Stiller/Cruise Comedy ‘The Hardy Men’ Gets a New Writer

Published by Jeff Leins on: February 13th, 2009

Ed Solomon (Men in Black) has been hired to do a re-write of The Hardy Men, a comedic revamp of the classic young-adult mystery novels about two brothers who solve crimes.  Ben Stiller and Tom Cruise are still attached to star, as they have been for just under 10 years.  Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy signed to helm the movie in 2007.

The film would reunite the estranged, grown-up brothers (Frank and Joe) as they work together to solve a new mystery. The most recent writer to take a shot at it was Mr. & Mrs. Smith screenwriter Simon Kinberg.

Stiller has been doing a funny impression of Cruise since 1990 when he had “The Ben Stiller Show” on MTV and then Fox.  He brought it back for a hilarious appearance in 2000 when Stiller made a short film for the MTV Movie Awards spoofing the super star.  (Watch the video at the bottom of this post)

Cruise has always had a pretty good sense of humor about the impression, even appearing in that short film as himself.  The two developed a friendship and recently Stiller cast Cruise in a very funny Tropic Thunder cameo, which earned Cruise a Golden Globe nomination.

The premise sounds very funny.  It’s one of the few times (especially recently) I’ve looked forward to either a Cruise or Stiller movie.  Plus after Tom’s short role in Tropic Thunder, people seem more interested in his comedic stylings.  This is just the kind of movie Cruise needs and one that will hopefully fall on the funny half of Stiller’s filmography.