journey that will reveal why their father left one family for another. We have already sussed that we are now tasked with watching a road-trip buddy comedy of the familiar “killjoy vs. wacky free spirit” type, one in which the clownier half of the equation is primarily going to be very, very annoying.

Director Luke Greenfield ’s first feature nearly two decades ago was “The Animal” with Rob Schneider. Del Rio here fits into a mold familiar not just from that comedian, but Pauly Shore, John Leguizamo in “The Pest,” Chris Kattan in “Corky Romano,” and so forth: the strenuously antic child-man whose bag of tricks may delight actual children, but is likely to leave most grownups frantically reaching for the remote. (Another reason “Half Brothers” would play better at home.)

The problem isn’t that Renato needs to loosen up. Asher would exasperate anyone. He quickly burdens them with a stolen baby goat (don’t ask why), then frequently gets them both into other forms of hot water. Meanwhile, the duo traipse from St. Louis to Oklahoma City to El Paso, at each stop getting new intel from a stranger (Jose Zuniga, Vincent Spano, Alma Sisneros) that further illuminates why Flavio did what he did.

In truth, however, the script does not cough up very good excuses for dad abandoning his first family — despite all travails he suffered, he still could (and should) have repaired that bridge long ago. Nor does Asher become any less of an irritant, notwithstanding the vague attempt to cast him as possibly birth-defected, or something else that might sympathetically explain his being “different.” So the paternal and brotherly love meant to suffuse this knockabout tale with warmth feels phony even by stock buddy-comedy standards.

As for the comedic elements themselves, well, ”Half Brothers” can’t even get much mileage out of a gratuitous baby goat’s cuteness. Selling Del Rio as our passport to hilarity is definitely beyond its ability, though admittedly the material does him no favors. Mexican star Mendez (“The Noble Family,” “Cantinflas”) maintains his dignity, and might well one day cross over to significant English-language success. But this vehicle (following a bit in last year’s dud “Charlie’s Angels” reboot) doesn’t exactly give him a head start.

Shot primarily in New Mexico, the U.S.-Mexico coproduction is assembled attractively enough, with Thomas Scott Stanton’s widescreen camerawork and Jordan Seigel’s original score among its more pleasing elements. But the screenplay is a kind of deep-dyed mediocrity that the film and its cast cannot transcend.

Reviewed online, San Francisco, Dec. 4, 2020. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 96 MIN.

• Production: (Mexico-U.S.) A Focus Features release and presentation of a Jason Shuman Prods., Eduardo Cisneros Prods. production. Producers: Jason Shuman, Eduardo Cisernos, Luke Greenfield, Jason Benoit. Executive producers: Luis Gerardo Mendez, Udi Nedivi.
• Crew: Director: Luke Greenfield. Screenplay: Eduardo Cisernos, Jason Shuman; story: Ali LeRoi, Eduardo Cisernos. Camera: Thomas Scott Stanton. Editor: Joe Mitacek. Music: Jordan Seigel.
• With: Luis Gerardo Mendez, Connor Del Rio, Juan Pablo Espinosa, Pia Watson, Bianca Marroquin, Ashley Poole, Ian Inigo, Mike Salazar, Jose Zuniga, Vincent Spano, Beatrice Hernandez, Alma Sisneros. (English, Spanish dialogue)

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Half Brothers (2020)

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Review: ‘Half Brothers’ is fun, but something’s rotten

Two brothers, one Mexican and one American, meet for the first time for a road trip of self-discovery in new comedy

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There’s much to like about the road-trip comedy “Half Brothers.” It’s funny, smart, topical and even touching at times. But it’s hard to overcome the inescapable rot at its center.

As a boy in rural Mexico, Renato adored his engineer father, Flavio (Juan Pablo Espinosa). Then the economy crashed . Flavio was forced to go to the States to try to support the family — and Renato and his mother never saw him again. He didn’t disappear; he became successful and remarried in America. Two and a half decades later, buttoned-up aviation executive Renato ( Luis Gerardo Méndez ) is preparing to wed his fiancée when he learns that his father is terminally ill in Chicago. He reluctantly goes to see Flavio for the first time in 25 years — and Renato learns he has a half brother. Wacky Asher ( Connor Del Rio ) is a millennial “idea guy” who sports a headband and makes up for his lack of intelligence with positive energy. Flavio’s dying wish is for his two sons to go on a long drive to the border to find clues he left that explain how they all got there. There are funny references to stereotypes Americans and Mexicans have of one another (such as a running gag about ziplining, or when Asher tries to “comfort” Renato, newly arrived from Mexico: “You’re safe now”).

Del Rio is appropriately harmless and goofy. Méndez is a fine leading man: Charming, multi-dimensional; this fish out of water is worldly and intelligent. We see him getting caught up in the ride.

The film is also unapologetically set in the world we currently live in. It effectively comments on the humanity often ignored in highly politicized immigration debates. When we see detained families in foil blankets, it hits the target. There are direct references, such as when Asher blabbers, “I didn’t even want a wall,” but the commentary mostly comes in unspoken details.

It’s directed with Hollywood sheen by Luke Greenfield of the underrated “Let’s Be Cops” (yes, I said it, “the underrated ‘Let’s Be Cops.’ “ Fight me). That means everything’s brightly lighted, the score tells us what to expect, etc. But it also means the film moves at a good clip and has a sense of humor.

Unfortunately, it’s also built on a foundation of poorly packed landfill.

It’s no spoiler to say that the overarching point is for Renato to understand why his father abandoned his family and to forgive his absentee dad. Every cinematic clue tells us we are to sympathize with Flavio. And here, “Half Brothers” suffers a complete failure.

Even with the elaborate, telenovela -style backstory that’s gradually revealed, the rationale for Flavio’s actions does not stand up to reasonable scrutiny. “I should have found a way to see you,” or something like that, says the wealthy, successful man who essentially divorced his devoted, loving son along with his wife. Méndez dutifully plays the “I get it now” beats, but none of it rings true. To make matters worse, Flavio turns out to be a terrible father to Asher, apparently because that boy was “different.” He traumatized both kids, and we’re supposed to go with it?

