Heroes of the Zeroes: Stuck on You

Heroes of the Zeroes is a daily, alphabetical look back at the 365 best films of 2000-2009.

"Stuck On You" Rated PG-13 2003

Judd Apatow might have staged a coup to become the Zeroes’ mainstream-comedy king, but the deposed rulers — the Farrelly Brothers — fared pretty well, too (their dreary “The Heartbreak Kid” remake excepted).

Both “Fever Pitch” and 2003’s “Stuck on You” were more giggle riots than a gala of gross-out gags usually associated with the Farrellys. Arguably, “Stuck” — starring Greg Kinnear and Matt Damon as conjoined twins Walt and Bob Tenor — found the perfect middle ground for them.

Forgoing overcooked crime plots a la “Me, Myself and Irene” or knee-slapping diversions into a pediatric burn ward (remember that from “Shallow Hal”?), “Stuck” played like the Farrellys’ marvelous, low-key first-person valentine to brotherly love.

The Tenors excel at everything — tending hockey nets, short-order cooking and boxing. But while they share a liver, their personalities differ — Walt (Kinnear) seeking Hollywood fame and Bob (Damon) content to stay in the Northeast.

But as part of making good on a pact to never keep the other down, Bob indulges Walt’s dream. An unexpected encounter with Cher lands them a primetime TV gig, but also has them considering separation surgery that might kill one of them.

Kinnear and Damon’s go-with-it mentality carried “Stuck,” as did the nimble physical comedy. But even in the drama, the Farrellys exhibited strong command over the right amount of goofiness, heart and well-placed Rolling Stones ballads.

Being sweeter and more personal than the Farrellys’ past films didn’t mean there had to be separation anxiety from what made their work fun.