Best/Worst Sibling Relationships

[Wiendish Fitch]

I started this thread at TWoP, so I thought I'd bring it here, too. Here's my original first post to get things started:

 

There are threads for romance, friendship, and parents, but how about that most complex relationship, that between siblings? Here are some of my picks for best and worst:

Best

Ali and Zahra from Children of Heaven: I love, love, love this movie. It's one of the most refreshing depictions of a loving relationship between brother and sister. Ali would do anything for his little sister, and Zahra is a sweet girl who appreciates her older brother. Why can't more movies have brothers and sisters who aren't always at each other's throats?

The Pigeon sisters from The Odd Couple: Okay, so they're basically plot devices, but they're so similar in personality, they must get along great! Also, Carole Shelley and Monica Evans have a delightful chemistry.

Nicholas and Kate from Nicholas Nickleby (specifically the 2002 version): All girls should be so lucky to have such a loving, protective (but not in a creepy, annoying way) older brother. Honorable mention to poor Smike, who is sort of "adopted" in a sense.

Elizabeth and Jane Bennett from Pride and Prejudice (any version, pick one):What's this? Sisters who can tell each other anything? Who don't fight over some guy? Who don't stab each other in the back? What fresh madness is this?! Seriously, though, one of the sweetest depictions of sisterly love ever.

The Cratchit kids from A Christmas Carol: They look out for one another, and never resent Tiny Tim for all the attention he receives.

Worst

Scarlett and Suellen O'Hara from Gone with the Wind: Scarlett's a great character, but, oh boy, is she a lousy sister. It's bad enough she picks on Suellen and Careen (it's much worse in the book), but she steals Suellen's fiancee! Yeah, Suellen is a whiny, annoying brat, but she did not deserve that in the slightest.

The sisters in Cries and Whispers: Poor Agnes is dying, but Maria and Karin barely lift a finger to help her, since they care only about their own stupid problems. For God's sake, the maid shows more compassion!

Bernardo and Maria in West Side Story: Bernardo crosses that line of "lovingly protective" to "creepily overbearing". Dictating what Maria wears was bad enough, but practically demanding and expecting her to marry Chino (a boy Maria isn't even interested in) is just... ugh!

Marty and Jackie O. in The House of Yes: Cree. Pee.

Edited May 30, 2014 by Wiendish Fitch

[OakGoblinFly]

I think Thor and Loki have a pretty complex and oddly realistic brotherly relationship.  Well except for that whole Thor leaving Loki's body on Svartalfheim thing.

Edited May 30, 2014 by OakGoblinFly

[Ohwell]

Best:  The sisters in Sense and Sensibility played by Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet (can't remember the characters' names).

[Wiendish Fitch]

Judah and Tirzah in Ben-Hur have a lovely relationship. He nobly took the blame when she accidentally injured that Roman senator (it was all for naught, but that isn't his fault).

The scene where he bravely makes his way through the Valley of Lepers to comfort her and take her away while she's dying is so touching.

Edited May 30, 2014 by Wiendish Fitch

[Enigma X]

Before Heroes jumped the shark, I thought Peter and Nathan (as corrupt as he was) had a wonderful brotherly relationship.

[Danny Franks]

Simon and River Tam, from Serenity (as this is the movie forum). Simon gives up his whole life to save his sister, and continues to sacrifice so much to keep her safe. And she's mostly incapable of showing her true gratitude, because of the harrowing trauma she's experienced. But in her lucid moments, you can see that she loves him so much, and can't thank him enough for everything he's done for her.

 

I like William and Anita's sibling relationship in Almost Famous too. Protective older sister who rebels against the mother that William doesn't really think needs to be rebelled against.There's a real warmth there. Hero worship on his side, and a desire to see him grow and experience life, on her side. And their relationship brackets the movie so well.

[methodwriter85]

I thought that Amy Schumer and Brie Larson's sibling relationship in Trainwreck was the most realistic I've seen of two sisters who grew up with a dysfunctional parent. One becoming a trainwreck like her parent, the other becoming super-responsible and settled down at an early age. And both of them having this underlying resentment of each other.

