Owen Wilson and Ed Helms have daddy issues
Fraternal twins go on hunt for their father in comedic romp
A bromance blooms and daddy issues abound when Ed Helms and Owen Wilson hit the road in the new comedy Bastards.
The movie (in theaters Jan. 27) stars the two actors as estranged fraternal twins Peter and Kyle, who are told by their kooky mother (Glenn Close) that their dad died when they were very young. As it turns out, she doesn’t even know who the father is, so the Midwestern siblings go on a quest to find their true parentage.
Bastards is equal parts chaotic adventure, family drama, bigscreen mystery and debauched fun, according to first-time director Lawrence Sher.
“I’ve always been interested in comedies with a little bit more on the bone than a lot of laughs and something that speaks with some emotional truth,” says Sher, a longtime cinematographer ( Gar
den State, The Hangover series) in Hollywood. “Particularly as we reach middle age, we often look to our parents and our family as to what the hell went wrong here.”
Helms says that’s in keeping with the many characters he has played who were searching for identity and/or their old mojo.
“It’s people reconnecting, and that’s just a theme that I love,” says the actor, who felt an oddcouple kinship with his co-star Wilson. “We really found an awesome connection working together.”
The Reynolds brothers have fallen out of touch when Bastards begins. Peter (Helms) is an unhappy divorced doctor whose young son dislikes him, while Kyle — who has always looked up to his brother — got rich off being the spokesman silhouette on a bottle of barbecue sauce. “He is living the life of luxury and not really doing much to earn it, as Peter would look at it,” Sher says.
But Helms notes that there’s still unconditional love between the two, and their journey to seek out potential dads sends them into insane situations looking for clues. “Narratively, there is a nice
Hangover comparison: The guys are really unsure of what’s going on and trying to hang on for dear life.”
Sher recruited some diverse heavyweights as possible father figures, including Oscar winner J.K. Simmons as intimidating tough guy Roland Hunt and Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw as, well, Terry Bradshaw.
“All the dads we meet are kind of a mirror and they show us parts of ourselves that we either love or don’t like,” says Helms.
Roland is a future version of who Peter might become: “A bit closed off, a bit negative, a bit angry, and a bit like the world has done him wrong,” Sher explains. “There’s a little trepidation of ‘I’m not sure I even want this guy to be my father.’ ”
And Bradshaw matches Kyle’s open, carefree nature, both onscreen and off. “He’s sweet and joyous and a loving guy,” Sher says.
Helms reports that, while he’s sometimes disappointed when meeting other famous people, “Terry is everything you want him to be when you meet him. I had genuine feelings that, ‘Wow, I kind of wish Terry Bradshaw was my dad.’ ”