“Half Brothers” is a fun comedy with some heart and intelligence, and it embraces topicality. Then, we’re force-fed that poorly thought-out string of excuses for terrible behavior. It’s like enjoying a fluffy pastry, then biting into something decomposing in the middle.

‘Half Brothers’

Rating: PG-13 for some violence and strong language When: Opens Friday Where: Santee and South Bay drive-ins Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes

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Summary Renato, a successful Mexican aviation executive, is shocked to discover he has an American half-brother he never knew about, the free-spirited Asher. The two very different half-brothers are forced on a road journey together masterminded by their ailing father, tracing the path their father took as an immigrant from Mexico to the US.

Directed By : Luke Greenfield

Written By : Ali LeRoi, Eduardo Cisneros, Jason Shuman

Where to Watch

José Zúñiga

Luis Gerardo Méndez

Renato murguía.

Vincent Spano

Hayes hargrove, chatty ride pair driver, shira scott astrof, american reporter, alma sisneros, sister helen, jwaundace candece, efrain villa, catherine haun, connor del rio, asher murguía, howard ferguson jr., corrections officer frey.

Juan Pablo Espinosa

Flavio murguía, bianca marroquin, tere murguia, teresa decher, barista beatrice, manny rubio, alexander alayon jr., alaina warren zachary, woman mourner, jason e. hill, stephanie hill, critic reviews.

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‘Half Brothers’ Review: “A Buddy Comedy For The Ages”

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From the minds of Luke Greenfield, Eduardo Cisneros, and Jason Shuman comes a film about love, loss, and meeting halfway. Full of an abundance of heart, Half Brothers encourages us to rediscover that which means the most to us in life before it’s too late while tackling political themes in a comedy made for all audiences. 

If you’re familiar with Instructions Not Included by Eugenio Derbez, then you already know that you might be in for a festival of tears, tissues not included. Cisneros was an uncredited writer for the 2013 film. This time around, he is not only a credited writer but also a producer. His collaborator Jason Shuman and him set off to bring forth a story about two very different people finding common ground.

The film focuses on Renato (Luis Gerardo Mendez), a successful Mexican aviation executive. Early on, he finds out he has an American half-brother he never knew about, the free-spirited Asher (Connor Del Rio). This news comes to him when he learns that his father (Juan Pablo Espinosa) is very ill. The two very different half-brothers then go on a road trip together for a scavenger hunt their ailing father planned. This way, Renato may finally know why he never came back for him.

READ: ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Review: “A Dull Feature-Length Awards Campaign”

While the story itself is easy to follow, the weight of what Greenfield explores lays heavy on the heart. Despite its comedic nature, it does deal with the passing of a parent and issues of abandonment. Having gone through a similar experience myself, there wasn’t a dry eye while watching this film. However, there is a perfectly good balance between the emotional parts, and the humor that is very reminiscent of Instructions Not Included . 

At times, the comedy tiptoes over the line between serving its purpose and becoming a gimmick following a formula that could come off as repetitive to some viewers. Fortunately, the narrative saves itself from falling into that trap of trying to smooth over the difficult moments.

The film really dives deep into the pain of abandonment through Renato’s story, perfectly portrayed by Mendez to create a well-rounded character. But it is important to note that his father Flavio doesn’t leave because he wants to. Oftentimes, when films center Latinx characters, it depicts the paternal figure as unreliable. Derbez’s film, for example, depicts him as a playboy. However, Renato’s father is not like that at all. He is a man one can describe as easy to like with a kind heart. 

He leaves his son and his family behind because there are no jobs left in Mexico, risking it all by crossing the border to the United States in hopes of being able to provide for his family and eventually return. Unfortunately, we know how the story ends from the first few minutes of set-up within the film. While Half Brothers does choose to explore many political issues plaguing Mexico’s image due to the reinvented depiction of it by the United States, it is not a political film. It states its position clearly without taking away from the main point of the story: family.

In the end, the film has a wonderful pace, compelling characters, and an ending that will hopefully satisfy many. In its simplest form, it is one about two men learning to accept each other into their lives. – Josie Meléndez

Rating: 7.5/10

Are you excited for Half Brothers ? It will be available in theaters on December 4th.

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• DVD & Streaming

Half Brothers

• Comedy , Drama

Content Caution

In Theaters

• December 4, 2020
• Luis Gerardo Méndez as Renato Murguía; Connor Del Rio as Asher Murguía; Juan Pablo Espinosa as Flavio Murguía; Pia Watson as Pamela; Bianca Marroquin as Tere Murguia; Ian Inigo as Young Renato

Home Release Date

• February 16, 2021
• Luke Greenfield

Distributor

• Focus Features

Movie Review

As a boy, Renato Murguia lost his dad.

But his father, Flavio, didn’t die. He just left , heading from Mexico to America in search of work. The Mexican economy had tanked, and the only way to keep a family afloat was for one parent to go find work and send money back to the parent who stayed behind.

The problem was, after promising to return as soon as possible, Flavio never did.

Now, years later, Renato has a chip on his shoulder. He’s an engineer in charge of his own aviation company. And he couldn’t care less about his louse of a missing father—the man who made his young life so miserable. In fact, if you dare bring up anything that has to do with America , you can expect to receive a few angry words from this bitter son.

Just days before his marriage, however, Renato gets a call from that hated place full of ignorant and arrogant people. It seems his estranged father is dying and wants desperately to see his son one last time. And wouldn’t you know it, Renato’s fiancée Pamela insists that he go see the man. She is convinced that the only way Renato will ever find closure and healing will be to see his ailing dad one last time.

And so, Renato jets off to Chicago—intending to check in and then return as quickly as possible.

Soon after touching down, however, Renato’s plans are upended. It turns out that his father had another American family. And Renato has a half-brother : a revoltingly typical ugly American named Asher. Oh, and as Flavio dies he gives Renato and Asher an envelope and asks them to set off on a quest together in search of someone named Eloise.

“It’s all about Eloise,” the weak and dying man says. “All you need do is deliver this. It will all make sense.”

