Stuck on You

Review by Clint Morris

Bob [Matt Damon] and Walt [Greg Kinnear] are conjoined twins living a rather peaceful life in a small New England town where the latter is an actor-in-training and the former is a burger cook.

But when Walt decides he wants to try his hand at big league acting, they pack their bags for Los Angeles. Unfortunately, they discover there isn't a lot of work for conjoined twins.

Not until Cher enters their lives. The actress sees an opportunity to weasel out of a tawdry TV series she's been roped into, and so hires Walt - and his brother, naturally - to co-star in it, thinking it will be just the thing to provoke the network to cancel it.

Instead, the series turns into a big hit - and Walt, a big star. The question then is what happens to the guy that's stuck to him?

More sweeter than side-splittingly funny, more glitzy than gross-out, Stuck on You is further substantiation that the Farrelly Brothers - they of off the wall comedies There's Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber - are still in Farrelly-lite mode.

It all started with Shallow Hal, an entertaining but much more compassionate film than it was comical.

And now, with Stuck on You, they're also playing with the heart strings primarily when they probably should be jabbing the funny bone.

Having said that, with the minorities they're concentrating on of late - fat women in Shallow Hal and conjoined twins in Stuck on You - maybe it's a conscious decision to tread lightly and not over rib?

One part gut-busting gags, one part sweet saga, Stuck on You relies largely on the chemistry of it's two leads, rather than it's fairly non-specific script. And thankfully, the Farrelly's have cast spot on.

Both Damon and Kinnear are evidently having a hoot of a time in the roles, with the former playing as far against type as possible - and succeeding. Not for a moment do we see anything but two brothers devoted to and physically bound to one another - points to the talent on show.

It's also great to see established performers hamming it up in supporting parts as themselves. Cher proves she's a good sport by not only satirising her own image but giving the impression she can be standoffish, not to mention a cradle-snatcher (look out for a cameo by a certain pint-sized TV Star sharing her bed) whilst Meryl Streep lets her hair down playing herself in a small-town play, which wraps the film.

In fact, every character in Stuck on You is beautifully well-written. From the hotel manager who paints eyes on his eyelids so people can't tell he is dead to the world, or the retired dodgy agent who takes on Walt out of the goodness of his heart - it's the Farrelly's at their best.

There's a couple of problems with the film - some scissors could've easily have been taken to its elongated running time, it's not the laugh fest many might be expecting, nor is it the best film the directing duo have done.

What Stuck on You is though, is nothing but a pleasant, enjoyable, and fun time for all. And it's refreshing to see two A-listers having one heck of a time.

3 out of 5

Stuck on You
Australian release: Thursday February 12th
Cast: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Eva Mendes, Wen Yann Shih, Cher.
Director: Peter & Bobby Farrelly.
Website: Click here.