“Our Idiot Brother” pieces together familiar relationships with an indie vibe, made sweet and cheerful by the cleverly casted actors that bring emotional depth to their roles. The movie begins when a uniformed officer tricks Ned, an organic farmer, into selling him marijuana.

As expected Ned goes to jail. Upon his release he finds that his “girlfriend” has dumped him and is keeping the adorable golden retriever named Willie Nelson. So, Ned is forced to crash at his sisters’ houses, where he reveals to them far more than they were ready to handle.

The archetypal fool is Ned, played by Paul Rudd. He is in every way good-natured and genuine, far more so than his sisters, who unlike Ned live in the real world. Liz is a homemaker who along with her husband Dylan, spend time teaching their children empty morals.

Miranda is a no-nonsense wannabe journalist, trying to get published in Vanity Fair. Lastly, sister Nat (Zooey Deschanel) is an unfulfilled stand-up comedian and artist’s model.

Directed by Jesse Peretz, the movie portrays Ned as the sweet and naïve sibling, who seems to be the only person in the movie that cares to carry himself with sincerity.

As it turns out the movie is a comment on the skewed morals of society; the three sisters become upset when Ned maintains his personal integrity. Several scenes provide the movie with just the right amount of comedic relief for situations that are really very uncomfortable and difficult in real life.

Many of the characters embody stereotypical clichés: Rashida Jones’s character Cindy is the bruiser lesbian living with Nat in a communal crash pad.

Other characters were pushed past their clichés and given depth and emotion, as was the case with Liz and her husband Dylan (Emily Mortimer and Steve Coogan, respectively). This movie could be labeled an ensemble piece as there are so many big names, many of which have worked together on previous projects. Their past projects helped give the actors’ chemistry that was apparent on screen.

Though this movie may not be up for any awards, it is well directed and enjoyable.

Fair warning: this movie is not hilarious, so if anyone is expecting that, they will be disappointed. It is more of a cross between Jeff Bridges character “The Dude” in the movie “The Big Lebowski” and Paul Rudd’s character “Josh Lucas” in “Clueless.” This movie may not be worth the price of regular admission but it won’t disappoint for a matinee price.