Renato remembers that Flavio always was one for games and mysteries. And now, with his last words, he’s trying to send his abandoned son off on one last bit of nonsense, something the angry young man has no intention of following through on. But after calling home, his fiancée, Pamela, once again encourages him to do as his father asked. There are five days yet before their wedding. What could one more day hurt?

So Renato stays. He climbs into a car with his completely dreadful half-brother and heads off on some puzzle-solving idiocy. And he’s pretty sure he’s going to regret it.

Once again, Renato moans, this absent father will likely make his life a misery!

Positive Elements

Flavio hasn’t always made the right choices. But by movie’s end—and by the time his sons finish their puzzling quest together—we see that he loved his “boys” in his own way. And he tries to make that clear to each of them. “I made both of you feel that you were not the sons I wanted. But in truth, I was not the father you deserved,” he tells them in a recorded message. (It would have, of course, been better if he’d done so while still alive and in person. But that obvious fact is brushed over.)

The film makes strong statements about accepting people who we seen as different or “strange.” Asher, as well as Renato’s soon-to-be stepson, Emilio, are both odd ducks who don’t seem to deal logically or intelligently with the world around them. Renato eventually returns home with a deeper understanding that you can find things to love and value in everyone, if you take the time to look for them. Half Brothers also extends that acceptance metaphor to prejudices we may have against other races or cultures.

Ultimately, we’re told that family, for all of its flaws and failings, can be a source of support and something of great value if only we invest a little effort. And forgiveness needs to be a key factor in that effort.

Spiritual Elements

During their travels, Renato and Asher drive by a small-town sign that states, “Guns, God & Guts Made America.”

The clues to Flavio’s quest eventually lead Renato and Asher to a Catholic Convent where they meet several nuns who help them out (and who, we learn, also helped Flavio in a significant way years before).

Sexual Content

Asher strips to his boxer shorts after inhaling ethanol gas.

[ Spoiler Warning ] We find out, through a flashback, part of the reason Flavio never returned home: He had a sexual affair with an American woman, and she got pregnant. (We see that woman asleep on a bed dressed only in a slip, implying that they slept together after a party.)

Violent Content

While trying to get back to Mexico, Flavio is mugged and badly beaten in a public bathroom. We see him later, lacerated and covered in blood. It’s also said that the U.S. Border Patrol is unnecessarily careless (and sometimes purposely negligent) with illegal Mexican immigrants caught at the U.S./Mexican border.

We see people manhandled and large numbers of people crammed into small cells. And when Flavio gets sick after a long stretch of incarceration, the officers simply take him out and dump him by the side of the road to die, washing their hands of him.

There’s also quite a bit of “comedic” violence in the mix here as well that’s played for humor. Men shoot at Renato and Asher with shotguns after Asher steals something from them. And another group intends to beat up Asher after he gambles with them and loses. (Renato ends up punched and knocked around in this case. And both Renato and Asher are pelted with thrown bottles.) Later a group of rednecks find Asher in their moonshine cabin and beat him up. He comes out with bruises and a bloodied split lip.

Asher and Renato are always at each other’s throats, too. Sometimes that’s quite literal, as they wrestle and beat on each other on the ground or roll around in the dust by the side of the road.

Renato’s soon-to-be stepson, Emilio, has an odd connection with violence as well. For example, he wears a gory mask that features a bloody axe wedged into its noggin. He also comes after his mother with an actual chainsaw, though she calmly disarms him as if it’s a common occurrence.

Crude or Profane Language

Two f-words and 10 s-words join multiple uses of “d–n,” “a–hole,” “h—” and “b–ch.” We hear a couple of crude references to male genitalia. Both God’s and Jesus’ names are misused more than a dozen times total (including three combinations of the former with “d–n”).

Drug and Alcohol Content

Renato and Asher drink beer together. A flashback scene depicts Flavio giving his 10-year-old son a beer in an attempt to show he’s a “good” dad. Renato and Asher run out of gas and try to turn “moonshine” into ethanol. The escaping gasses, however, cause them both to get fairly loopy. Asher passes out from the gas. And later, Renato uses another batch of gaseous ethanol to knock out a roomful of men.

Flavio and a female friend get tipsy at a party full of heavy drinkers.

Other Negative Elements

Asher steals a goat and makes all sorts of irrational choices that earn the ire of nearly everyone he encounters. People throw around hurtful labels such as “freak” and “weirdo.”

Director Luke Greenfield has constructed a multicultural, multilingual pic here that seems plagued by multiple personalities. Sometimes it feels like an endearing, family-focused drama. At other times it plays out like a broadly ridiculous odd-couple comedy. Still other times, it seems intent upon being a serious message movie.

This story’s heartwarming moments blend with preposterous nonsense. Sweet statements of forgiveness get buried beneath foul-mouthed profanities. Things are given, other things stolen. Lessons are learned; at the same time, stupidity is celebrated.

I’ll be honest, this is the kind of film you want to like. You want to care about its main character’s struggles. But when you add in all of its often diametrically opposed content issues, Half Brothers never coalesces into a satisfying, family-friendly whole.

At best, Half Brothers perhaps feels as if it’s about half empty.

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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Half brothers, common sense media reviewers.

Uneven buddy comedy has sentimental, jarringly sad moments.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Encourages empathy, compassion, and teamwork, part

Renato is uptight and stuck in his ways but also i

Bar brawl scene; a group of men threatens the brot

Married and engaged couples kiss, embrace, dance.

Cursing in both English and Spanish: "shut up," "h

A few brands: Mercedes, Ford, Converse.

Adults drink in bars; in one scene, a father and s

Parents need to know that Half Brothers is an uneven bilingual dramedy about a Mexican man who discovers that he has a younger half brother when his estranged father dies in the United States and leaves his sons with a final wish: to go on a cross-country scavenger hunt together. Starring Mexican actor Luis…

Positive Messages

Encourages empathy, compassion, and teamwork, particularly between family members. Also messages about the importance of close relationships between parents and children, as well as accepting those who are different than you.

