The Brothers McMullen

"Sometimes the Best Friends Are the Ones You've Known Your Whole Life."

1995 1h 38m EN

😐

6.1

MID

🍅

88%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.6

IMDB

★6.1TMDB · 107🍅88%Rotten Tomatoes●73Metacritic★6.6IMDB · 8,313

ComedyDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Deals with the lives of the three Irish Catholic McMullen brothers from Long Island, New York, over three months, as they grapple with basic ideas and values — love, sex, marriage, religion and family — in the 1990s.

“Sometimes the Best Friends Are the Ones You've Known Your Whole Life.”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Edward Burns
Barry / Finbar McMullen
Michael McGlone
Patrick McMullen
Connie Britton
Molly McMullen
Jack Mulcahy
Jack McMullen
Catharine Bolz
Mrs McMullen
Shari Albert
Susan
Maxine Bahns
Audrey
Jennifer Jostyn
Leslie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Edward Burns
Writers: Edward Burns
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $19M — a 773.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "McMullen Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Edward Burns, shot by Dick Fisher. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Seamus Egan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Dick Fisher shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Edward Burns directs. Dick Fisher behind the camera. Seamus Egan scores. Dick Fisher cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $19M — a 773.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
331 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "McMullen Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
6Directed by Edward Burns, shot by Dick Fisher. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Seamus Egan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Dick Fisher shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Edward Burns and Michael McGlone and Connie Britton carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Sometimes the Best Friends Are the Ones You've Known Your Whole Life.".
11IMDB entry: tt0112585 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Dick Fisher
Original score: Seamus Egan
Editing: Dick Fisher
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000
Box office: $19,326,506
Return: 77306% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Brothers McMullen (1995)
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 73/100
IMDB rating: 6.6/10 · 8,313 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

4 wins & 1 nomination

Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

McMullen Collection

An exploration of the lives of the three Irish Catholic McMullen brothers from Long Island, New York, over three months, as they grapple with basic ideas and values—love, sex, marriage, religion and family—in the 1990s and 2020s.