The Skeleton Twins

"Family is a cruel joke."

2014 1h 32m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 720

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Estranged twins Maggie and Milo coincidentally cheat death on the same day, prompting them to reunite and confront the reasons their lives went so wrong. As the twins' reunion reinvigorates them, they realize the key to fixing their lives may just lie in repairing their relationship.

“Family is a cruel joke.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Bill Hader
Milo Dean
Kristen Wiig
Maggie Dean
Luke Wilson
Lance
Ty Burrell
Rich
Boyd Holbrook
Billy
Joanna Gleason
Judy
Kathleen Rose Perkins
Carlie
Adriane Lenox
Linda Essex

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Craig Johnson
Writers: Craig Johnson, Mark Heyman
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 $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.3× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Craig Johnson, shot by Reed Morano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig and Luke Wilson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Family is a cruel joke.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Craig Johnson directs. Reed Morano behind the camera. Nathan Larson scores. Jennifer Lee 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 $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 5.3× over at the box office.
3Released 12 years ago.
4Directed by Craig Johnson, shot by Reed Morano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Nathan Larson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Jennifer Lee shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig and Luke Wilson carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Family is a cruel joke.".
9IMDB entry: tt1571249 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 19 themes, including "adultery", "infidelity", "new york city", "sibling relationship".

The technical file

Cinematography: Reed Morano
Original score: Nathan Larson
Editing: Jennifer Lee
Production design: Ola Maslik
Costume design: Mikaela Wohl
Makeup / hair: Leo Won
Sound: Matt Schoenfeld
Stunt coordinator: Chris Barnes
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,000,000
Box office: $5,300,000
Return: 530% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Skeleton Twins (2014)

Awards

The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award

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

Also by

Craig Johnson

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2015-08-26
★ 7/10
Twins and their failures, depression, suicide attempt, together overcoming. After the beautiful 'Hateship Loveship', I expected this one for Kristen Wiig. It was a brother-sister relationship theme. The main characters are twins and they have lots of common. The story begins when they meet for the first time after the ten years of no connection. The circumstance was strange as they both were depressed who attempt for a self kill. That does not end successfully, instead narration commence for us where they share each others memory of the past by trying to shape up the present life. But still the old habits won't let them alone as they encounter life changing decisions by the end of the story. Kind of a rare movie, all about the twins' bonding told in a humourous way, mostly. Mistakes are the essence of the script. The fall and rise were cleverly constructed throughout around those two characters. The cast was the plus point. Since it was about twins, Wiig and Hader are perfectly fit for their respective roles. As for Bill Hader, I've never seen he donned in a higher ranked role like this. He was always been a co-star and in this film he's one of the leads. Everybody gets their time right like awesome Timothy Spall in 'Mr. Turner'. In this movie, these two lead performers were absolutely spot on. But the lack of pace is a challenge. If you pass through it successfully, you would get a nice entertainment. If not, the movie would be dull, pale, even it could be worse film of the year for you. Anyway, still it falls short to be an excellent film, I consider it to be a just good movie. Worth a watch, but the movie won't stay in your memory for so long. 6.5/10

Production companies