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“The Notorious Newman Brothers” (2009)

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Directed by Ryan Noel

Satisfaction:Pleased Tags: Butler Brothers, Uber-Indie, Comedy

“Small-time crooks” doesn’t even begin to describe the Notorious Newman Brothers. As two low-rent movie-quoting Italian-Canadian mobsters, they boast of drug deals and murders (including some in the little-known 4th and 5th degrees) but the reality around them contradicts; in one of the first moments we spend with them, they’re breaking into a neighborhood home. What are they stealing? Well, groceries. After all, they do plan on making a delicious meal for dinner.

The faux-eloquent Newman Brothers are the subject of a documentary by Max (Ryan Noel), a 31-year-old wizard-loving local still shacked up in his mom’s house. He listens intently as the mob brothers talk themselves up to ridiculous heights, and if he doesn’t agree with a statement or doesn’t catch a particular gangster film reference, he’s berated. “I didn’t know that, when we agreed to do this documentary, that we were doing it with a retard,” says Thunderclap (Brett Butler), the self-proclaimed smarts and “tough guy” of the operation. His brother Paulie (Jason Butler) describes himself as the brains and the braun of the partnership. “He makes the plans, but I map things out,” Thunderclap counters.

Clearly, the magic of The Notorious Newman Brothers comes from the Butler brothers. They have this charisma that allows even their pauses and hesitations to be funny. Their rapport, while a bit too on the fly, breeds plain, goofy fun as the characters try to one-up each other every chance they get. If one says a stolen good will sell for $150, the other says, “More like 160 bucks,” to which the first will come back with, “I think you’re right. More like 180 bucks, now that I look at it.” The punchline of it all: the two don’t seem to care. There’s no threat of a competitive blow-up between them, as this is just a part of their relationship.

The film is absolutely ridiculous, but it’s meant to be. The movie spends half its running time showing the Newman Brothers trying to convince Max that they truly are glamorous, hardened criminals. Thunderclap Newman makes claims to seducing his babysitter when he was only 6 years old, the resulting sexual encounter being responsible for the origin of his nickname (not to be mistaken with the one-hit wonder band of the 60’s). In an attempt to prove the power of the Notorious Newman Brothers, Paulie declares that the shade of his brother’s dark suit is technically an “inter-fucking-galactic black.”

It’s difficult for me to call The Notorious Newman Brothers a good movie since it has plenty of things working against it. It would have benefited from a few more takes to polish and tighten some scenes (I’ve been told that the film has been shortened by 6 minutes from the version I viewed), and the story, while mildly interesting in a silly kind of way, truly only exists as a vehicle to allow the characters to riff and interact. Some twists near the end prove to be kind of cute but add little else than a convenient way to cap off the film. A small subplot develops from the pleasure Max gets after stealing or acting out in crime—a pleasure he feels a bit ashamed of—but the story, while popping up a few places throughout the film, felt like it forgot its payoff back home, ultimately feeling abandoned. I wonder if there ever was an intention to go somewhere with it, even if it was the old cliché of having the innocent become the biggest gangster of them all.

As with Confusions of an Unmarried Couple, there’s just something endearing about the shoestring nature of the film, particularly some of the editing techniques. Little things, like the way the camera zooms in on the food that Thunderclap cooks, eventually dissolving to a wider shot, or the visual way we revisit Max’s tirade at the video store, or the simple cutaway to a crucifix after a character curses inside of a church sanctuary—they won me over in the oddest way possible.

Speaking with a friend about this film, we both agreed that we would love to see these actors in someone else’s movie, where their strengths could stand out. Confusions was a Butler brothers brew, and you could say they teamed up with a separate director, Ryan Noel, for The Notorious Newman Brothers, but I’d like to see all of them—even Noel, whose performance as Max gets exponentially better with each viewing after I initially abhorred it—join a writer and director that has some films under his belt. Allow these guys to create their own fun characters, because that’s where they shine, and place things in the hand of a focused helmer who may not be quite in their circle, but who still gets their sensibility (a bit like David Gordon Green and Pineapple Express, though I personally wish Green imposed his vision even more so on that film). I do realize, though, that in the über-indie movie world, it’s not easy finding more money for a flick or another director outside your group. It’s easier to go with what you have.

While I might give more merit to Confusions for its uncomfortably honest insights (the film may not be changing lives globally, but it excels at speaking the unmentionable thoughts of the male mind), I find myself enjoying The Notorious Newman Brothers more. It’s not as depravedly perceptive as Confusions, but on the surface level, it’s more fun. I’ve already rewatched the film and now find myself quoting it to friends who know nothing about it. It’s the kind of movie I could see myself casually popping in on a whim as I prepare a flavorful, good-tasting sauce with plenty of rubbed oregano.

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