-- Synopsis; more about Four Brothers --

After their adoptive mother is murdered during a grocery store holdup, the Mercer brothers – hotheaded Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), hard-edged Angel (Tyrese Gibson), family man and businessman Jeremiah (Andre Benjamin), and hard rocking Jack (Garrett Hedlund) – reunite to take the matter of her death into their own hands. As they track down the killer, they quickly realize that their old ways of doing business have new consequences. In this character-driven action-drama from acclaimed director John Singleton (“Boyz N the Hood,” “2 Fast 2 Furious”) and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura (“Constantine”), four brothers come together to discover that they are bound by ties thicker than blood.

-- Trivia; tidbits about Four Brothers --

The TV show in the background in the bowling alley is “Pimp My Ride” (2004).

Larenz Tate turned down the role of Jeremiah.

Sofía Vergara’s character was originally written for an Asian girl.

A scene with a frozen lake was shown in the movie and this was Lake Simcoe, north of Toronto. The ice on the lake freezes to a thickness of eighteen inches and this body of water is 28 miles wide.

Director Cameo: [John Singleton] makes a cameo, appearing as the goalie during the hockey scene on Thanksgiving.

In the screenplay, during the shootout, it was written that Angel would carry Sofie upstairs and places her into a steel tub. Bullets later riddle the tub but Sofie is protected because of the tub. John Singleton liked the idea but due to it taking too long it was left only in the script.

Temperatures didn’t reach above 24 Fahrenheit during the shoot.

The squibs in the Mercer House Shootout were originally meant to be more bloody, but due to a mix up with wire working, they appear tame.

For the Mercer House Shootout, there were over 450 squibs rigged throughout the house, all of which resulted in debris and glass falling on the actors.

The word “fuck” is used 62 times throughout the movie.

During the scene at Johnny G.’s bar in which the brothers are drinking Jack Daniels whiskey, the actors are actually drinking concentrated apple juice.

All of the snow seen in the movie, including the falling snow, is real.

The house they lived in the movie, actually located in a gritty area in the north part of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (an industrial city near Toronto) actually nearly burnt down shortly after the shooting was completed!

The actors playing three of the four brothers in the film are all musicians turned actors: Mark Wahlberg (Marky Mark), Tyrese Gibson (Tyrese) and André Benjamin (OutKast). Ironically, the actor who plays the fourth brother (Garrett Hedlund) is a musician in the movie.

Most of the teasing with Jack was improvised by Mark Wahlberg and Garrett Hedlund.

The bathroom scene was shot over and over again for 2 days. This scene involved Mark Wahlberg resting his bare bottom on a cold toilet, Garrett Hedlund in a hot shower and Tyrese Gibson in nothing but a robe for 12 hours for each of those two days. At the end of each day, Mark Wahlberg had to be helped off the toilet because of the long duration on the toilet and Garrett Hedlund kept having his skin peel and prune due to being in the hot shower.

Garrett Hedlund’s tattoos took two hours to apply.

Pre-production for the film included extensive training to teach the four actors how to ice skate for the hockey scenes. Out of of the four main actors, Mark Wahlberg and Garrett Hedlund were the only ones that knew how to skate.

Almost all of Mark Wahlberg’s lines were improvised. Garrett Hedlund had difficulty improvising his lines, so John Singleton and Mark Wahlberg helped him through it.

During the scene where the brothers watch their mother being executed on the camera monitor, the shot of the mother being killed was altered because originally there was a big blood cloud flying out of Evelyn. John Singleton thought that this would be too much for the audience to handle.

Ethan Hawke, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck all turned down the part of Bobby. The part eventually went to Mark Wahlberg. Ethan Hawke loved the script but could not commit to it because of scheduling conflicts. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck both said no because they found the script to be “ultra-violent”.

The song that Garrett Hedlund sings in the car is called Plastic Jesus, a traditional American folk song. It’s the same song sang by Paul Newman’s character in Cool Hand Luke (1967).

The film has been described as an updated remake of The Sons of Katie Elder (1965).

-- Goofs; can you see the goofs for Four Brothers --

Continuity: During the car chase, Jack’s hair alternates between flat and spiked.

