Nutcrackers

Over a singular, decades-long career, Ben Stiller has shown himself comfortable in everything from farcical comedies like Zoolander to brainy Wes Anderson classics. His Nutcrackers director David Gordon Green has displayed similar range, from his acclaimed indie debut George Washington to stoner comedy Pineapple Express to the Halloween horror reboot. What both have in common is a taste for genuine dramatic emotion. In Nutcrackers, they let it all out.

Hotshot Chicago real estate developer Michael (Stiller) never had time for family. His sister once said he was incapable of love. But when Michael’s sister and her husband have a terrible accident, their house, farm, and four boys become Michael’s responsibility. He drives out to his sister’s small Ohio town thinking all he needs to do is sign some papers and get back to the city, but it’s not nearly that simple.

With the parents gone, the boys are practically feral. Until the family services worker (Linda Cardellini) can find them a home, their only guardian is Uncle Mike. Before he knows it, Michael is chasing chickens and providing improvised “health” classes. Desperate to free himself from inherited fatherhood, he’s both surprised and thrilled to learn his sister trained her boys in ballet. Can that make them cute enough to foster?

For those expecting a simple, broad comedy, Nutcrackers sneaks up on you. Scene by scene, Green, Stiller, and screenwriter Leland Douglas build the emotion as the makings of a new family emerge.