Positive Role Models

Renato is uptight and stuck in his ways but also incredibly smart, problem-solving, and willing to change for those he loves. Asher can be unfocused and impetuous, but he's remarkably kind and empathetic. Pia is an encouraging, supportive, and loving fiancee and mother. Flavio, despite his flaws as a father, overcame remarkable odds. Although the main cast includes several Mexican and Latinx actors, the screenplay also incorporates several stereotypes about both Mexico and the United States that are played for laughs (the former being violent or only filled with tourists, beaches, and ziplining; the latter being full of fat people who are loud, lazy, and entitled).

Violence & Scariness

Bar brawl scene; a group of men threatens the brothers and beats up Asher. The brothers have to hit violent men with poisonous gas in order to rescue their pet goat. Flashbacks show upsetting scenes of undocumented immigrants' trials as they try to enter and stay in the United States, as well as the dangers they face in being detained. Border patrol officers grab the dad; he's left for dead after being very sick for a while. A couple of chase scenes between angry men and the brothers.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Married and engaged couples kiss, embrace, dance. Implied love scene (adulterous) and extramarital pregnancy.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Cursing in both English and Spanish: "shut up," "holy s--t," "freakin'," "ass," "s--t," "stupid," "d--k," "bulls--t," "a--hole," "goddamn," "son of a bitch," "Jesus Christ," "screw him," "weirdo," "freak," and one "f---ing," and "f--k." Spanish curses include "carajo," "mierda," etc.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Drinking, drugs & smoking.

Adults drink in bars; in one scene, a father and son switch drinks, and it seems like the son sips beer.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Half Brothers is an uneven bilingual dramedy about a Mexican man who discovers that he has a younger half brother when his estranged father dies in the United States and leaves his sons with a final wish: to go on a cross-country scavenger hunt together. Starring Mexican actor Luis Gerardo Méndez (in his first English-language leading role) and Connor Del Rio as the brothers, the movie switches from being a wacky road trip comedy to showing dramatic flashbacks about the father's immense challenges as an undocumented immigrant attempting to return to Mexico. There's violence and peril in those scenes, as well as some more comical brawls and chases in the contemporary timeline. Language is occasionally salty in both English and Spanish (expect a couple of uses of "f--k" and more of "s--t," "bitch," ass," etc.), and there are some heartbreaking moments in the flashbacks. Couples kiss, there's a bit of drinking, and the script includes stereotypes about both Mexico and the United States, but the film also encourages empathy, compassion, and teamwork between family members. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (2)

Based on 2 parent reviews

Worth Watching

Could have been such a great movie, what's the story.

HALF BROTHERS begins with a loving Mexican father and son bonding over their love of puzzles and aviation. But it soon takes a turn as the country's economy collapses and the father, Flavio (Juan Pablo Espinosa), is forced to try his luck in America. Flavio never returns from north of the border, and his son, Renato ( Luis Gerardo Méndez ), grows up without a father. He becomes a prominent, if aloof, aviation entrepreneur who holds America responsible for his father's abandonment. A few days before his wedding, Renato receives a call from his estranged dad's second wife, who informs him that Flavio only has days to live. Renato's fianceé, Pamela (Pia Watson), who has a son from a previous relationship, encourages Renato to bid his father farewell. But once he'sin America, Renato realizes that his father not only had a second wife but also a second son, Asher (Connor Del Rio), a quirky and unemployed Millennial. Flavio's dying wish is for the two "brothers" to undergo a cross-country scavenger hunt that will explain why he had to leave Mexico, and his family, behind for good.

Is It Any Good?

At first, this movie feels like a familiar wacky buddy comedy/road trip adventure, but it switches gear into a heartrending immigrant's tale in a way that doesn't work tonally or resolve plot issues. It's like two movies rolled into one, and neither is well served by the existence of the other, even if the performances are notable. It's nearly impossible not to see Del Rio as channeling a younger (if even more earnest) Zach Galifianakis in his role as Asher. And Méndez is fine as the uptight Renato, who's unwilling to give Asher the benefit of the doubt. But their zany adventures just aren't quite original or funny enough to be memorable.

Meanwhile, Half Brothers ' flashback drama is compelling, humanizing an otherwise unlikable character (it's initially difficult to redeem a man who starts a new family and abandons his old one). But even as the revelations ramp up in intensity and sentimentality, the truth is that Flavio remains somewhat unforgivable, with the exception of introducing his sons. Director Luke Greenfield knows how to pull heartstrings, however, and audiences will find themselves feeling emotional in parts. It's almost as if Greenfield was inspired by Slumdog Millionaire , but the result isn't nearly as effective. There's a bit of whiplash in the transitions from the physical comedy and the brothers' verbal sparring to the turmoil and tribulations of Flavio's journey in America (even if he does eventually end up financially stable, with a beautiful wife and funny younger son). It's a shame that the movie's two halves don't come together more smoothly, because there are moments in each storyline that are worth watching.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence and depravation that Half Brothers depicts as part of the immigrant experience. Who shows Flavio compassion and kindness? What impact does that have?

What is the movie's message about stereotypes and generalizations? What stereotypical comments does Renato hear about Mexico, and what stereotypes does he believe about the United States? How can we combat stereotyping?

Discuss the genre of buddy comedies and buddy road trips. How does this one live up to the "rules" of the genre? Which ones are your favorites?

How does the film demonstrate -- and promote -- empathy , compassion , and teamwork ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 4, 2020
• On DVD or streaming : March 2, 2021
• Cast : Luis Gerardo Méndez , Connor del Rio , Juan Pablo Espinosa
• Director : Luke Greenfield
• Inclusion Information : Latino actors
• Studio : Focus Features
• Genre : Comedy
• Topics : Brothers and Sisters
• Run time : 96 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : some violence, strong language.
• Last updated : April 2, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Half Brothers

By Alan Ng | December 29, 2020

How many road trip buddies have been made since the beginning of cinema? Too many, right? How many of them were actually good? I found one from a most unexpected place in Luke Greenfield’s  Half Brothers . It’s heartfelt, funny, and fresh—that’s what makes it work.

