Father figurs

Moviegoers may recall the basic premise of “Father Figures” from “Flirting With Disaster,” a vastly funnier 1996 comedy by David O. Russell. “Father Figures” doesn’t merely flirt. It stars Ed Helms as Peter and Owen Wilson as Kyle, two of the least-related-seeming twins in history. On the day their mother (Glenn Close) marries some cool cat played by Harry Shearer, they learn that their father isn’t dead, as they thought, but just unknown. Mom didn’t practice monogamy in the disco era. And so the brothers venture out to meet their father. The contenders include Terry Bradshaw (playing himself), who seems thrilled to have Peter to toss around a football with but pays no attention to Kyle, and Roland (J.K. Simmons), who would just as soon betray or shoot his sons as bond with them. Kyle and Peter also pick up a hitchhiker (Katt Williams) who becomes a mediator for their bickering. Trailer: ‘Father Figures’ By WARNER BROS. PICTURES2:30 Trailer: ‘Father Figures’ A preview of the film. Distinguished mainly by its overqualified cast and lack of inspiration, “Father Figures” can’t decide whether it’s a gross-out comedy or an uplifting tale of brotherly love; it embraces the worst of both worlds. When not lobbing jokes about prostates, possible incest and mammoth cat testicles, the movie stops cold for Mr. Helms and Mr. Wilson (who can act, on the basis of other movies) to muddle through one heart-to-heart after another. “Father Figures” purports to run about two hours, but it feels like the length of Kyle and Peter’s upbringing.