Institute History
Description
Edward Burns' second feature is an irreverent and touching story of two brothers who battle over their jobs, their women and their love for each other. Every summer weekend, Francis and Mickey Fitzpatrick set off in a boat with plenty of beer and bait. While their father, the gruff and taciturn Mr. Fitz fishes, the boys cast around for answers to the big questions.
Francis is a successful young banker, living with his wife Renee in a posh SoHo loft. He's got more than a 24 year old could possibly want—or deserve. Mickey, his older brother, is contentedly driving a New York City cab, which gives him plenty of time to brood over his fiancée's betrayal and feed a chip the size of Long Island on his shoulder.
Francis should be reveling in his good fortune, and Mickey should be looking for a real job. Instead Mickey picks up Hope, a beautiful graduate student, one weekend and is charmed into driving her to New Orleans and getting married. When Mickey returns on Monday to Manhattan, Francis tells him he's having an affair and wants to ask Renee for a divorce. Trouble is, he's too much of a coward to tell her, and his girlfriend seems to have moved in with a rich older man she calls "Papa" who—much to Francis' macho embarrassment—seems to be fulfilling her in every way.
As the two young couples try to work things out, the brothers return each weekend to the open seas where their Dad doles out well-meaning but usually ineffective advice. Then, in a surprise move, Mrs. Fitzpatrick issues an ultimatum to her husband—he must choose between his wife and his beloved boat.
In his second script, Edward Burns shows how a world of romantic confusion and laughs can be gotten by simply throwing together two brothers, six beers and a boat.