The story opens with Flavio Murguia (Juan Pablo Espinosa) and his son Renato flying a radio-controlled airplane through their home town and causing mayhem. When the Mexican economy crashes, Flavio is forced to head to the United States to find work leaving Renato and his mother behind. It doesn’t take long before Flavio breaks his promise to Renato and never returns.

Jump to today, Renato (Luis Gerardo Méndez) is now the owner of a successful airplane business. He just went off on an American business reporter about his disdain for his northern neighbor. On the bright side, he’s about to get married to Tere (Bianca Marroquin), but finds this bitterness from his father’s absence has left him with few friends, along with a soon-to-be step-son he can’t relate to.

Just days before his wedding, Renato receives word his father is dying and needs to fly to the U.S. at Flavio’s request. Renato refuses, but Tere insists he go to find closure and confront his daddy issues. When Renato arrives in the States, he meets his father’s American wife and son, Asher (Connor Del Rio), his half brother.

Renato takes this opportunity to finally tell off his father and emphatically declare that he wants nothing to do with his current wife and son. There has to be a twist, and it’s a hunt for a possible lost sister named Eloise. Why would Renato go on this hunt? Because Tere won’t let him come back until he’s found resolution with his family.

Connor Del Rio (left) stars as “Asher” and Luis Gerardo Mendez (right) stars as “Renato” in director Luke Greenfield’s HALF BROTHERS, a Focus Features release. Credit : John Golden Britt / Focus Features

“When Renato arrives in the States, he  meets his father’s American wife and son …”

Half Brothers  is a fantastic comedy that comes out of nowhere. Honestly, these long-lost brothers/buddy/road trip movies have been done before many times, but again, if you find a fresh take on an old trope, your film will stand out from the pack, and  Half Brothers  stands out.

What’s fresh about it? First, there’s a cultural twist. While the movie opens in Mexico, this is not a foreign film, but more a joint venture. Going against stereotypes, Renato is a successful businessman, and Asher is an influencer (more an unemployed slacker). Some of the highlights come as Renato finds himself continually fighting American stereotypes of Mexican citizens as gardeners and fond of ziplining. There’s a touching moment when he’s begging ICE to deport him and is confronted with the harsh realities at the U.S. border.

In terms of a story about fathers and sons, you can probably figure out what happens at the end. But the heart of the conflict comes when the two brothers face the mistakes they made and the stubborn positions they held that lead to their estrangement. Ultimately, this family story is filled with moments of laugh-out-loud comedy, and genuine emotion, which sets it above any silly comedy Hollywood can produce.

Saving the best for last, Luis Gerardo Méndez as Renato is absolutely engaging. He’s the star and plays Renato grounded as hell. Connor Del Rio plays an annoying millennial, and somehow I managed to feel great sympathy for him at the end. Jason Shuman and Eduardo Cisneros’ screenplay sets Renato up perfectly, giving us an immediate reason to sympathize with the adult Renato. The joy is seeing this character’s defenses wither away throughout the film and believably find camaraderie with his half-brother. Yes, it’s a spoiler, but is it really?

Good comedies are hard to come by these days. You can not lose with  Half Brothers . Having said that, set your expectations low and enjoy the ride.

Half Brothers (2020)

Directed: Luke Greenfield

Written: Jason Shuman, Eduardo Cisneros

Starring: Luis Gerardo Méndez, Connor Del Rio, Juan Pablo Espinosa, etc.

Movie score: 8.5/10

"…Luis Gerardo Méndez is abolutely engaging...plays Renato grounded as hell."

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Movie Review – Half Brothers (2020)

December 1, 2020 by Robert Kojder

Half Brothers ,2020.

Directed by Luke Greenfield. Starring Luis Gerardo Méndez, Connor Del Rio, Juan Pablo Espinosa, Pia Watson, Manny Rubio, Ashley Poole, Ian Inigo, Mike A. Salazar, Efrain Villa, and José Zúñiga.

Renato, a Mexican aviation exec, is shocked to learn he has an American half-brother he never knew about, the free-spirited Asher. They are forced on a road trip together, tracing the path their father took from Mexico to the US.

Half Brothers puts a spin on the age-old concept of learning about the existence of new relatives by adding a cultural element; a temperamental, emotionally closed off and hard-hearted aeronautical engineer from Mexico contrasted with a brash, dimwitted, obnoxious, well-meaning, and goodhearted Mexican-American brother. Renato (Luis Gerardo Méndez) and Asher (Conor Del Rio) are polar opposites born of the same blood thrust into a road trip together to uncover the truth behind their father’s life choices that have greatly impacted both of them in dramatically different ways; one has abandonment issues whereas the other is such a goofball he was not only unable to make a connection with his father but now faces the reality of living in the shadow of his successful brother.

All things considered, it’s a fairly decent set up for comedy with more than enough nuanced details of these brothers for the viewers to peel back layers of their psychological behavior as the movie progresses, but director Luke Greenfield (tackling a story and script from Ali LeRoi, Eduardo Cisneros, and Jason Shuman) gives a tonal contradiction that wants the brotherly bonding to be outrageous and absurd (there’s a part where Asher, in what feels like a lost scene from Dumb and Dumber , takes a detour on their road trip to a goat farm where he ends up stealing said goat to give it a better life) despite consistently jumping into exposition flashbacks of their father Flavio (Juan Pablo Espinosa) attempting to paint a melodramatic portrait of an immigrant broken down by chasing the American dream to support Renato as a child back in Mexico.

One minute, the brothers inadvertently get inebriated in a rather hilarious attempt to get their car running again, only for the story to launch into a direct and overstated sequence highlighting depressing detainment centers. When it comes to the latter, it would register as moving if the rest Half Brothers wasn’t, well, a regular Luke Greenfield comedy in the same buddy tomfoolery vein of Let’s Be Cops . The director is not the sole bearer of the flaws here, as these writers should know better that for this story to work the humor needs to be grounded in believability and honesty. Instead, we get at least three scenes of the brothers having a tender moment only for Renato to lose his cool against Asher all over again within two minutes. So, not only is it tonally confused, it’s also repetitive.

