Larry (Jason Schwartzman) is a slacker with little ambition. He works a menial job at the oil change garage. He has his dog. He is joined by his grandmother (Olympia Dukakis). His friend Major Norwood gets him his drugs.It's Schwartzman doing his slacker thing. For his fans, this may be interesting. Indie filmmaker Robert Byington is not strictly mumblecore. His dialog is not mumble but it has much of the indie sensibilities. In the end, there isn't much going on with this character. It's hard to tell if he cares or is he just scared like when he runs out on a sure thing with a girl. It makes it hard to care about him.

Cause it really doesn't have much of a plot, and the little that resembles a plot doesn't seem to make a ton of sense.It's basically about a self-absorbed 'loser' who played by someone else other than Jason Swartzman would probably be tedious.But Jason's natural charm and charisma redeems the character somewhat from feeling like a total prick and the 'movie' from being a total trainwreck.I write movie as 'movie' because it really doesn't feel like a movie, it feels like maybe it would have worked better as a TV series split up to 3 parts instead (although I'm not sure that people would tune in every week to see the next episode).There are some okay scenes, mainly the ones between Jason and his (also real life pet) dog, they have better chemistry together than Jason has with any of his human co-stars in the movie.So I would only remotely recommend this to hardcore Jason fans who has to see everything he's in, if you're not too fussy about him give it a skip, if you dislike him then well you will without a doubt hate it.

Bob Byington has a following. No doubt about it. They flocked to the IFC in New York to see 'Seven Chinese Brothers'. And after the showing, to quiz Byington on his film. As everyone who has seen the film discovers that the narrative is thin gruel. Jason Bateman is plays the 'nebbish' Larry, who drinks his life away in small doses. A loner, he finds companionship with his dog Arrow. Talented that he is, he should never play against a dog nor a child. Olympia Dukakis does a cameo as his grandmother, who leaves him a spanking almost new Mercedes, but not her million dollars that goes to Larry's buddy Major, an aide at the nursing home grandma resides. She knows her Larry who won't make much of his life. In the end, Larry find a life of sorts at a lube shop with a pretty manager whom he has a thing for. But, will it work out, we cannot say for sure. One thing, Byington lets us in on is that in the end, Larry has found a sober zen moment with Arrow as this film ends after 75 minutes. What about the title? 'Seven Chinese Brothers' is a well known children's book. by Claire Huchet Bishop in 1938. Still in print today, it is a standard in library children's room. Bishop retells simply a story of seven Chinese brothers whose collective strength put a check on an evil emperor who cannot escape his downfall. No hit of a hero in Larry. Quite the contrary. Some posit, Byington had a kung fu in mind. Sorry old darlings. The nearest to a Kurosawa that 'Seven Chinese Brothers' comes to that genre is that Larry is a loner...a ronin, a masterless samurai. Forget about that thought. If the film has any strength it's Arrow and Bateman who a much underrated actor and la grande dame that is Olympia Dukakis. Wait till the DVD comes out, for the price of admission is not worth opening your wallet.

Absolutely charming and hilarious. Jason Schwartzman is pitch perfect as Larry, a slacker who gets fired from his job in a restaurant at the beginning of the film, sipping through a straw from his Big Gulp. Schwartzman isn't the only tour de force in the film, his dog Arrow makes the perfect comedic counterpart, exasperated and non-plussed at many of Larry's diatribes and philosophies. Bob Byington deserves a lot of credit as well, his previous film Somebody Up There Likes Me is equally hilarious, but 7 Chinese Brothers is less surreal and more rooted in character and pathos. 7CB has lots of mainstream appeal and will undoubtedly be listed in with other iconic Schartzman roles. 7CB is always surprising, always pushing at the edges of conventional narratives. The film works so well because it is coming from a very unique voice of storytelling and sense of humor. It's exciting to see a film come out like this and almost instantly feel like a comedy classic. Do yourself a favor and get a big gulp of 7 Chinese Brothers.