Twins Milo and Maggie have not seen each other for ten years then Maggie gets a call to say her estranged brother is in hospital after a failed suicide attempt.

She goes to see him out in L.A. and brings him back to New York. There he gets to confront his past, their joint histories and whatever the future may hold. This is essentially them getting to know each other again after such a long hiatus and in doing so holding up a metaphoric mirror to each other.

Now this started out a bit slow but once it picked up it is really engaging. Bill Hader as Milo manages to capture the complexities of some one full of life's disappointment but still with reserves of joy that just need tapping. Kristen Wiig plays his sister who has more layers than an onion in terms of how she juggles her various needs. In other words they are both just really human with the same frailties we all have. This is a comedy but it is somewhat dark and often wry but I still found this to be extremely enjoyable for all that – recommended to those who like an offbeat comedy.

Greetings again from the darkness. Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Ty Burrell and Luke Wilson ... prepare yourself for 90 minutes of side-splitting laughter! OK, well you can prepare all you want, but you should know that while there are some funny moments, this is one of the bleakest films of the year. Bleak as in achingly painful to watch at times due to the emotional pain most every character experiences.

Hopefully no one stopped reading after "side-splitting laughter" because here is a sampling of thematic elements covered in the film: attempted suicide, suicide of a parent, adultery, sexual abuse of a minor, rampant lying, depression, horrific parenting, drug use, animal cruelty.

If Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig of SNL fame don't spring to mind when considering those elements, please keep an open mind. Both are extremely good (and believable) in their roles as twins estranged for a decade, forced back together after a near tragedy. See, after a miserable childhood, their time apart has prevented both from establishing a strong personal relationship with anyone else. Hader plays a self-professed "gay cliché", while Wiig is pretending to have the perfect suburban life with her gung-ho, always "up", good guy husband (Luke Wilson).

The film's best humor is produced in small moments thanks to the connection between Wiig and Hader. It's definitely not in the almost shameful attempts at crowd-pleasing offered in the SNL-ish scenes of lip-synching to Starship, and over-indulging on Nitrous Oxide at the dental office.

Real emotional turmoil exists in the scenes between Hader and Ty Burrell, and the unnecessary and inexplicable reunion between Hader, Wiig and their mother (Joanna Gleason). Burrell, known for his outstanding "Modern Family" role, is intriguing as a dramatic actor. Looking forward to more of this from him.

The script, co-written by director Craig Johnson and Mark Heyman, really does capture some poignant and dramatic moments, and certainly benefits from the extremely talented cast. Just don't expect that side-splitting laughter ... unless you are susceptible to lip-synching and/or nitrous oxide.

Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader were "Saturday Night Live" cast members, but I recently saw her in a serious movie called "Hateship Loveship". Now, they co-star in "The Skeleton Twins". It's an addition to the pantheon of movies about family members trying to make peace with each other. Wiig's character comes across as the more significant one, although Hader's character goes through a more significant change. The secret that Wiig's character is keeping from her husband (Luke Wilson) adds an extra dimension to the plot.

In the end, I found it to be a good movie. Like Tom Hanks and Bill Murray, Kristen Wiig has made a good crossover from comedy to drama.