The Family McMullen: Very belated sequel to ‘90s charmer offers undemanding, entertaining viewing

Monday, 22 December 2025

REVIEW: It was the film that took Sundance by storm, helped launch Fox’s Searchlight Pictures and became the most profitable movie of 1995.

Shot on weekends at his mother’s house over eight months, Edward Burns’ The Brothers McMullen cost only US$28,000 to make, but earned nearly US$20m at the box office.

Written, directed and starring the 27-year-old native New Yorker (then a production assistant at Entertainment Tonight), it marked him out as not only a blue-collar Richard Gere, but also Generation X’s answer to Woody Allen, as he spun an engaging and thought-provoking tale of three Long Island Irish Catholic brothers struggling to deal with romance, marriage and infidelity. It also introduced audiences to Connie Britton.

Edward Burns and Michael McGlone reprise their roles as Barry and Patrick in The Family McMullen.

Now, 30 years later, Burns revisits all his characters in The Family McMullen (available to stream on Neon).

As remaining siblings Barry (Burns) and Patrick (Michael McGlone) gather together for their latest Thanksgiving dinner (oldest brother Jack having succumbed to cancer some time ago), joined by Jack’s widow Molly (Britton), the mood is tense.

Not only has Patrick announced he needs a place to stay because wife Leslie has decided “to start a new chapter” without him, but there’s something about Barry’s daughter Patty’s (Halston Sage) boyfriend Terrence Joseph ( Bryan Fitzgerald), her old man simply “doesn’t like”. “He’s too preppy. Not particularly handsome. A wannabe blue blood,” Barry spits, before nearly choking on his beer when Patty announces at turkey time that the two are engaged.

Has the widowed Molly (Connie Britton) found new romance in the form of old friend Walter (Brian d'Arcy James)?

“Oh jeez, what are you talking about? It kind of breaks my heart that he didn’t get my approval,” Barry opines, before directly addressing Terrence Joseph. “You’re lucky I’m not a traditionalist, otherwise you and I would be in the backyard with the gloves right now.”

After the other two adults weigh in with their own reasons why Patty should think twice about marriage at such a young age, the evening ends with Terrence Joseph “suggesting” perhaps they should separate for a month to “go on a few dates and see a few other people” before settling down. Patti does not take his latest proposal well.

With son Tommy (Pico Alexander) also deciding to quit his tech job to try his hand at acting, normally lone wolf Barry suddenly, somewhat reluctantly finds himself with three others under his roof. “I’m not going to cook for you, clean for you and I’m definitely not doing your laundry. You want any of that bulls… – ask Patrick,” he chides his offspring, before warning his brother, “You start quoting the Bible and you’re not staying another minute.”

What follows is a crowd-pleasing, if sometimes clangingly unsubtle look at modern-day relationships for both Gen X and Y. You certainly don’t need to have seen Brothers to enjoy the romantic trials and tribulations of these Big Apple residents, but the, sometimes, soapy situations and broad characterisations won’t be for everyone (as well as the internal monologues that each character gets, seemingly after every “significant event”).

Still, Family offers undemanding, entertaining viewing, a few laughs, engaging characters and a mix of cynicism and heart that’s truly hard not to like.

The Family McMullen (13+) is now available to stream on Neon.