Continuity: At Johnny’s bar, Jerry’s hand alternates between being on the table and holding a glass off the table.

Continuity: When Bobby interrupts the high school basketball game, Jerry walks away from Bobby. In the next shot, he is next to Bobby again.

Continuity: After the kid tells Bobby the lights go off at ten, Bobby checks his watch on his left hand. In the next shot, the watch is on his right hand.

Audio/visual unsynchronized: At the end, a cop asks Bobby, “Let me ask you again.” Then he asks “What happened to Victor Sweet, Mercer?” without moving his lips.

Factual errors: The Detroit Police Department does not have a “SWAT” team; they have an “SRT” (Special Response Team).

Revealing mistakes: Bobby’s tattoo disappears when he is on the toilet. The T-shirt wouldn’t have hidden all of it.

Errors in geography: The movie is set in Detroit, but in outdoor scenes a distinctive, oval Star Choice satellite dish can be seen on at least one house. Star Choice is only available in Canada.

Revealing mistakes: When Jeremiah is accused of having something to do with Evelyn’s death, he pushes Bobby and punches Angel. Angel falls back from the punch and knocks some items off of a bookcase. In the next shot, some of the items are back in their original places.

Continuity: A close-up of the front of the El Camino Guys driver’s license shows that it is a pre-2000 Michigan license. In the next shot, the back of the license has a magnetic stripe, which is found on post-2000 licenses.

Continuity: At the funeral reception, Green and Fowler’s police car has a rotating lamp on the drivers side door in one shot. In the next shot, the light is gone.

Continuity: When Bobby and Jack are looking at the guns found at the shooter’s apartment, Sofi throws a towel at Bobby. He ducks, and the towel hits the hanging lamp causing it to swing. In the next shot, Jeremiah walks over to the table, and the lamp is completely still.

Factual errors: Te store where Evelyn is killed is described as “106th Street Liquor store.” Detroit has no 106th street.

-- Quotes; relive your favorites quotes for Four Brothers --

Jack: Jack drinks Jack! Jack drink Jack!
[considering his name is Jack and he's Drinking Jack Daniels]
Jeremiah: Jackie is drunk!
Bobby: Jack likes ass crack and ballsack.
Jack: Jack doesn’t like ass crack and ballsack! Jack likes boobs! Jack’s got fans. Jack’s got lots of fans.
Angel: Man, shut the hell up.

Angel: I gotta ask you a question. Me and Sofi did a lot of making up last night. It seems like a got a little rust on my tools down here
[opens his bathrobe]
Bobby: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Ask the cockologist in the shower.
Jack: How the hell would I know?
Bobby: You’re the expert.
Jack: [looks for a second] Rug burn.

Bobby: I wanna make a toast to Evelyn Mercer, the greatest mother four degenerate bastards ever had. Pour me and my brothers another round, and some nice warm milk for my little sister.
Jack: Man, I will drink you under the table.
Bobby: We’re not talking about sperm, Jack, this is whiskey.
Jack: [meeting Jeremiah's daughters] Hey, you must be Daniela!
Bobby: [petting Amelia's costumed dog] and you must be Amelia! I like your dress…
Amelia Mercer: I’m Amelia!
Bobby: I know. You probably don’t remember us, but I’m your Uncle Bobby, and this is Cracker Jack.
Jack: Man, don’t teach them that.
Daniela Mercer: You can’t be our uncles. You’re white.
Amelia Mercer: Grandma Eva’s white!
Bobby: That’s right. You see, we’re a different kind of uncle. Your grandma, she adopted me and your uncle Jack just like she adopted your daddy.

Bobby: Jack, it was a questionable kill.
Jack: What makes you think that?
Bobby: Boy, it’s sad, you growing up without a father. Nobody taught you anything, did they? Maybe I should’ve stayed around longer and held your little hand, huh sweetheart? Sometimes pros will cover up their shots with another crime, like a burglary or something, then pay a witness to throw the cops onto the wrong suspect.
Jack: Why would anybody wanna kill the sweetest woman in the God-damn world?
Bobby: I dunno, Jackie. I dunno.