Edited September 19, 2015 by methodwriter85

[Wiendish Fitch]

Every time I watch the 1946 Cocteau version of Beauty and the Beast, I'm struck anew at how utterly repugnant Belle's siblings are. Her sisters are vain, petty, vindictive, two-faced, and manipulative, and Belle's worthless, layabout brother is little better, pretending to stand up for Belle, but never taking action and standing idly by while Belle is treated as a servant. Their neglect and/or abuse of Belle in the beginning is bad enough, but at the climax? It all comes to a head when they scheme to keep Belle from returning to the Beast (remember, the Beast will die without her) so that they can sneak to the castle and steal his treasure, little caring of the emotional damage they'd cause their sister should they succeed.

 

Good lord, how is it a saint like Belle can share DNA with these assholes?!

[blueray]

Weasley's : All of them had good relationships  with each other (well except for Percy, but he came around at the end of the series).

[Spartan Girl]

Paulie and Adrian in Rocky should count as another worst movie sibling relationship. Paulie was awful to Adrian, calling her a loser all the time and generally treating her like dirt. What's worse is how even after he sets her up with Rocky, he has the nerve to slut shame her when he figures out that they've been sleeping together. He did mellow out in the sequels, but any other person in Adrain's position would have cut ties to him permanently.

Edited November 22, 2015 by Spartan Girl

[blugirlami21]

Best:

Katniss and Prim from The Hunger Games series. The story really begins with an act of true love from Katniss when she took Prim's place in the games.

Seth Cohen and Ryan Atwood from The OC. I like that they are brothers by choice.

Worst:

Sam and Dean from Supernatural. They have their good moments but I think their relationship is was too dysfunctional and codependent.

[Spartan Girl]

I hated Josie's brother Rob in Never Been Kissed. He never stood up for her in high school -- he was the one that came up with the "Josie Grossie" nickname. And I think that the scene where he rips into her for exposing both of them, right when she's ALREADY feeling lousy, proved that he didn't really enroll to help her out at all: he just wanted to relive his glory days in high school.

And yet even after all that, Josie still has the grace to get that selfish asshole a job as the baseball coach.

[methodwriter85]

He was also pathetic enough to actually date a girl in high school. Ugh.

Got home from Lion. Man, I was kind of impressed at how in just a couple of scenes with Grown-up Saroo and Mantoosh just how much they resented the hell out of each other. The backstory is that they were both adopted overseas by their parents- Mantoosh had suffered severe abuse and had dis-attachment syndrome. The parents try to make the best of it, but Mantoosh is still very troubled as an adult, and Saroo basically has to be the Golden Child to make up for it. The fact they were adopted brothers makes the dynamic interesting.

Guddu, Saroo's older biological brother, basically came off very idealized in the movie. But that would make sense, because Saroo's remembering him from the perspective of his 5-year old self. The contrast between how Saroo related to Guddu vs. Mantoosh was pretty cool.

Edited February 13, 2017 by methodwriter85

[topanga]

The sisters in 'Deidra and Laney Rob a Train' (Netflix) have great relationship. The movie is a comedy, but the two of them also deal with some serious issues that teenagers shouldn't have to handle. And the sisters really support one another. However, there is one scene where shy Laney tells her sister something that means a lot to her, and Deidra ignores her and blurts out something that was on her own mind. But besides that one douchy moment, I love their sisterhood. 

[DisneyBoy]

Blanche and Jane Hudson in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. I think the movie has a swiss cheese plot but even still one can't deny that these are two really messed-up sisters with a supremely messed-up relationship. Also, Crawford and Davis look nothing like one another and it's hard to believe they're related.

I really enjoy the kids from Mrs. Doubtfire and how they balance each other out. Obviously the youngest is the cutest and gets the most attention and love (little Mara Wilson!) but I think the film does a decent enough job of fleshing out the personalities of all three. I think it's especially interesting that the script chooses to let the two older siblings in on their father's secret while keeping it from the youngest, knowing she wouldn't understand. And there are some nice little throwaway moments where the older sister is looking after her younger sister. One gets the sense that the divorce has brought the kids together. They never seem to argue but that never rings false. And even after the courts and their mother basically forced their father out of their lives they don't turn bitter and spiteful towards Mom. There's something very tempered about them which is rare in these kinds of divorce movies.

