My Blind Brother (2016) User Reviews

funny people

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 16 March 2021]

Robbie (Adam Scott) is a blind athlete, beloved by all, and an SOB to his brother Bill (Nick Kroll). Bill feels both bitter about his treatment and guilty about being responsible for the blindness. Bill falls for Rose (Jenny Slate) who also feels guilty about causing her boyfriend's death. They hook up but Rose can't commit. She decides to be a helper and takes on Robbie. She also takes him as his boyfriend before realizing that he's Bill's brother. Francie (Zoe Kazan) is Rose's roommate.

These are funny people. There are some funny scenes. It's an interesting premise but the flaws in these characters make it less funny than it ought to be. Ultimately, it leads an incident that is almost too dark to be funny. These characters need some changes to improve their relationships. I actually love the banter between Jenny Slate and Zoe Kazan which makes their breakdown harder to take. I like the general premise but it just needs some changes.

Potential, but just OK.

[subxerogravity · 6/10 · 30 September 2016]

Adam Scott stands out in the movie as the blind brother. He plays jerk real well. Perfectly made it hard to feel sorry for him. Making it easy for us to feel sorry for Nick Knoll's character, who is the protagonist.

Knolls plays a man who has a one night stand with the girl of his dreams, only for her to become the object of his blind brother's affections when she sees him as a charity case.

It's a crazy film about having an older brother who seems to be better at everything than you are (Except in this case, he can't see as well).

The filmmakers tried to make a very quiet comedy that sneaks up on you, but it does not effect me as well as others like it. They're parts were the movie makes the blindness part of the joke was definitely funny without demeaning the handicap (as far as I...see). As a matter of fact, the movie attempts to make you see how blind people are people (and jerks) too, and they did a good job of that as well.

My Blind Brother, is what it is and it has lots of fun moments, but not the best comedy on the block.

Blind indeed

[neilgodfreyyk1-209-875326 · 5/10 · 24 September 2016]

To be blind is to be born without eyesight. I believe Shakespeare once said that quote. Also when you are blind you need a cane to help guide you around town. If that town is San Francisco then you must be careful of the trams knocking you over. This film was good in parts but also bad in the parts where it wasn't good. Some scenes had good and bad parts which was quite refreshing. The thing I took away from this film was that blind people are people too but with no eyes. So to summarize: This film was good and bad in equal doses except in the parts where it was just average. If you are reading this and you too are blind then please note that your eyesight has come back.

Lives aren't equal

[Gordon-11 · 27 September 2016]

This film tells the story of a man who spends his life taking care of his over achieving blind brother, who seems to over shadow him in every way possible.

"My Blind Brother" is a funny comedy. If you look at it from the point of view of the blind brother, it's a pretty empowering and uplifting story. The blind brother gets unconditional support from the able sighted brother, which is touching. If you look at it from the perspective of the able sighted brother, then things are not as rosy. He has no life, no nothing. He doesn't even get any respect from anyone, or receive credit for anything he has done for the blind brother. I feel rather sorry for the able sighted brother.

Le ppl

[rafaelsalis4 · 6/10 · 21 August 2021]

All star cast being what I assume is their all star selves. I love watching messy people and stories made real and just a peek into this disabled life is uh yet another story I didn't know I'd be seeing. Dope.

"The Blind Brown Eye"

[Kamurai25 · 6/10 · 23 February 2021]

Good watch, could watch again, and can recommend.

Nick Krull, Adam Scott, and Jenny Slate carry this well together and are pretty funny. I'm torn on whether or not Scott's portrayal of a blind person is complimentary or insulting, but I'll have to wait until a blind person sees it to hear what they say.

The "best friend's girl" trope is fun, and they definitely make this movie special, even for "blind movies", the idea of him being an over-achieving athlete is very unique.

As funny as this movie can be, as much as a "romance" movie as this is, it is definitely a "bromance" movie first.

a amazing blind men

[rajatshanu64 · 7/10 · 26 September 2016]

Blind Brother really nice story very feeling full two brother one is blind another is normal but the normal one is have to care for blind one even in race he have to run with him but when they completed race all credit goes to blind one he deserve it but that doesn't mean the normal one doesn't deserve it but however it's part of story the normal one hookup with a girl for one night they got good chemistry but however girls leave that men in morning and next day she is helping his blind brother as volunteer and the normal one a that girls meet again and however story goes was pretty good there are some comedy scene to like blind men know driving and he is doing driving but overall a good movie i like that the movie good three genre Comedy is here but not enough just OK Drama however little drama i can see good at drama Romance is quite good here the chemistry between normal and girl is quite good and they are different it makes it little more romantic i just like this movie otherwise no good movie coming this years end so this is fine i want more movie to release good amazing i am waiting for it IMDb 6.5

misunderstandings and miscommunications

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 14 February 2023]

