People Like Us
People Like Us hits the big screen this week and sees Chris Pine team up with Elizabeth Banks as long lost brother and sister.
So we took a look at some of the best film siblings that have appeared on the big screen over the years.
- Ferris & Jeanie Bueller in Ferris Beuller’s day off
Matthew Broderick dons his Ray Bans to play high school senior Ferris Bueller who decides to ditch school for the day. Ferris is nearly out-witted by his bitter sister played by Dirty Dancing’s very own Jennifer Grey in this 1980s classic.
- Wendy and John Savage in The Savages
Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman are the Savages, a modern brother and sister brought together to care for their sick father in what becomes a dark comedy about an uneasy family reunion.
- Raymond and Charlie Babbitt in Rain Man
An Oscar winning performance from 1988, Rain Man stars Dustin Hoffman as autistic genius Raymond, recently discovered by his philandering long lost brother Charlie, played by Tom Cruise.
The film became a favourite worldwide, going on to win four Oscars including best actor for Hoffman’s performance.
- Kate and Charlotte Flax in Mermaids
Cher is the matriarch in this single-family drama with Christina Ricci and Winona Ryder playing her flaxen haired off-spring.
Set in 1963, at the time of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the eccentric family move to yet another new town and try to settle in as best they can. Cher sang the theme tune with her co-stars appearing in the official video, Shoop Shoop anyone?
- Marianne, Elinor and Margaret Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility
Critically acclaimed director Ang Lee takes on Jane Austen’s classic starring Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson and Emilie François as three sisters who have recently lost their father.
Left with a meagre inheritance, their chances of love and marriage prove difficult. The film also starred Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman with Emma Thompson taking on the dual task of writing the screenplay for which she won an Oscar.
- Anne and Mary Boleyn in The Other Boleyn Girl
Henry VIII and his six wives are world renowned but not so many know the story behind Mary Boleyn, the sister of his second wife Anne.
With a large dash of poetic license, Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman took on the Boleyn sisters in this story of ambition, lust and betrayal. Three guesses how it all ends.
- Celie Johnson & Nettie Harris in The Colour Purple
Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel was adapted for the big screen and directed by Steven Spielberg.
This emotional drama saw Whoopi Goldberg and Akosua Busia play sisters in post slavery Southern America facing sexism, poverty and racism on a daily basis.
Despite its eleven Academy nominations the film failed to win even one golden statuette but Goldberg did pick up a Best Actress award at the Golden Globes.
- Dicky Eklund and Micky Ward in The Fighter
Directed by David O. Russell The Fighter is based on the true story of boxing mad half-brothers Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund played by Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale.
The Baltimore duo (and their seven sisters) struggle with Micky’s career choices and Dicky’s drug addiction. Bale’s efforts to shed most of his body weight paid off, with him going on to win an Academy Award.
- Blanche and Jane Hudson in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane
This spine chilling story of paraplegic Blanche Hudson and her embittered sister ‘Baby Jane’ captivated audiences when it was released in 1962.
Starring two of cinemas tower houses in Joan Crawford and Bette Davis it soon gathered a cult following and featured regularly in popular culture
- Paul & Norman Maclean in A River Runs Through It
Robert Redford switched to the other side of the camera to direct Brad Pitt and Craig Sheffer as two brothers coming of age during American prohibition and World War I under the keen eye of their minister father.
- Sam and Frankie in People Like Us
Chris Pine plays salesman Sam, who manages to arrive late to his own father’s funeral creating tension between him and his mother Lillian played by Michelle Pfeiffer.
Whilst dealing with his father’s estate, Sam’s world turns upside down as he learns of a long lost sister Frankie, a recovering alcoholic played by Elizabeth Banks.
People Like Us is released 9th November
Tagged in Chris Pine Elizabeth Banks