We don't pretend to be experts in casting. Based on our experience as viewers, however, it seems like "family resemblance" is not exactly at the top of casting directors' lists when they're working on a new movie or TV show. At least, we hope it ranks well below talent, chemistry, and affinity for the character. And not many families are as blessed as, say, the Gyllenhaals, the Baldwins, or the Wilsons. This week, dynamic duo Amy Poehler and Tina Fey will play Sisters who really look nothing alike, and we couldn't be happier. Appearances, we can forgive, when two stars are so well matched in spirit. Sure, it's a little tough to swallow the fact that Luke and Leia Skywalker are twins, but at least they're not Danny Devito and Arnold Schwarzenegger. No one ever complained that there's not a gene pool in science that could come up with Dan and Jenny Humphrey.
We're not here to complain, either, merely to point out that such differences in appearance can sometimes work to aid in the telling of a story about siblings who grew apart during adulthood, and sometimes, they're just worth ignoring altogether.
Star Wars (1977)
Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Luke (Mark Hamill) don't share bone structure, eye color, skin color, hair color, or temperament. They'd never be mistaken for twins by anyone who saw them, which maybe makes this scene a little less nauseating, but not by much.
Watch Star Wars on Amazon.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off(1986)
Jeannie (Jennifer Grey) clearly despises her older brother Ferris (Matthew Broderick), and would probably really love to discover the reason they look nothing alike is because she's adopted. We can quickly dismiss their dissimilar appearance because, duh, no one else could play those roles and John Hughes' casting decisions must never be questioned.
Watch Ferris Bueller's Day Offon Netflix.
Parenthood (movie 1989, series 2010-2015)
Neither the movie's Buckman siblings (Steve Martin, Dianne Wiest, Harley Kozak, and Tom Hulce), nor the TV show's Bravermans (Peter Krause, Lauren Graham, Dax Shepard, and Erika Christensen) bear any resemblance to each other. That's okay, because what unites them is not really their shared experiences growing up, but their shared struggles in raising their own kids now.
Watch Parenthood the movie on Amazon.
Little Women (1994)
The whole point of this story is how Meg (Trini Alvarado), Jo (Winona Ryder), Beth (Claire Danes), and Amy (Kirsten Dunst/Samantha Mathis), have totally disparate temperaments and follow the paths that best suit them. Maybe it's best that they also don't resemble each other in the least.
Watch Little Women on Amazon.
Friends(1994-2004)
Dark hair is about all Monica (Courteney Cox) and Ross (David Schwimmer) share genetically. The universe in which the girl sibling gets perfect features, while her brother gets the goofy ones would be a fair one we don't see in reality. And yet, their mismatched personalities and bickering remind us what true siblinghood is all about.
Watch Friendson Netflix.
In Her Shoes (2005)
The only thing that sisters Maggie and Rose Feller have in common is the loss of their mother and their shoe size. All Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette have in common is that they're endlessly entertaining on screen. We'll take it.
Watch In Her Shoes on Amazon.
Brothers & Sisters(2006-2011)
The Walker siblings of the title are played by Rachel Griffiths, Calista Flockhart, Matthew Rhys, Balthazar Getty, and David Annable. And while we'll grant that Getty, Rhys, and Annable sort of resemble each other, in a good-looking, dark, scruffy way, Flockhart's and Griffiths' gene pools could not be further apart. Like other big family dramas before and after, this only serves to illustrate the differences that cause them so much pain.
Watch Brothers & Sisterson Amazon.
Gossip Girl (2007-2012)
Perpetual good guy Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) and his rebellious, social-climbing little sister Jenny (Taylor Momsen) look so little alike, we spent a good number of seasons expecting some deep, dark secret about their parentage to be revealed. Funny enough, that's one road the show never went down.
Watch Gossip Girl on Netflix.
Breaking Bad (2008-2013)
Sisters Skyler White (Anna Gunn) and Marie Schrader (Betsy Brant) definitely don't look very much alike. And they don't have a clue how different their lives really are — Skyler as the wife of a meth cooker, Marie as the kleptomaniac wife of a DEA agent — until things get really bad for both of them.
Watch Breaking Bad on Netflix.
Modern Family (2009-present)
Though gorgeous blonde Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen) and her ginger brother Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) don't look alike, their personalities are incredibly similar — nervous, controlling, perfectionist peas in a pod. Not that you'd ever get them to admit to it.
Watch Modern Family on Hulu.
The Mindy Project (2012-present)
Danny's (Chris Messina) protective relationship with his gay baby brother Richie (Max Minghella) is one of the sweetest on the show (which is saying something). We'll totally let it pass that they resemble neither each other nor their crazy parents.
Watch The Mindy Project on Hulu.
The Skeleton Twins(2014)
Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader look less like twins than Luke and Leia Skywalker, but we instantly forget that fact upon meeting Maggie and Milo, whose matching souls were clearly formed together. Watch The
Skeleton Twinson Hulu.
This Is Where I Leave You (2014)
United under one roof after the death of their father, the Altman siblings (Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Corey Stoll, and Adam Driver) act enough like squabbling kids to be family, even if they don't look the part.
Watch This Is Where I Leave You on HBO.
Fresh Off the Boat (2015)
Listen, credible and funny child actors aren't so easy to come by, and the actors who portray the Huang kids crack us up with every line. It is weird, though, that younger brothers Emery (Forrest Wheeler) and Evan (Ian Chen) could really pass as family members, while Eddie (Hudson Yang) could barely get by as a long lost cousin.
Watch Fresh Off the Boat on ABC.
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