The former SNL colleagues co-star here as siblings Maggie and Milo, who after ten years of estrangement, reunite and force each other to confront where they went wrong in their respective lives. The indie dramedy played to enthusiastic responses at Sundance earlier this year, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for co-writers Craig Johnson and Mark Heyman. For Johnson, who also directed the movie, it’s his first feature since his 2009 debut True Adolescents starring Mark Duplass.
Though the material doesn’t appear to exactly break the mold in terms of low-key, slice-of-life indie movies, judging from the trailer and the reviews out of Sundance, both Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader appear to give genuine, touching performances in roles that stretch them far beyond their well-known comedic personas. For Wiig, it’s hardly the first time she has shown her dramatic chops onscreen. After playing the role of the straight (wo)man in the 2011 comedy hit Bridesmaids, she played a woman coming to terms with having failed in her career in the low-budget dramedy Girl Most Likely (2021), a movie on which she also served as Executive Producer. And just earlier this year she expanded her range even further in the drama Hateship Loveship opposite Guy Pearce. It appears Wiig is not short on ambition, as it was recently announced that she plans on making her directorial debut for TriStar Pictures, on an untitled comedy still in development.
Of course Hader has also maintained a busy schedule since announcing his departure from SNL a little over a year ago. He is currently starring in the romantic comedy spoof They Came Together, and in addition to The Skeleton Twins this fall, Hader will appear in the hotly anticipated The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, starring James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain. In what could be boon for his career, Hadrer also has a major role in the upcoming Judd Apatow movie Train Wreck. Though not widely publicized, Hader also does quite a bit of writing, having been a key contributor to South Park for several seasons, and having written a feature comedy currently in development at Fox.
Co-starring alongside Wiig and Hader in The Skeleton Twins will be Luke Wilson (Idiocracy) and Ty Burrell (TV’s Modern Family). Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions are set to release the film on September 19th, where interestingly enough, it will go head to head with fellow SNL veteran Tina Fey’s This Is Where I Leave You.
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