7 Chinese Brothers
To be honest, the appearance of Schwartzman as a gloomy underachiever and Dukakis in the role of his grandmother is what makes someone want to watch “7 Chinese Brothers,” a comedy about an apathetic character, except for the scene set in a world where nobody cares about professional ethics or honesty.
Bob Byington wrote and directed this movie, as he did with “RSO” and “Harmony and Me.” It is one of those movies that make you realize how much you love that unique screen presence of Schwartzman’s if you do not know it yet. From “Rushmore” through films like “I Heart Huckabees,” “Marie Antoinette,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” and another four Wes Anderson flicks (also two shorts), he has been able to take these potentially annoying characters on paper (or worse) into life-like representations so we can care what happens to them or at least not hope for their downfall.
“7 Chinese Brothers” falls into this category again. One part smug wise assery and three parts alcoholism, Larry played by Schwarztman gets fired from his restaurant job because he was caught stealing booze from the bar and lied about it, despite being among his best friends. Larry’s life is a mess.
When he drives around town doing nothing meaningful all day long but drinking out of Styrofoam cups containing beer, that should tell you something (though he does have only one friend a nurse named Major played by Tunde Adebimpe whose main responsibility is supplying him with stolen pills from nursing home). You might think otherwise if Larry were not taking care of his grandma who is acted by Dukakis or even had bulldog puppies shown in close up shots whenever the director needs an easy laugh.
But guess what? This is another one of those Manchild Finds Redemption by Entering Into an Adult Relationship with a Woman movies. The woman is named Lupe (Eleanore Pienta), who works at the quick lube where Larry gets hired to wash cars when it becomes obvious that his grandma will no longer be able to afford bailing him out of every jam. Gradually, the protagonist begins to see some kind of light on the horizon a future maybe.
This movie has been seen by you before in different masks. Though, Byington seems to have a vision of life, which is more than can be said for most comedy directors working at this budget level. Almost everyone looks like they gave up or were never taught to try in the first place (in any moral or ethical sense).
In many ways Byington’s narrative is quiet as it is filled with background details that are evident through short cuts and moving camera shots that prove Larry to be just one more useless self-centered jerk among many others. It looks like everybody here is working some kind of angle or taking a shortcut that would appall others if they knew they were taking it (watch for the brief shot of a cook in the opening sequence scooping piles of pasta from a giant pot with his bare hands).
On the whole, this world that has given up recalls HBO’s “Bored to Death,” for which Schwartzman starred as an idealistic private investigator based out of Brooklyn who seemed to be the only innocent and optimistic person in an immoral and spiritually bankrupt universe. Sometimes Larry feels like he could be a mutated version of Schwartzman’s feckless but decent grand hotel concierge from Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
Schwartzman’s eyes reflect intelligence while his reactions are deadpan thereby making him suitable for playing cynical heels such as those played by William Holden Fred MacMurray even though his smallish build and soprano voice will never allow him portray men as tough and scary as these actors often did except when it is meant to funny. There is something really special about him. This specialness goes far in making this slightly better than OK film feel exceptional too.
Watch 7 Chinese Brothers For Free On Solarmovies.