With that said, the driving factor behind the road trip (beyond learning more about Flavio’s true intentions behind his life choices) is clever, harkening back to Renato’s childhood days of flying RC planes with his father and overall better times. Included in that easier life (before Mexico’s economic collapse) was a playful Flavio that enjoyed creating riddles for Renato to solve, who has crafted one last mystery to solve from beyond the grave. It all leads to organic backstory without the film ever really cheating when it comes to clues the viewer can’t solve. In that regard, the game is fun to play as we watch these two navigate understanding why Flavio chose to stay in America.

It would be easier to give Half Brothers a slight recommendation if the titular relatives weren’t so extreme in their personalities; Renato comes across as entitled and unlikable while Asher feels drawn a bit too dumb. Narratively, it makes sense why Renato has nothing but disdain for American citizens (something the movie takes advantage of for low hanging fruit jokes that are lame if anything considering there are much better ways to make fun of Americans), is distant from his oddball stepchild always wearing horror-themed headwear that gets picked on for being strange (Renato is about to get married in three days giving the story a ticking clock that never once matters or gives the proceedings a sense of urgency), and why Flavio made his own choices, but it’s all hanging over a movie that is frequently irritating to watch.

It’s a shame when factoring in that plenty of dialogue exchanges between the brothers is funny, but no one held the filmmakers back from an overabundance of situational shenanigans. Going for the easy pun, Half Brothers is only half-decent.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check  here  for new reviews, follow my  Twitter  or  Letterboxd , or email me at [email protected]

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At times threatening to be completely overrun by its tendency to take the comedy very broad, the new Focus Features release Half Brothers , which aims to appeal not only to Latino markets but also possible crossover family audiences, is rescued by talented actors in the title roles as well as a great big dose of genuine heart that carries the day.

This is the kind of movie that relies mightily on the ultimate chemistry of its leads playing half brothers on opposite ends of the spectrum, literally and otherwise. Half Brothers opens in Mexico showing the loving relationship between young Renato (Ian Inago) and his father Flavio (Juan Pablo Espinosa) as they fly model airplanes together, a real passion for the child. But hard times south of the border fall on Dad, and he decides to trek to America in search of work in order to support his family, promising Renato he will be back.

That didn’t happen, as we cut to 25 years later where Renato (now Luis Gerardo Méndez, also an Executive Producer) is a successful businessman for a charter airplane company who gets word that his long-estranged father is dying and wants to see him in Chicago. Reluctant to go, he is finally convinced by his fiancée Pamela (Pia Watson), whom he is scheduled to wed in just four days, that he has to find closure with his own  father before they can be any semblance of a new family with her own son.

Once in Chicago he discovers he has an American half-brother named Asher (Connor Del Rio) he never knew about. Asher is the polar opposite, a high-energy, high-strung kind of guy eager for connection. As a last wish their mutual father hands them a map for a cross-country trip, mimicking his own journey in America a quarter century earlier, and makes them take off on the road trip from hell — at least from the POV of stuffed shirt Renato. The end game is a convent in El Paso and a person named Eloise, but in between they hit a St. Louis factory, a Latino beer hall, an Oklahoma pawn shop (with a cameo here from Vincent Spano), a Route 66 diner, a hunting cabin,  an ICE detention center and more. There is even a stop where Asher kidnaps a goat that becomes a third wheel on the journey and which he names Senor Renalito after his newfound familial connection.

The gist of the whole thing, from a script co-written by writer-producer Eduardo Cisneros, is to bring this mismatched pair to some kind of middle and shared humanity. It may be predictable, but amidst the broad attempts at hit-and-miss humor, as well as the slapstick moments, the pair grows on you, and the frenetic but lively direction by Luke Greenfield ( Let’s Be Cops ) help make this film a heart-warmer.

Méndez is the straight man here but never goes over the top, constantly playing his frustration until eventually finding some empathy from the audience. Del Rio is a go-for-broke comic actor here, sometimes just plain annoying but winning us over by his sheer zest for life. The goat doesn’t hurt matters at all, ludicrous as his entrance becomes; I say thank god for that goat. Subtlety is not the word for most of these shenanigans, but you may indeed find yourself rooting for these half-brothers by the time their adventure crosses the finish line.

Jason Benoit, Jason Shuman and Cisneros are producers. Focus Features releases the film in theaters Friday.

Check out my video review above with scenes from the film. Do you plan to see  Half Brothers? Let us know what you think.

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Half Brothers Review: A Series Of Plot Contrivances Capped With Emotional Manipulation

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the classic Odd Couple dynamic. Not only has it been the basis for some of the greatest duos in pop culture history, but it even has firm roots in Freudian psychology, essentially presenting a showdown between id and super ego. It’s a type of relationship that has existed in storytelling forever, and it always will.

It’s when characters don’t at all rise above that dynamic or needlessly wallow in it that it becomes a problem. When they don’t grow at all and get thrown into rote situation after rote situation, the formula behind the conflict-driven rapport becomes obvious, and as soon as an audience sees it you’ve lost them permanently – even if you try and buy them back with high-grade emotional manipulation.

This, unfortunately, is the modus operandi of Luke Greenfield's Half Brothers . This is a film that has good intentions, injecting a road comedy plot with commentary about issues plaguing modern immigration, but doesn’t have the script to get the job done. It’s obvious and simplistic, and worst of all has a plot entirely built on coincidence and contrivance that undermines both the comedy and the drama.

Written by Jason Shuman and Eduardo Cisneros, the film starts introducing the uptight jerk Renato Murguía (Luis Gerardo Méndez), a young man who owns an aviation company in Mexico and has a permanent chip on his shoulder thanks to his father, Flavio (Juan Pablo Espinosa), abandoning him at a young age to try and find job opportunities in the United States. With less than a week before his wedding, he gets a message that Flavio is terminally ill and only has a few days left to live, and while Renato is at first determined to ignore it, his fiancé (Pia Watson) convinces him to travel to Chicago and say goodbye.

What he discovers after he lands only causes that aforementioned shoulder chip to grow, as he learns in the hospital that Flavio got remarried in America and had another son named Asher (Connor Del Rio) a.k.a. the weirdo spaz. Flavio gives Renato an envelope that he promises will explain everything, but Renato rejects it, and Flavio dies shortly thereafter. The spurned son reluctantly stays for the funeral, and it’s there that Asher begins to pester him about the envelope and their father’s last wish.

