Box Office Review - Leaves of Grass

Tim Blake Nelson directs Edward Norton in the funny and tragic Leaves of Grass. The movie is about twin brothers (both played by Norton) who are geniuses in their own right. One is a philosophy professor and the other is a pot grower (albeit a brilliant pot grower). Brady (pot grower) convinces Bill (by using trickery) to come home to Oklahoma. Once in Oklahoma Brady uses Bill as a lookalike and an alibi while doing some rather illegal drug related acts. That’s about as much as I want to say as not to spoil the movie. Director Tim Blake Nelson was able to recruit a good number of quality actors for the movie, including himself. Melanie Lynskey (Up In The Air, Away We Go) plays Brady’s pregnant girlfriend, Keri Russell plays Bill’s love interest, and both are charming in their roles. Richard Dreyfuss shows up in a small role and Josh Pais (Adventureland, Synecdoche, New York) plays a rather unlikely bad guy who makes the movie for me. His final scene was absolutely hilarious. I would have preferred if the tone of that scene was throughout, but Tim Blake Nelson was aiming for a darker tone of comedy. The movie has some dark Coen Bros type scenes that work well in the movie. Leaves of Grass is a sometimes violent often funny movie that is a love letter to the Southern USA. The movie is a solid film to sit back and enjoy.

A Good Banana