This started as a short film, with different actors, but was made into a full length film with nick kroll and adam scott. They have worked together on so many projects. Bill has supported his blind brother robbie in his challenges and races and marathons. But robbie asks so much of him. When bill finally tells robbie he doesn't want to be his coach, robbie says it's okay... he has a new coach. And it's rose, the girl who just slept with bill! Jenny slate also worked on "big mouth". The brothers love each other, but robbie is really taking advantage of bill, and treats him pretty badly. Rose should be telling robbie that she had dated bill first, but she doesn't have the courage. A funny moment where the blind guy doesn't get charged for smoking weed, but the sighted guy does. And a running gag where the blind guy keeps getting into the driver's seat and drives the car for a while. They need to start telling each other the truth sometime, but it's not easy to do. Written and directed by sophie goodhart. It's pretty good.

Not a bad idea but adolescent and immature filmmaking

[sfviewer123 · 4/10 · 24 April 2016]

Not a bad idea (how often are the disabled looked at with anything other than the most uncritical of perspectives, especially in our current cultural climate of moralistically competitive victim-hood?) but unfortunately done with a directorial hand which betrays a lack of confidence and maturity...yes we get the point, the blind brother is a jerk, the younger brother is a victim, the parents are insensitive, on and on and on...all the "good" characters act nervous/neurotic and/or self-hating...such is "authenticity" in America in this day and age I guess.

(The film explores the dynamics between two brothers the older(?) of whom is blind (caused by accident induced by his younger brother who then "naturally" has spent his life feeling guilty), the disabled sibling deals with his sense of powerlessness and purposelessness in life by doing charity athletic events to raise money for visually- impaired children, but he requires his younger brother (who hates athletics) to accompany him on his runs/swims/etc. to guide him. The parents, quite naturally, show concern only for the emotional needs of the disabled sibling and seem to be deaf and dumb to even overt psychological abuse of the younger sibling by the older).

The younger one has a chance hookup with a mildly unbalanced female who feels over-responsible for the death of her last boyfriend, she spends the night with him but then ditches him because she needs to focus on expiating her imaginary guilt, whereupon she begins unknowingly working with his brother and becoming romantically involved with him (an absurd lack of boundaries made apparently necessary for the plot to develop)).

Of course there are further plot twists so I won't reveal anymore that might necessitate a spoiler warning, not the worst film but not great either, kudos to the director for at least taking on something somewhat unconventional.

It lacked more laughs...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 18 November 2016]

I must admit that I had initially expected a bit more from "My Blind Brother", given the synopsis of the movie. So it was a little bit disappointing that the movie didn't fully deliver up to what I had expected it to.

The story in "My Blind Brother" is about the rivalry of two brothers; blind Robbie (played by Adam Scott) and Bill (played by Nick Kroll) whom both happen to fall in love with same woman Rose (played by Jenny Slate).

While there certainly were some good and funny moments throughout the course of the movie, I just felt that there was something missing from the movie to add that special ingredient to it. And it felt like most of the scenes weren't really fully utilized to the extend of what they could have been.

The story told in the movie was adequate, and it had potential to be much more than it actually turned out to be at the hands of director Sophie Goodhart.

The acting in "My Blind Brother" was alright, and the two lead actors did a good job in carrying the movie.

"My Blind Brother" lacked a certain key element of comedy that would have me in laughs. I was merely smiling or chuckling at best at some of the scenes throughout the movie. And that was also a disappointing factor to the movie, because I had expected more comedy from it.

All in all, then "My Blind Brother" scores a mediocre five out of ten stars from me, as it didn't really live up to what I had expected, and it didn't really bring anything unique or particularly memorable to the comedy genre.

A Shrewd Romantic Comedy - Fresh & Original

[helen-51122 · 9/10 · 4 May 2016]

"I'm a superficial narcissist" "I'm lazy and judgmental."

This is how the two romantic leads in "My Blind Brother" introduce themselves to each other, and I fell in love with them both immediately.

Then, when they both reveal that they perversely wish they could be invalids so they'd have an excuse to lay in bed all day and watch TV, I fell in love with screenwriter Sophie Goodhart. Add in a blind guy, jaded and bored with his own infirmity, who is smoking weed unabashedly in public, even with the police nearby, who says, "I could shoot up in front of cops and they wouldn't do anything," and I love this movie in full. It manages to be morbidly dark, joyfully funny and unsentimentally touching all at the same time.

The storyline itself is genuinely fresh; unlike so many other films at this festival, I can't think of another previous movie to compare it to. Robbie (Adam Scott) is a champion blind athlete and local philanthropic hero doted on by the community (and his parents) and seemingly incapable of wrongdoing. His apparently well-earned egotism is fed by his frequent, televised crusades to rise above his "disability" while also raising money for charity, where after each successful feat, he is surrounded by gushing reporters who never seem to notice that he tells the same, lame joke every time: "You look beautiful today," Robbie the blind guy tells every female member of the press.

