Those who followed the independent film scene in the 1990s might remember that Edward Burns was once a figure that was seen as being part of the same generation that included Quentin Tarantino, Richard Linklater, Steven Soderbergh, and David O. Russell. Although he is known by many for his supporting role in Saving Private Ryan, Burns took the independent film world by storm when his debut feature The Brothers McMullen debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 1995 and became a major sensation. It won the Grand Jury Prize and earned distribution from Fox Searchlight, which made it the studio’s first release. Burns has spent the last three decades making other independent films, including many that were only released on VOD, and hasn’t earned the same response as he did for his first feature. However, Burns directed an official sequel with The Family McMullen, which reunited members of the main cast for an original feature that debuted on Max.
Although the word “indie” is often seen as being interchangeable with “arthouse,” The Brothers McMullen was successful because it reflected realistic relationships between an idiosyncratic family of Irish-Americans living on Long Island. Burns had managed to speak to an Irish audience in a way that still appealed to other viewers, leading some pundits at the time to deem him to be “the next Woody Allen.” What’s most charming about The Family McMullen is that Burns’ approach didn’t really change, even if the industry itself has evolved significantly since The Brothers McMullen first debuted. The Brothers McMullen may have felt transgressive and exciting at first, but with The Family McMullen, Burns seems comfortable making something that feels a little bit more old-fashioned.
‘The Family McMullen’ Wasn’t an Expected Sequel
The original The Brothers McMullen had starred Burns as Barry McMullen, who struggles to determine what he will do with the rest of his life when his mother (Catherine Bolz) informs him that she will be moving back to Ireland after his father has passed away. The Family McMullen picks up with Barry thirty years after the events of the original film, and introduces his children Tommy (Pico Alexander) and Patty (Halston Sage), who seem to be going through the same sort of relationship struggles that their father once did. Tommy was seemingly set up for the type of success that had never afforded his family before, as he’d decided to become an actor, which means moving back home with his dad. Although Patty had intended to marry her boyfriend Terrence Joseph (Bryan Fitzgerald), an uncomfortable family holiday dinner leads them to split. While a majority of the attention is paid to Barry and his struggles as a father, The Family McMullen features the return of Mike McGlone, who reprises his role as Barry’s brother, Patrick.
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What’s most charming about the sequel is that The Family McMullen does nothing to mess with the formula of the first film, which had aimed to serve as a slice-of-life experience that reflected what it was like to be at a very specific age where every decision feels incredibly consequential. The sequel reveals that many of the expectations about the future that Barry had when he was the same age as his children are now didn’t play out the way that he expected, and in many cases, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Although The Family McMullen is a much broader comedy than its predecessor, there are some moments of depth that come from the supporting cast. McGlone is particularly strong in showing how Patrick has grown to become more dependent on Barry as he’s aged, and recognizes that he might be the “black sheep” of the family. There’s also a strong role for Connie Britton reprising her role as Barry’s sister-in-law Molly, who lost her husband in between the two films.
‘The Family McMullen’ Is a Reminder of What Edward Burns Is Best At
Burns has a knack for writing grounded, painfully authentic moments of familial dysfunction, and The Family McMullen is at its best when it’s observing awkward family gatherings, as holidays have a way of drawing up uncertain emotions and sparking age-old disputes. While the chaotic, overlapping dialogue that was in the original film was in stark contrast to what other family dramas were doing at the time, The Family McMullen feels like a deliberate throwback, which works thematically because Barry is realizing that he’s trying to use old-fashioned parenting techniques to raise his children. Perhaps the most profound notion in the film is that parents and children have just as much that they can learn from one another; Barry finds that he has matured by having to relate to his kids, and discovers that he’s beginning to feel a lot like his own parents.
Despite being a sequel that debuted on a popular streaming service, The Family McMullen still feels like an independent production and passion project, as the lighter mood suggests that Burns and the returning cast truly enjoyed returning to the characters that helped to launch their careers. While it’s not like a sequel to The Brothers McMullen was a top priority to Warner Bros. Discovery, the fact that the new film feels like the natural second-half of a delightful double feature is certain to attract audiences who have never seen the original. Even if some of the edges have been sanded off over the years, The Brothers McMullen has a lot of heart, and that’s what The Family McMullen seems to understand the most.
The Family McMullen is currently streaming on Max.
