Your Sister’s Sister Movie Review (Outstanding)
Review by Variety
After putting male insecurity under a comic microscope in “Humpday,” writer-director Lynn Shelton hands the fairer sex a more prominent role in “Your Sister’s Sister,” another winning study of relational boundaries crossed and sexual dares gone awry. With Emily Blunt and Rosemarie Dewitt blending nicely opposite mumblecore mainstay Mark Duplass, this deftly performed, semi-improvised three-hander reps a step up in polish and ambition from its predecessor — arguably too much ambition in an excess of late-breaking narrative complication. Nonetheless, the film, which IFC picked up at Toronto, boasts solid appeal for indie fans and mainstream moviegoers interested in trying a safe, tasty item from the smarthouse menu.
Stuck in a deep personal rut a year after the death of his brother Tom, Jack (Duplass) accepts an invitation from his best friend, Iris (Emily Blunt), to spend a week alone at her family’s island getaway so he can reflect on his life. He arrives to find the house already occupied by Iris’ older sister, Hannah (Dewitt), and spends a few moments ogling her through the window before she hears a noise and nearly attacks him with an oar. Off to an awkward start, the two spend a long night loosening up over a bottle of booze, during which Hannah tells Jack she’s just broken up with Pam, her girlfriend of seven years.
Review by THR
Following up Humpday with another low-rent charmer about a thirtysomething dude trying to find his way, Lynn Shelton moves from two- to three-character dynamics in Your Sister’s Sister. Though it lacks the outrageous premise that helped the last film break through, the writer/director’s growing reputation should ensure an eager audience at theaters. Returning from Humpday (and somehow finding time between his own burgeoning behind-the-camera career with brother Jay), Mark Duplass plays Jack, who’s in love with best friend Iris (Emily Blunt) but hasn’t been able to pursue her since the death of his brother, Iris’s ex-boyfriend, a year ago.
Seeking some head-clearing alone time at Iris’s dad’s island getaway in Puget Sound, Jack instead finds Iris’s sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt), licking her wounds after ending a seven-year lesbian relationship. The two actors play beautifully off each other — DeWitt dryly tolerating unwanted company, Duplass endearingly over-explaining every infelicitous act or comment.
Review by Cole Smithey
Mumblecore standard-bearer Lynn Shelton (“Humpday”) shows promising signs of maturing with an originally executed romantic comedy. Shelton regular Mark Duplass doesn’t stray far from the man-child character he normally plays. The first anniversary of Jack’s (Duplass) brother incites him to hilariously if pathetically vent his spleen at a party where his deceased brother’s ex-girlfriend Iris (Emily Blunt) is in attendance. Iris recognizes the shambles of Jack’s rudderless existence, and sends him on a retreat at her dad’s tranquil cabin in Puget Sound. Jack is more than a little surprised to find Iris’s lesbian sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt) inhabiting the cabin when he arrives by bicycle in the middle of the night.
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