The Skeleton Twins

2014 American film

The Skeleton Twins

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Craig Johnson
Written by|

* Craig Johnson
* Mark Heyman

Produced by|

* Stephanie Langhoff
* Jennifer Lee
* Jared Ian Goldman
* Jacob Pechenik[1]

Starring|

* Bill Hader
* Kristen Wiig
* Luke Wilson
* Ty Burrell
* Boyd Holbrook

Cinematography| Reed Morano
Edited by| Jennifer Lee
Music by| Nathan Larson

Production
companies

* Duplass Brothers Productions
* Venture Forth

Distributed by|

* Roadside Attractions (United States)
* Sony Pictures Releasing International[2]
* Stage 6 Films[2] (International)

Release dates

* January 19, 2014 (2014-01-19) (Sundance)
* September 12, 2014 (2014-09-12) (United States)

Running time

| 93 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $1 million[3]
Box office| $5.8 million[4]

The Skeleton Twins is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Craig Johnson and starring Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig.[1][5] The film premiered in competition at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014.[6] It won the Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic at the festival.[7] Wiig and Hader play twins in the film.[8] The film received positive reviews; critics praised Johnson's direction and the performances of Hader and Wiig.

## Contents

* 1 Plot
* 2 Cast
* 3 Production
* 4 Release
* 5 Reception
* 6 Accolades
* 7 References
* 8 External links

## Plot[edit]

Maggie is in her bathroom preparing to swallow a handful of pills, but she is interrupted by a phone call from a hospital, informing her that her twin brother Milo—whom she hasn't seen in 10 years—has attempted suicide. Maggie visits Milo in the hospital in Los Angeles and suggests that he come to stay with her in their childhood hometown of Nyack, New York. He agrees, and meets Maggie's husband Lance.

Milo is surprised when Lance tells him that he and Maggie are trying to have a baby, as Maggie never expressed a desire for children. Maggie later confesses to Milo that she's been taking contraceptive pills, both to avoid having a child with Lance and because she had been having sex with her scuba instructor Billy. She worries that she is not worthy of Lance, but Milo reassures her.

Milo reconnects with his high school English teacher Rich, with whom he had a sexual relationship when he was 15. Rich now has a sixteen-year-old son and is dating a woman. Milo and Rich spend the night together. Later, Milo appears at Rich's house while his son is there. This infuriates Rich, who does not want his past exposed. Maggie is also upset with Milo for resuming contact with Rich, whose teaching career had ended when Maggie exposed their relationship.

Milo tells Maggie about a boy that had once bullied him, a boy whom their father had assured him would reach his peak in high school and have a miserable adult life. But it turns out that the bully has a successful happy life, and it is Milo who had peaked in high school. Maggie asks for reassurance that he will not kill himself, and he promises to try not to.

Lance confides to Milo that he is concerned that he may be infertile. Milo mentions that Maggie used to hide cigarettes around the house, leading Lance to find the contraceptives.

Maggie ends the relationship with Billy and returns home where she is confronted by Lance, who is painfully confused by the birth control pills he has found. She admits to her affairs, then confronts Milo, blaming him for ruining her marriage. Milo retorts that it was no "marriage" and she lashes back suggesting that next time he tries suicide he should do it right. Maggie leaves Milo a voicemail echoing his suicide note and goes to the pool where she had been taking scuba lessons. Tying weights to her body, she jumps into the pool. As she begins to drown, she panics but is unable to free herself. Milo, having heard her message, jumps into the pool and rescues her.

The film closes with the twins at Maggie's house, looking at their new fish tank filled with goldfish.

## Cast[edit]

* Bill Hader as Milo Dean, Maggie's brother
* Kristen Wiig as Maggie Dean, Milo's sister
* Luke Wilson as Lance, Maggie's husband
* Ty Burrell as Rich Levitt, Milo's former teacher whom he'd had an affair with in high school
* Boyd Holbrook as Billy, Maggie's scuba instructor
* Joanna Gleason as Judy Dean, Maggie and Milo's mother
* Adriane Lenox as Dr. Linda Essex
* Kathleen Rose Perkins as Carlie
* Paul Castro Jr as Eric

## Production[edit]

The script went through several iterations, including one in which Milo is a drag queen and the film more closely resembles a road trip movie,[9] but eventually Johnson and his writing partner settled on a more low-key approach inspired by the work of Hal Ashby and Alexander Payne.[9] Writing the film, Johnson wanted to avoid writing along genre lines, as he believes that comedy and drama are both present in everyday life.[10] He has described the theme of the movie as "dealing with dark shit with a sense of humor."[10]