As it turns out, what’s in the envelope is the first clue in an elaborate scavenger hunt, and though Renato complains every step of the way, he and Asher head off together to follow the trail, all while operating under the pressure of getting back to Mexico in time for the wedding.

Half Brothers is totally lacking in imagination, and just recycles clichés.

Rekindling a classic high concept plot like this one is an exercise requiring creativity, but that’s something entirely lacking in Half Brothers , which feels a mix of first ideas and over-zealous use of the copy-paste function. The wedding, for example, is ridiculously overused as a ticking clock plot device these days anyway, but it’s even further rendered confusing here by the fact that Renato is presented as someone who is seen as off-putting by every person he meets (making you wonder how he managed to get a woman to want to marry him).

And then there’s the introduction of Asher, who just so happens get in a fight with Renato while they are in line at a coffee shop… before they even know they’re half-brothers! Hilarious, right? And definitely not a shtick used thousands of times before.

Past its basic setup, the movie goes into an auto pilot mode that sees the same thing happen over and over again: either Asher’s weirdness causes some kind of conflict to needlessly arise (such as his totally random instinct to steal a goat from a roadside attraction); or Renato gets another piece of the puzzle from his father and repeats his emotional reaction (which is to get fed up with the whole mission, quit, and then be forced to return via circumstance). The cycle is so obvious that it feels like you could set a clock to it, and it creates a serious drain on the entertainment value.

Half Brothers’ characters simply aren’t likable enough to be funny.

Luis Gerardo Méndez and Connor Del Rio don’t deliver bad performances, as they work with what they are given, but they also don’t really do anything to elevate the material. It’s certainly possible to craft a likable and funny curmudgeon, but Mendez’s Renato is too spiteful at the world and mean to ever inspire any laughs. Del Rio has a similar problem on the other side of the spectrum. The audience is meant to love a character like Asher because he is a free spirit who doesn’t play by society’s rules, but we’re never given anything positive to latch on to from the character, as he solely serves as an agent of chaos who sets metaphorical fires to provide the story with conflict. As a result, you don’t like him enough to find his antics to be funny.

With Half Brothers’ comedy falling flat, the drama doesn’t stand a chance.

Ideally, Half Brothers would operate with its comedy and drama in perfect balance – with big laughs and entertaining characters engaging you to the point where you feel devastated when you learn Flavio’s full story, but the problem is that when one fails, so does the other. Rather than coming across as a case of “set ‘em up and knock ‘em down,” it registers more as “if you don’t like the comedy, maybe try the drama,” and it isn’t effective at all. Without the proper tonal equilibrium, it manages to instead feel exploitative and manipulative, and makes the movie even more of a turn off.

To its credit, Half Brothers ’ heart is certainly in the right place, as the message it attempts to convey is positive and one that is easy to appreciate in the strife-filled global climate; it’s simply a botch in execution of the basic idea. The good news is that within the next two years we’re all but guaranteed to get another comedy with the same familiar Odd Couple dynamic, and it will hopefully have something new to bring to the table.

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.

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Half Brothers

2020, pg-13, 94 min. directed by luke greenfield. starring luis gerardo méndez, connor del rio, juan pablo espinosa, josé zúñiga, vincent spano, bianca marroquín., reviewed by josh kupecki , fri., dec. 4, 2020.

Dusting off that classic staple of comedy concepts, the “odd couple on a road trip,” Half Brothers works very hard to present itself as a zany adventure about the sacrifices parents make for their children and how the familial bonds of blood are the ones you can’t choose and abandonment makes the heart grow bitter, but all it takes is a journey of discovery to right all the wrongs and start life afresh. There are other motifs as well, such as all Americans being either drunk and violent racists or just entitled, blithely unaware racists (that checks out), but with way too many tonal shifts and a narrative that trades cohesion for caprice, the film feels like riding shotgun with a toddler attempting to drive a manual transmission.

Renato (Méndez) once had a loving relationship with his father, Flavio (Espinosa). The two were mischief-makers and best friends in idyllic San Miguel. But work dries up, and Flavio must head north to the States to provide for his family. Renato becomes an unempathetic stick-in-the-mud, who nevertheless is preparing to marry his girlfriend when he receives a call that his father lies on his deathbed and wishes to see him one last time. Renato reluctantly travels to Chicago and discovers that Flavio has been busy all these years, marrying again and fathering a son, Asher (Del Rio). With his last breath, he hands his sons an envelope containing the starting clue that will send the duo on a scavenger hunt to learn their father’s story. There it is, that’s the setup. Asher, by the way, is a kooky ne’er-do-well, an annoying free spirit. Why, what a perfect foil for Flavio’s uptight asshole. Lessons will surely be learned, secrets will undoubtedly be unearthed! But first, Asher must steal a goat as a traveling companion for them. (He misread a “Free Range Goats” billboard! Hilarious!)

And so it goes. The clues lead to various stops on father Flavio’s journey from Mexico to the USA, and boy, is it a bleak one. He secures employment and becomes successful, but he also endures beatings and robberies, has to pawn his wedding ring, gets picked up and incarcerated by Border Patrol, and is left for dead on the side of the road when he begins to get ill in prison. (Side note here: Not once in the entire film do the filmmakers say what exactly the disease is that Flavio had or subsequently died from.) The structure is thus: Brothers bicker while driving, brothers have tender moment, brothers have monkey wrench thrown into plans, brothers hear another harrowing chapter of their father’s story, brothers bicker while driving, etc. The filmmakers were at least savvy enough to include the goat, who offers something cute to cut to when a scene is going nowhere. When they finally get to the third-act playing of the DVD that papa previously recorded to speak to his sons from beyond the grave, the most pressing question (among so very many questions) is why Flavio would go to such elaborate lengths to devise this quest when he could have just, oh, I don’t know, reached out to his son prior to being mere moments away from his final fucking exit? “Certain things have to be seen from a different perspective,” imparts Flavio to his sons. For the banal Half Brothers , a beneficial perspective would be one of the “eyes shut” variety.

