The Brothers McMullen
Overview
The Brothers McMullen is a 1995 American comedy-drama film
directed, written, produced by, and starring Edward Burns
. It 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.
The film begins with Finbar "Barry" McMullen (Edward Burns
) standing at the grave of his recently-deceased father, along with his mother, who tells him that she's returning to her native Ireland
to be with Finbar O'Shaughnessy (after whom Barry is named), her sweetheart of long ago.
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
directed, written, produced by, and starring Edward Burns
Edward Burns
Edward Fitzgerald Burns is an American actor, film producer, writer and director.-Early life:Burns was born in Woodside, Queens, New York, the son of Molly , a federal agency manager, and Edward J. Burns, a public relations spokesman and police officer. He was raised a Roman Catholic...
. It deals with the lives of the three Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
McMullen brothers from Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, over three months, as they grapple with basic ideas and values — love, sex, marriage, religion and family — in the 1990s.
The film begins with Finbar "Barry" McMullen (Edward Burns
Edward Burns
Edward Fitzgerald Burns is an American actor, film producer, writer and director.-Early life:Burns was born in Woodside, Queens, New York, the son of Molly , a federal agency manager, and Edward J. Burns, a public relations spokesman and police officer. He was raised a Roman Catholic...
) standing at the grave of his recently-deceased father, along with his mother, who tells him that she's returning to her native Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to be with Finbar O'Shaughnessy (after whom Barry is named), her sweetheart of long ago.
Quotations
What am I going to do with my life? You know I didn't think college was actually going to end.
I don't need any new ideas. I'm confused enough already.
Repression is not such a bad thing.
I like being a pessimist. It helps me deal with my inevitable failure.
Jack is trying to save his marriage, Patrick is in a hopeless relationship, but their biggest problem is Barry's brotherly advice.