One notable scene features the two main characters lip syncing to "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship.[11] Initially, the song the writers planned to use was "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips, but as the song had already played a focal point in Bridesmaids, it was decided to choose another song.[11] Accordingly, Johnson "spent 24 hours listening to every cheesy mid-’80s ballad you can think of and looking in the mirror and lip syncing it myself."[11] The fact that "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" is a duet opened up new possibilities: Johnson said, "the scene became a little more epic because it became about Bill’s character getting Maggie (Wiig) to sing Grace Slick’s part".[11]

Principal photography, which began on November 2012 in Brooklyn, New York,[12] took place over 22 days.[13] Although a full script was written, Johnson encouraged improvisation on the set.[10] Johnson has stated that an entirely improvised conversation between Wiig and Wilson involving Vibram shoes was his single favorite scene in the entire film.[10]

## Release[edit]

The Skeleton Twins opened in a limited release in the United States in 15 theaters and grossed $380,691; the average take per theater was $25,379, and it ranked #25 at the box office. The widest release for the film was 461 theaters, and it ultimately earned $5,279,678 domestically and $468,848 internationally for a total of $5,748,526, above its estimated budget of $1 million.[4][14]

## Reception[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 87% based on 161 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's critics consensus states: "Led by powerful performances from Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader, The Skeleton Twins effectively mines laughs and tears from family drama."[15] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 33 critics indicating "generally favorable reviews".[16]

## Accolades[edit]

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|

List of accolades received by The Skeleton Twins

Year  | Award  | Category  | Recipient(s) and Nominee(s)  | Result
2014  | Edinburgh Film Festival | Audience Award  | Craig Johnson  | Nominated
Sundance Film Festival | Grand Jury Prize  | Craig Johnson  | Nominated
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award  | Mark Heyman and Craig Johnson  | Won
Gotham Independent Film Awards | Best Actor  | Bill Hader | Nominated
National Board of Review Awards | Top 10 Independent Films  |  | Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards  | Overlooked Film of The Year  |  | Nominated
Women Film Critics Circle Awards  | Best Comedic Actress  | Kristen Wiig | Nominated
Best Equality of The Sexes  |  | Won
Best On-Screen Couple  | Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig  | Won
Dublin Film Critics' Circle | Best Actress  | Kristen Wiig  | Nominated
Indiana Film Journalists Association  | Best Actress  | Kristen Wiig  | Nominated
2015  | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Actress in a Comedy  | Kristen Wiig  | Nominated
Dorian Awards | Unsung Film of The Year  |  | Nominated
Zurich Film Festival | Best International Feature Film  | Craig Johnson  | Won
MTV Movie Awards | Best Musical Moment  | Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig  | Nominated

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Sneider, Jeff (November 7, 2012). "Kristen Wiig joins Bill Hader in 'Skeleton Twins'". Variety. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
2. ^ a b "THE SKELETON TWINS". Stage6.
3. ^ Feinberg, Scott (November 14, 2014). "AFI Fest: Kristen Stewart, Jake Gyllenhaal and 6 Other Oscar Hopefuls on Making Indies". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
4. ^ a b "The Skeleton Twins (2014) – Box Office Mojo". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
5. ^ Trumbore, Dave. "Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader Set to Star in SKELETON TWINS, Luke Wilson to Co-Star". collider.com. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
6. ^ "Sundance 2014: U.S. Dramatic Competition". 10 January 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
7. ^ "'Whiplash' Owns the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Awards Netting Two Top Prizes". 26 January 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
8. ^ The Skeleton Twins Movie Review. September 9, 2014. by Richard Corliss at Time Magazine. Retrieved December 31, 2014
9. ^ a b Hasan, Zaki (12 September 2014). "Interview: Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, and Craig Johnson on The Skeleton Twins". Huffington Post. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
10. ^ a b c d Gupta, Prachi (21 January 2014). ""The Skeleton Twins" director Craig Johnson on comedy, tragedy and Bill Hader". Salon.com. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
11. ^ a b c d Bahr, Lindsey. "Behind Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader's epic lip sync in 'Skeleton Twins'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
12. ^ "Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader begin filming 'The Skeleton Twins' in NYC". November 27, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
13. ^ Patches, Matt (January 16, 2014). "Sundance Preview: 'Skeleton Twins' Reunites Former 'SNL' Co-stars Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
14. ^ "The Skeleton Twins (2014) – International Box Office Results – Box Office Mojo". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
15. ^ "The Skeleton Twins". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
16. ^ "The Skeleton Twins Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 2, 2014.

## External links[edit]

* Official website
* The Skeleton Twins at IMDb
* The Skeleton Twins at Rotten Tomatoes
* The Skeleton Twins at Box Office Mojo

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Craig Johnson

* True Adolescents (2009)
* The Skeleton Twins (2014)
* Wilson (2017)
* Alex Strangelove (2018)
* The Parenting (TBA)

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