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William Goss, Aug. 22, 2014

Kimberley Jones, May 6, 2011

March 15, 2024

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Half Brothers , Luke Greenfield , Luis Gerardo Méndez , Connor Del Rio , Juan Pablo Espinosa , José Zúñiga , Vincent Spano , Bianca Marroquín

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Half Brothers

2016, Comedy/Drama, 1h 37m

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Half brothers   photos.

Half brothers try to unite their family after meeting for the first time, but complications soon arise when they discover that they have nothing in common.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Original Language: English

Director: Christoph Lehmann

Release Date (Theaters): Sep 21, 2018  limited

Release Date (Streaming): Jun 6, 2019

Box Office (Gross USA): $1.1K

Runtime: 1h 37m

Distributor: Parade Deck Films

Cast & Crew

Alicia Gerrard

Matthew Smiley

Nadine Vinzens

Jürgen Prochnow

Christoph Lehmann

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‘The Blues Brothers’ was gloriously dumb. It still matters.

A new book delves into the crazy true story behind the making of a film that became a cult classic and turned john belushi and dan aykroyd into screen legends.

Does “ The Blues Brothers ” deserve a book? In the pantheon of gloriously dumb movie comedies derived from “Saturday Night Live” and the National Lampoon, the 1980 John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd R&B farce sits a notch below “Animal House,” “Caddyshack” and “Ghostbusters.” Maybe two notches. An absurdist demolition derby of a film, it’s most memorable for spotlighting soul-music legends like Aretha Franklin and James Brown and providing a loving portrait of Chicago at its smoggiest and seediest.

But is it book-worthy? Arguably not. Still, Daniel De Visé makes the case in his subtitle, “ The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an American Film Classic ,” that his book isn’t just about a movie.

It’s a triple-helixed biography of the main contributors to the counterculture comedy revolution of the post-’60s: SNL, the Lampoon, and the Second City comedy troupe in all its stage and TV iterations. It’s a tale of Hollywood excess — both budgetary and pharmaceutical — that beggars belief. And, at its essence, it’s the story of a great American bromance, a partnership that was kept alive by one man’s creative discipline before crashing on the rocks of another man’s addictions.

De Visé, a journalist and the author of books on B.B. King and Greg LeMond, leans heavily on previously published group biographies: Bob Woodward’s 1984 Belushi bio “Wired”; Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller’s 2002 “Live From New York: An Uncensored History of ‘Saturday Night Live’”; and two books by Belushi’s widow, Judith Belushi Pisano, among others. But De Visé has gone back and talked to many of the principals as well as the secondary and tertiary figures, and he’s read and listened to every interview. This is a well-researched book.

Better, it’s a well-told story, one that rarely loses its focus on the larger picture — the many forces that came together to create comedy by the baby boom generation for the baby boom generation — while engaging the reader in a close-up view of two very different, very funny men.

“The Blues Brothers” goes back to its star duo’s beginnings: Belushi’s Chicago childhood as the class-clown son of Albanian immigrants, and Aykroyd’s early years in Ottawa, where Tourette’s syndrome made him the target of bullies. Both men rose through local comedy groups to star in their respective Second City outposts of Chicago and Toronto, but Belushi was tagged early on as a comic force of nature. By the time he met Aykroyd, he was scouting Second City Toronto for “The National Lampoon Radio Hour,” where he’d already become a breakout talent. On their first meeting, Aykroyd told a radio interviewer, he felt “the jump you get when you see a beautiful girl. It was a pit-of-the-stomach feeling.”

Belushi brought the manic slapstick to the first “SNL” cast, and Aykroyd brought the inspired weirdness — remember the “Bass-o-Matic”? — and a deep, abiding love for American R&B, which he quickly imparted to his new best friend. By the time “The Blues Brothers” movie came together in 1979, Belushi had become a movie star by way of “National Lampoon’s Animal House”; the two had debuted their fedora-and-shades R&B alter egos, Jake and Elwood Blues, on “SNL”; and Belushi’s intake of cocaine and other substances had swollen to frightening proportions.

Indeed, everything about the “Blues Brothers” shoot, which forms the detailed heart of De Visé’s book, seems staggering even today. Originally budgeted at $5 million, under director John Landis the production ballooned to over six times that much. Shooting the car chase through the shopping mall alone cost nearly a million dollars. The film set a record for the number of automobiles destroyed in a single film: 103.

Was it worth it? Your mileage may vary. For the most part, critics in 1980 hated “The Blues Brothers,” but audiences embraced it, and it remains a peculiar artifact of Hollywood overkill, funny in its baffling too-muchness. The musical numbers are still the best part, and De Visé is wise to address the accusations, then and now, that the movie and the accompanying Blues Brothers concert tours and hit records represented White cultural appropriation of Black music at its most blithely entitled. But he also reminds readers that the careers of Franklin, Brown, Ray Charles and Cab Calloway were all in serious decline, and that the film gave them new audiences and renewed success that lasted well beyond the film.

The one thing the author fails to address — and it’s hardly his blind spot alone — is how Belushi was allowed to destroy himself while the entertainment industry watched and fans cheered. The “Blues Brothers” set was awash in cocaine — it literally arrived packed in film-reel canisters — and while the studio hired a former Secret Service agent to babysit Belushi, the comedian had plenty of star-struck crew members and hangers-on to bury him in blow. The picture De Visé paints is of a comic genius hurtling toward oblivion as fast as he can, fueled by misery, drugs and enablement. Many times in this book a reader may pause to wonder why production on “The Blues Brothers” wasn’t simply halted while Belushi got the help he needed. The unwritten answer is that this would have jeopardized the profitability of the movie and its struggling star. The story here isn’t just about a film, a friendship and a comedy generation. It’s about a man who became a commodity until it killed him. But that’s another book.

Ty Burr is the author of the movie recommendation newsletter Ty Burr’s Watch List.

The Blues Brothers

An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an American Film Classic

By Daniel De Visé

Atlantic Monthly Press. 400 pp. $28

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