[Wiendish Fitch]

1 hour ago, DisneyBoy said:

 

I really enjoy the kids from Mrs. Doubtfire and how they balance each other out. Obviously the youngest is the cutest and gets the most attention and love (little Mara Wilson!) but I think the film does a decent enough job of fleshing out the personalities of all three. I think it's especially interesting that the script chooses to let the two older siblings in on their father's secret while keeping it from the youngest, knowing she wouldn't understand. And there are some nice little throwaway moments where the older sister is looking after her younger sister. One gets the sense that the divorce has brought the kids together. They never seem to argue but that never rings false. And even after the courts and their mother basically forced their father out of their lives they don't turn bitter and spiteful towards Mom. There's something very tempered about them which is rare in these kinds of divorce movies.

I agree, they had a refreshingly nice dynamic, especially Lydia and Natalie. I also appreciate that they not only look like they could be siblings, they at least bear a passing resemblance to their parents; Lisa Jakub and Mara Wilson are both extremely brunette, like Sally Field, and while the brother is played by blonde Matthew Lawrence, it's not at all uncommon for blonde hair to darken to brown as kids grow up (wouldn't surprise me if Robin Williams was blonde as a kid). I realize I'm being weird, but it's a pet peeve of mine when casting directors don't even try to cast kids who look like each other or their parents.

[DisneyBoy]

It's a pet peeve of mine too, so don't worry - you are not alone!

[cpcathy]

It's also a HUGE pet peeve of mine.

Edited April 7, 2017 by cpcathy

[Enigma X]

Major pet peeve of mine too. Although, it bothers me more in TV shows (serials) than movies (usually one offs).

[methodwriter85]

Lydia is hands down one of my favorite movie kids. She challenges Mrs. Doubtfire but relents when she sees her mother really happy that first night, even going to thank her. And the look Lydia gave her dad when Mrs. Doubtfire tried to convince Sally to wear a fugly dress on her date was great. She came off as pretty mature and full of empathy. I also loved that none of them tried to get their parents back together.

Edited April 7, 2017 by methodwriter85

[Wiendish Fitch]

1 hour ago, methodwriter85 said:

Lydia is hands down one of my favorite movie kids. She challenges Mrs. Doubtfire but relents when she sees her mother really happy that first night, even going to thank her. And the look Lydia gave her dad when Mrs. Doubtfire tried to convince Sally to wear a fugly dress on her date was great. She came off as pretty mature and full of empathy. I also loved that none of them tried to get their parents back together.

God, me too! Even little Natalie eventually accepted that Daniel and Miranda weren't happy together, and that divorce was the only solution. They also genuinely liked Pierce Brosnan's character (and who wouldn't) and were okay with him dating their mom.

Holy crap, is Mrs. Doubtfire actually better than I gave it credit for?! Well-played, Chris Columbus, well-played!

Have y'all read You Look Like That Girl by Lisa Jakub? She gave up acting at a young age, but has fond memories of Mrs. Doubtfire and speaks very positively of the experience.

Edited April 7, 2017 by Wiendish Fitch

[Bastet]

On 3/30/2017 at 1:14 PM, topanga said:

The sisters in 'Deidra and Laney Rob a Train' (Netflix) have great relationship. The movie is a comedy, but the two of them also deal with some serious issues that teenagers shouldn't have to handle. And the sisters really support one another.

"You are not a nobody.  You are a badass, who robs trains."

[Spartan Girl]

Mara Wilson and Lisa Jakub remained close in real life. They kept in contact; Mara said in her book that Lisa called her the day Robin Williams died to commiserate.

Those kids were more mature than their parents, no question. I'd like Mrs. Doubtfire a lot more if it hadn't taken Robin and Sally the whole freaking movie to realize how they were affecting their kids. 

[Athena]

Both Mara Wilson and Lisa Jakub have retired from acting and written books about their lives as child actors. Matthew Lawrence is still working for the most part.

I really did enjoy Mrs Doubtfire and I appreciated how the kids were the mature ones in the whole situation. All of this discussion makes me want to rewatch it.

