Entertainment

A quirky band of brothers

In “The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best,” half of the musical duo embarking on an eccentric US tour vows, “We’re gonna change the course of human history — like the Wyld Stallyns in ‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.’ ” A noble goal.

Initially, this low-budget film writes a lot of checks on the First National Bank of Whimsy, but I was astonished when none of them bounced. After a dreary series of would-be comic scenes, a morose musician (Ryan O’Nan) who has just been kicked out of his band joins forces with an excitable weirdo (Michael Weston) who gets his attention by punching him in a public park. They form a folky singing duo and tour the country despite not knowing each other. Equally randomly, a beautiful girl (Arielle Kebbel) they meet on the road agrees to come along as their promoter.

Yet the film finally delivers when the boys, calling themselves the Brooklyn Brothers, start to make music. Alex (O’Nan) finds his depressing lyrics sweetened by the goofy lightness of Jim (Weston), who plays an array of Toys R Us instruments with striking originality. Says an appreciative listener after an unexpectedly sweet frat-house party, “You guys are cool. Kind of a Shins meets ‘Sesame Street’ sort of thing.” But exactly.

O’Nan, who wrote and directed the movie built around his own songs (and others by Brendan Leach and Keith Freudenberger), is a ragged filmmaker who can’t seem to resist overdoing the quirk by forcing situations, but he’s an appealing actor and a superb musician. It’s not hard to picture the Brooklyn Brothers playing with They Might Be Giants or Ben Folds.