Robbie's hapless, unassuming brother Bill (Nick Kroll) knows the real Robbie to be arrogant, selfish and rude, but he still guide-dog- faithfully runs every marathon by Robbie's side and never makes a peep when he doesn't receive any accolades, or when even his own parents continually criticize him. One night, Bill escapes the relentless Robbie- worship by hitting up the local bar, where despite his best efforts to present himself as unworthy and unappealing, he gets lucky with an attractive and like-hearted woman named Rose (Jenny Slate). Bill is guilt-ridden because Robbie's blindness was the result of a childhood accident in which he was involved. Rose is a guilt-ridden because immediately after she told her fiancé she wanted to break up with him, he distractedly crossed the street and was hit and killed by a bus.

After one pitiful, anti-romantic (yet soul-soaring) night together, Rose flees without leaving her phone number. Nonetheless, Bill thinks his karma might finally be coming around and that he's found his sad-sack love-match. But his fantasy is soon squashed when his brother introduces him to his own new paramour - the very same Rose, who (without knowing he is Bill's brother) has started dating blind Robbie in an attempt to make herself a better person. Now Bill must decide if he will put himself second again or finally stand up to his blind brother.

Kudos to writer/director Sophie Goodhart for opting against a "when bad things happen to good people" script and instead going with "when good things happen to bad people." Goodhart's two, guilty, self-loathing characters are amazingly charming and lovable. Robbie makes a wonderfully heroic antagonist, whose capability and determination we slowly come to dislike more and more as the story unfolds. (The fact that actor Adam Scott looks quite a bit like a smugly smiling Tom Cruise doesn't hurt.) And Goodhart's ingenious twist on the conventional love-triangle takes the sentimental weight out of the usual wet blanket that hangs over traditional romantic comedies. This movie is bright and buoyant and makes us laugh at ourselves more than at mere jokes.

Goodhart's head-on attacks of our socially-correct attitudes toward both the physically handicapped and noble self-sacrifice are deftly executed dark humor that captures what's funny about resentment, bitterness, and condescension. Her sharp jabs at "those less fortunate" never feel like bullying and never fall into rude buffoonery. Even as the movie escalates into full-blown wackiness, it still maintains its shrewd edge.

Another strength to this film are the secondary characters. Rose's prissy, eye-rolling, sarcastically unsympathetic roommate (Zoe Kazan) ends up with the stoner blind guy. Ha! It's just another delightful quirk in this defiant film where apathy and under-achievement are treated as virtues and perfection is the problem to be overcome. Finally: a romantic comedy with mutually flawed lovers, where no sacrifice or self- improvement is necessary for them to win happiness and each other.

Just be fair, I will say that there are a few small spots where the script veers into impossible interactions - stupid things that could or would never actually be said. These mini-moments wouldn't stand out so much if all the other moments in the script were not so true and all the other lines were not so witty. I am not usually a great lover of comedies, and the fact that I am calling this film One of the Best of Tribeca 2016 means it is truly something special.

Not funny

[TankerToad · 3/10 · 11 August 2021]

Just dull and uninteresting and not funny ever. And quite asinine in a few parts.

One of those under-appreciated comedies that really does deserve a much wider audience.

[Hellmant · 8/10 · 24 February 2017]

'MY BLIND BROTHER': Four Stars (Out of Five)

A romcom about an overachieving blind man, and his under-appreciated brother, that both fall for the same woman. The movie stars Adam Scott, Nick Kroll and Jenny Slate. It was written and directed by Sophie Goodhart. The film received an indie theatrical release at the Box Office, while it was also made available on video on demand, and it's received mixed review from critics as well. I found it to be mostly entertaining, and well made.

Robbie (Scott) is a blind man that's always trying to prove how much he can still do, despite his disability. He's become quite a cocky asshole because of it. His brother Bill (Kroll) is always forced to assist him on his ventures, while receiving none of the credit. So a very abusive relationship has formed between the two brothers. This only becomes more complicated when they both fall for the same woman (Slate).

The film is very darkly comedic, in a really clever and mostly believable way. The characters all seem like real people, and the performances are all great. This is one of those under-appreciated comedies that really does deserve a much wider audience than it's gotten. Hopefully more people will discover it over time. It's definitely worth a view, I'd say.

Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' review at: https://youtu.be/RO7ghqXHCCY

Jenny Slate is a genius

[tianamarx · 9/10 · 19 September 2016]

If you had any doubts about Jenny Slate, if you ever thought she was a trivial comedian whose only talent lay in wacky faces and nasal impersonations, this film will set them to rest. Although the title presumes a male protagonist and refers to his male sibling, this is a deeply feminine film (written and directed by a woman) and Slate's Rose is her brilliant avatar, full of all of the doubts, the striving successes and blunt failures of modern womanhood. Rose is worried she's a slut, worried she's a bad person, worried she can't follow her heart or her instincts. She works through all of the heaped-up anxiety to do the right thing, stumbling now and then and never really overcoming a condition that still plagues women in our society. Throughout the film, she tells us she can't trust her feelings; in a climactic scene she confronts the fact that she's not really in love with her boyfriend with the line "But who am I to decide?" Slate carries this off, makes us feel the void of being a woman in what is still a man's world, with an Oscar-worthy performance.

The film itself is short, engaging, maybe a tiny bit predictable but ultimately leaves you with a smile. I saw it months ago at Tribeca, and I just can't get Slate's performance out of my head.

A Romantic Comedy Featuring Flawed But Believable Characters

[eric262003 · 8/10 · 12 April 2020]

Based off of the script by writer Sophie Goodhart who's also making her directorial debut, "My Blind Brother" focuses on the attention of people challenging themselves to achieve great accolades in spite of their disadvantages while also taking the time to focus on the people who bend over backwards for them and how much little to no credibility is given to them. It's the thankless jobs people go through and makes you wonder what their lives are like even though they're the ones who are overlooked as the media gravitates to the handicapped because their stories spark more to the public spectrum. We also look a different direction to the disabled to see if they're really as humble as they are to the media, or are they using the media as pawns and as an excuse to win attention to the world. The script depicted here concentrates how even though the able-bodied may not get the tabloid attention the disabled gets, it still shows that the humble types could never win, which may be cynical, but refreshingly true, The film's dark comical tones is bold and truthful and looks at the strengths and weaknesses from both parties and gets us to find humour in places would least likely expect.

The brotherly duo of able-bodied Bill (Nick Kroll) and his visually impaired brother Robbie (Adam Scott) are literally inseparable. Bill always has his back on Robbie as Robbie despite his disability challenges himself in sporting events to raise money for charitable reasons, while never giving his brother Bill any credit for his contributions. From running a marathon, to swimming across a lake, Bill literally has Robbie's back in spite of the fact that Bill's not fond of athletics. Lamented by his thankless disposition, Bill finds reassurance in another tortured soul named Rose (Jenny Slate) who's guilty over the death of her ex-boyfriend who died after a bus accident. The whole "misery deserves company" quote, the two bond until Rose loses interest in Bill. But she's not out of the picture by long shot. In an unexpected twist, she starts to take over Bill's job as Robbie's swimming instructor which leads to Robbie making passes towards her making life difficult to the people around him.

The comedy that's featured here is not presented in a satirical perspective, but rather as a way to introduce characters who seem to eternally trapped in a world of guilt. We see the brothers as they strive their way to the finish line of this important race as while Robbie seems to making it out smoothly with the race. Bill who's literally his background player is sweating brutally and is just determined to getting this race over with. As the film progresses, after the post-race festivities, Robbie makes a speech thanking everyone who helped him make his victory possible, even going as far to thank God over his own brother who literally carried him all the way through and not getting any credit for it. This of course leads Bill to show resentment for his disposition and has become tired of Robbie's attention seeking ways even going so far in telling Rose that he wishes he'd have a disability then people can give him attention if that's the only way to get it. The comedy in this film is executed with a truthful way that's not played for laughs but as a reflection of siblings who are not fully unionized due to both envy and pride.

By adding Rose to "My Blind Brother" it helps keep the flow of the narrative steady and well-structured and her intention was not to create a wedge between the sibling rivalry of Robbie and Bill. Rose has the knack of putting others before her as she becomes infatuated with Robbie because he's blind even though it's clear she knows it's against her better judgement. Though it may hint that we are seeing a love triangle in which the oblivious blind man is centerpiece behind the love triangle, Goodhart ensures that the focus is equally relevant to the relationship between Rose and Bill as they're troubled lives are very much important to the story. The jokes are featured here with some focusing on the blind without being abrupt or mean-spirited and features a funny scene where Robbie makes the effort in learning to drive a car. The main emphasis to the movie is the fact that the film is primarily a character study as Rose tries to surpass her angst by turning to Bill who's angst stems from being responsible for his brother's blindness while finding comfort in the problem-free blind brother as a way of escape and to inject pity due to his disability.

Usually, like everyone else in the movie it's easy to fall in love with the blind the guy because of his disability, but in the end we are all blinded by what kind of character Robbie truly is. He's obviously, unsympathetic, ungrateful and kind of a jerk towards his brother and thrives on the attention he gets. Adam Scott truly makes the bold effort in making his character extremely unlikable. The psychological scars are handled with care but their presence speaks volumes. With the feeling of an indie moving flowing all around, Goodhart assures that these troubled souls of the characters stray from being cliches while maintaining a script that's both intelligent and provocative.