[Spartan Girl]

I was watching The Godfather last night, and the Corleone siblings have a very interesting dynamic.  I honestly can't tell if they would count as "Best" or "Worst" in movie sibling relationships because their relationships were tainted as they got more involved in the "family business".

Michael and Fredo's relationship is particularly tragic because back when Michael was "unspoiled" by his family (as my mother likes to put it) he and Fredo got along great.  In fact, Fredo was the only one in the family that supported Michael's choice to join the army.  Even when Michael became so ruthless and corrupt when he took over, he still loved and trusted Fredo...but as Michael grew more powerful, Fredo's pent-up resentment infected his love for his little brother...and well, we know what happened from there.

I guess the only sibling relationship in that family that didn't get ruined in some way was the one between Connie and Fredo.  And I know there's a lot of debate about whether Connie knew what was going to happen to Fredo when she stopped Anthony from getting into the boat with him, but honestly, I don't think she knew.  Her heartfelt plea with Michael to forgive him was genuine, and the fact that she was willing to forgive Michael, the brother she hated for so long, if he would just take Fredo back showed just how much she loved Fredo.  I don't think she would gone to so much length if she had any inkling what would eventually happen.  (After Carlo, she probably should have known, though).

[Epeolatrix]

Worst: Lucille and Thomas Sharpe in "Crimson Peak". She was completely devoted to her younger brother and would do anything for him (other than see him happy with another woman).

[cpcathy]

Worst: Toula's sister in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I hate her, from the minute she bursts into the coffee shop in the first scene and demands of Toula "What IS this?!" about a school flyer. She's the worst.

[methodwriter85]

Toula's brother Nick was pretty awesome, though. I loved that she inspired him to make some changes in his own life. And I loved Toula's smile when he affirmed that she really was worth all the trouble Ian was going through for her.

[Spartan Girl]

Sam and Patrick from Perks of Being A Wallflower. It didn't make any difference that they were only step siblings, those two loved each other and we're always there for each other. Plus, their "living room routine" dance!

[Bastet]

The relationship between the Abramowitz siblings of Slums of Beverly Hills is one of the many things I adore about that film.  They're so typical in their interactions - they annoy the hell out of each other on the regular, but when push comes to shove they look out for each other.  And I love things like Vivian saying, "I don't say anything about your morning wood, don't you go around talking about my tits." 

[Spartan Girl]

The sibling relationship between Nick and Go in Gone Girl was the only functional, healthy relationship in that movie.

[Spartan Girl]

Bumping this up for some Halloween additions!

Dany and Max in Hocus Pocus, seeing as how they ultimately loved each other for all their fighting.

And Gomez and Fester in The Addams Family movies were very close, albeit in a twisted way.

[HunterHunted]

Worst: The Family Stone. Both the siblings Morton and Stone are kind of awful to each other as well as other people. The Stones are openly nasty to Meredith with no regard to how this might have made her boyfriend, their brother, feel. Ugh.

[methodwriter85]

On 6/18/2017 at 4:53 PM, Spartan Girl said:

The sibling relationship between Nick and Go in Gone Girl was the only functional, healthy relationship in that movie.

Her devastation at realizing that Nick was going to stay with Amy because she was pregnant was really well-played. I hope Go watches out for Nick and her future nephew. (They didn't specify what Amy was going to have in the movie, but in the novel she's having a son.)

I've never seen Atonement, but I think it's kind of hilarious there's an internet meme about what an awful sibling Briony is.

Edited December 9, 2017 by methodwriter85

[memememe76]

I loved Spacek, Keaton, and Lange in Crimes of the Heart. 

Gyllenhaal and Maguire in Brothers.

Grant and his deaf brother in Four Weddings and a Funeral. 

Barrymore and Arquette in Never Been Kissed.

[Spartan Girl]

Luke and Leia in Star Wars

Yes, I know this got off to a weird, icky start because when they met they had no idea they were related and Luke had a crush on her and Leia kissed him in Empire to make Han jealous, but give them a break.  When Leia said that she'd always somehow known Luke was her brother, I think it was supposed to mean that she always felt she had some sort of connection to him and that part of her realized it subconsciously.  It didn't mean that she literally KNEW.

