Margot at the Wedding

Nasty humor and droll faces make up this equally funny and depressing exploration of sibling relations. Nicole Kidman does well playing miserable in this mildly amusing film from writer-director Noah Baumbach. Kidman plays Margot, sister of Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who returns home with her strange son after Pauline announces her engagement to Malcolm (Jack Black). Margot climbs up trees, conducts an affair with a local acquaintance, and gives Malcolm hell for being a little abnormal. The dysfunctional family antics lead up to a fairly predictable, and abrupt, ending. Baumbach likes his comedy dark (see The Squid and the Whale), and this one gets a bit listless at times. But the performances are good, especially Kidman and Black, who holds his own just fine in his scenes with the more experienced actresses. Not a very memorable movie, but worth a look if you are a fan of the performers.