John Patrick Shanley has made a career out of writing intricate character pieces about thorny issues. He won an Oscar for writing Moonstruck, the film where Cher played a widowed Italian-American woman who falls in love with her fiancé’s hot-tempered younger brother, while he also penned fascinating drama Doubt. (He also wrote We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story, but let’s ignore that).
So it’s no surprise that he’s writing and directing another film about complicated character dynamics. He will explore sibling rivalry with The Twinkle Brothers, a comedy in the works at Rivulet Media.
The film revolves around the recounting of a story told by avuncular café owner Mordecai, who tells his precocious six-year-old granddaughter Rita a yarn about Freddie and Miguel, two insanely competitive brothers from Puerto Rico who move to New York and end up with rival restaurants directly across the street from one another.
The brothers stop at nothing to be the best on the block, ratcheting up the competition to the delight of their neighbors who are treated to bizarrely spectacular light shows, dueling Santas, and seemingly endless plates of delicious and comforting food.
It sounds like a mix between great food dramedy Big Night and a probably less silly version of Step Brothers, and should be good fun. This will be Shanley’s follow up to Wild Mountain Thyme, the recent romantic drama that starred Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan released in December.
Rivulet recently wrapped production on two other projects: Please Baby Please, a drama that stars Andrea Riseborough and Demi Moore, and The Mistress with John Magaro and Chasten Harmon.
#Peace.Love.TheTwinkleBrothers