What I loved most about them was their weird, twin power connection that was still very much evident in the new movies, especially in Last Jedi

 

when Luke was able to reach out to a comatose Leia through the Force after closing himself off for so many years.  And their reunion/farewell was so bittersweet.  The look on Leia's face makes me think that she was aware he was an astro-projection, but thanks to their twin power connection, she was at least physically able to feel the forehead kiss.  Oh dammit, I'm getting emotional just thinking about it

Edited December 19, 2017 by Spartan Girl

[Spartan Girl]

William Holden and Humphrey Bogart made pretty good brothers in Sabrina.  I loved how even though William's character was a bit of a rake, he was able to see that his brother and Sabrina were really in love, and not only stepped aside, he pretended to badmouth Sabrina to him and the board meeting just to get Humphrey revved up enough to finally own up to his feelings.

[methodwriter85]

Can we include former step siblings? Because how sweet were Cher and Josh in Clueless?

 

On the opposite end, let's add Sebastian and Kathryn from Cruel Intentions as "worst."

[Wiendish Fitch]

Having seen Black Panther just yesterday, I have to say that T'Challa and Shuri have an absolutely lovely relationship. Shuri ribs T'Challa mercilessly, but not in a mean or antagonistic way, and you can tell that she truly loves and respects him, both as her brother and her king. Likewise, T'Challa, unlike most fictional older brothers, never once patronizes his kid sister or pulls the obnoxious overprotective routine (don't you get sick of that?),  handles her teasing with grace and good humor, and treats her like the intelligent adult she is. More than once in the movie, they prove what a strong bond they have and you know they'd go to the ends of the earth for each other.

[Morrigan2575]

I was just.coming here to say how much I loved the sibling relationship between Shuri and T'Challa.

[Spartan Girl]

Aw, you beat me too it! But yeah, I loved Shuri and T'Challa's scenes. You could tell they loved each other even when she was flipping him off or purposely getting him knocked into the wall just so she could record it, LOL.

[Spartan Girl]

Ritchie and Bob in La Bamba had a very complicated relationship, but there was never any doubt that despite everything they loved each other. Ritchie also doted on his younger sisters.

Sad note: the real Bob passed away a few months ago. 😭

[spaceytraci1208]

On 11/30/2018 at 2:44 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Ritchie and Bob in La Bamba had a very complicated relationship, but there was never any doubt that despite everything they loved each other. Ritchie also doted on his younger sisters.

Sad note: the real Bob passed away a few months ago. 😭

Whenever I listen to that song Sleepwalk, I can still hear Esai Morales screaming "RITCHIEEEEEEE!" as the ending chords of the song play

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 4/7/2017 at 11:20 AM, Wiendish Fitch said:

I agree, they had a refreshingly nice dynamic, especially Lydia and Natalie. I also appreciate that they not only look like they could be siblings, they at least bear a passing resemblance to their parents; Lisa Jakub and Mara Wilson are both extremely brunette, like Sally Field, and while the brother is played by blonde Matthew Lawrence, it's not at all uncommon for blonde hair to darken to brown as kids grow up (wouldn't surprise me if Robin Williams was blonde as a kid). I realize I'm being weird, but it's a pet peeve of mine when casting directors don't even try to cast kids who look like each other or their parents.

Matthew isn't blonde in the film.....

I think Mrs. Doubtfire is perfect to be honest.  I still think it's so brilliant and funny.

Some of my fave movie siblings:  Tom and Dustin in Rain Man, the three kids in The Royal Tenenbaums, I guess I don't have that many examples I can think of!

Edited December 2, 2018 by Ms Blue Jay

[Wiendish Fitch]

You are right, I hadn't seen the movie in a long time, my memory played tricks on me. I am a dummy. In any case, I now stand even firmer on how well-cast the kids were. 

[HunterHunted]

Worst: Charles Xavier and Raven/Mystique in the X-Men series starting with the soft reboot in X-Men: First Class. It's not so much that Charles is actively terrible to her, but that his "concern" comes off as strange, awkward, and vaguely incestual and psychosexual in the later films. Charles also does this strange back and forth where he's desperate to get her back and other times basically writes her off as a lost cause.

