‘Our Idiot Brother’ – Elizabeth Banks Interview

Elizabeth Banks reunites with Paul Rudd for the fifth time with Our Idiot Brother, an R-rated comedy also starring Emily Mortimer, Zooey Deschanel, and Steve Coogan. Banks plays one of the sisters of the ‘idiot’ brother referenced in the title of the movie, and in this video interview provided by The Weinstein Company, she talks about the appeal of the film.

Banks also discusses the story, the cast, what she has in common with her character, the film’s message, and if she knows anyone like the character Paul Rudd plays in the movie.

The Plot: Every family has one: the sibling who is always just a little bit behind the curve when it comes to getting his life together. For sisters Liz (Emily Mortimer), Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), that person is their perennially upbeat brother Ned (Paul Rudd), an erstwhile organic farmer whose willingness to rely on the honesty of mankind is a less-than-optimum strategy for a tidy, trouble-free existence.

Ned may be utterly lacking in common sense, but he is their brother, and so, after his girlfriend dumps him and boots him off the farm, his sisters once again come to his rescue. As Liz, Miranda, and Natalie each take a turn at housing Ned, their brother’s unfailing commitment to honesty creates more than a few messes in their comfortable routines. But as each of their lives begins to unravel, Ned’s family comes to realize that maybe, in believing and trusting the people around him; Ned isn’t such an idiot after all.

Emily Mortimer, Elizabeth Banks and Zooey Deschanel in Our Idiot Brother
Emily Mortimer, Elizabeth Banks and Zooey Deschanel in Our Idiot Brother - © The Weinstein Company