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Kieran Culkin & Jesse Eisenberg's Acclaimed Comedy With 96% RT Score Is an Instant Streaming Hit

Published 1 month ago3 minute read

The buddy comedy is back with Succession breakout Kieran Culkin and The Social Network star Jesse Eisenberg in their familial road comedy . The film, written and directed by Eisenberg, is sitting pretty with a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score and nestled in the top spot on Hulu's Top 10. The heartfelt comedy was just released in theaters this past November but has become a streaming hit in just a few short days on Hulu.

A Real Pain is also off to the races picking up awards as it was nominated for 4 Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture for a Musical or Comedy, and won Best Supporting Actor in A Motion Picture for Kieran Culkin as Benji. This also marks the first major award win for a film for Culkin. The film was also named by AFI as one of the ten best movies of the year. The stars of the film sat down with Esquire to discuss the film and what drew Kieran to work with Jesse on his script:

I hate saying this in front of him, but the man wrote a brilliant script. It was funny, full and detailed. I had no questions or notes, and I didn’t have to think about how I would fit into the part. That never happens. So much so that I read it once, we had a conversation, I said yes. I re-read it a year later and said, “put me on the set now”. On set, I remember he came up to during the final shot and asked if I wanted to talk about the scene and I said “no, go away.”

Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain

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The film follows two formerly close American-Jewish cousins as they travel across Poland to their late grandmother's home to connect with their heritage. The odd couple pairing of David (Eisenberg), a by-the-book pragmatist, and Benji (Culkin) the wayward free spirit, are a classic clash of personalities as they tour memorials of the holocaust and attempt to repair their relationship with each other.

Amid the usual offerings of overwrought ultra-serious dramas and mild bio-pics that people forget as soon as the credits roll, the entertainment world is occasionally treated to smaller indie films swooping in for some Oscar upsets. Films like Moonlight, Little Miss Sunshine, and Lost In Translation are a few that come to mind as intimate features that struck a chord with Academy voters without the soaring production and marketing budgets of their peers. A Real Pain, with its Golden Globe pickups, is perhaps on pace to deliver a nomination for Keran Culkin for his role as Benji and maybe even one for Best Picture. The film's mix of heart and humor in a somber setting works for critics and audiences alike.

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Mismatched cousins David and Benji tour Poland to honor their grandmother. Their adventure becomes complicated as old tensions resurface while exploring their family history.

90 Minutes

Jesse Eisenberg , Kieran Culkin , Will Sharpe , Jennifer Grey , Kurt Egyiawan , Liza Sadovy , Daniel Oreskes , Ellora Torchia , Jakub Gąsowski , Krzysztof Jaszczak , Piotr Czarniecki , Marek Kasprzyk

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