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The 1960s and 1970s produced a number of memorable comedy westerns, such as Cat Ballou and Blazing Saddles, but it also produced a number of misfires in this genre, such as The Brothers O'Toole. Brothers wants to be a zany laugh riot, but it mistakes silliness and sloppiness for wit and ingenuity. There are some moments that do ring true, but there are many more -- such as the spitting and belching contest -- that don't hit the humor mark in the way intended. The blame for Brothers' failure is evenly divided between the screenwriters and the director. The screenplay is weak, but with a more experienced and inventive director than Richard Erdman, it might have proved the basis for a substantial amount of visual gags and been infused with enough of a bizarre comic atmosphere to work. Or if Erdman had been handed material that didn't require Herculean efforts to make it palatable, the film might have been a decent enough diversion. At least the cast is generally good, with John Astin especially working hard to mine comedy out of the script and coming close to succeeding on a number of occasions. Even better are character actors Jesse White and Hans Conreid, who perhaps benefit from the fact that they don't have to try to carry the picture as Astin must.