Also in later films, Charles and Magneto argue over whose side Raven should be on as if she wasn't there and isn't an adult fully capable of making her own decisions. It all reads as if she's this weird macguffin because Charles and Magneto are completely incapable of sharing how they feel about each other.

[Morrigan2575]

3 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

Worst: Charles Xavier and Raven/Mystique in the X-Men series starting with the soft reboot in X-Men: First Class. It's not so much that Charles is actively terrible to her, but that his "concern" comes off as strange, awkward, and vaguely incestual and psychosexual in the later films. Charles also does this strange back and forth where he's desperate to get her back and other times basically writes her off as a lost cause

Kind of funny since Charles married Mystique in the comics before he died (don't know the circumstances)

[Dandesun]

7 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

Worst: Charles Xavier and Raven/Mystique in the X-Men series starting with the soft reboot in X-Men: First Class. It's not so much that Charles is actively terrible to her, but that his "concern" comes off as strange, awkward, and vaguely incestual and psychosexual in the later films. Charles also does this strange back and forth where he's desperate to get her back and other times basically writes her off as a lost cause.

Also in later films, Charles and Magneto argue over whose side Raven should be on as if she wasn't there and isn't an adult fully capable of making her own decisions. It all reads as if she's this weird macguffin because Charles and Magneto are completely incapable of sharing how they feel about each other.

Mystique basically exists so that Charles and Erik can have her to fight over so they appear super hetero when they so very clearly ARE NOT. Charles and Erik are full on 'I just can't quit you' and that's all there is to it. Mystique is a completely unnecessary gigantic blue beard.

4 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Kind of funny since Charles married Mystique in the comics before he died (don't know the circumstances)

No one knows the circumstances. That never got explained and, at this point, I don't think anyone in the comics even remembers it happens. And we're all the better for it. I think it existed solely to tell a story of Mystique and Charles' kid coming from the future, along with Mystique and Wolverine's kid, to destroy the X-Men because of reasons.

[HunterHunted]

57 minutes ago, Dandesun said:

Mystique basically exists so that Charles and Erik can have her to fight over so they appear super hetero when they so very clearly ARE NOT. Charles and Erik are full on 'I just can't quit you' and that's all there is to it. Mystique is a completely unnecessary gigantic blue beard.

Seriously! It was super late and I wasn't sure how to structure this sentiment in a way they wasn't ridiculously crude. Those two are both so caught up in each other that it's a bit ridiculous. There are very few scenes where it doesn't seem like those two don't want to spend their lives together. They have way more angsty conversations about each other than Raven or any of the family Erik has lost. Given all of that, it's ridiculous to claim that Charles is even remotely concerned about his adopted sister, Raven. He has no object permanence when it comes to her. When she's out of sight or off the board, he's like "Raven? Raven? Why does that name sound so familiar?" However when she's right in front of his face, he'll ask her to stay.

It actually reminds of this reading that I went to with Chuck Palahniuk, who wrote Fight Club. After he had read from his most recent book, he opened up for audience questions. At some point there were the obligatory Fight Club questions. Someone asked a reasonably in depth question about Marla, the character that Helena Bonham Carter would play in the film. Palahniuk responds along the lines of "I only put her in the story because I was afraid that Jack and Tyler were coming across as too gay. I wasn't out yet and I was afraid that someone would figure out from the book that I was gay unless I put a woman in the middle of Jack and Tyler." That's basically Charles, Raven, and Erik.

[Bastet]

I just came across this again while going around the dial, so I must mention one of my favorite scenes from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the scene between Stacy and Brad - who have the typically mildly antagonistic sibling relationship - when she asks him for a ride to the bowling alley and, after dropping her off, he realizes she's actually going to an abortion clinic.

He sticks around and waits for her to be released, and when she asks him not to tell their parents, he immediately scoffs "Come on" -- there's no way he'll betray her like that.  He asks "who did it", but when she won't say, he leaves it at that (rather than flying into some patriarchal rage where he must "avenge" her), simply asking her if she's okay.  When she says she is, he offers to take her to get something to eat and off they go.

It's so well done, because it doesn't suddenly give them some saccharine relationship they don't have, but it honors the bond they do (not to mention presents a refreshingly realistic presentation of abortion as a procedure that is a tremendous relief to the majority of those who have one).