In “Brothers,” Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage play adult twins who have been criminal accomplices ever since their jewelry-robbing mother abandoned them as children.

You hear the pitch for director Max Barbakow’s sequel to his 2020 Sundance phenomenon “Palm Springs” and brace yourself for the possibility that the two actors’ mismatched performances will be the source of the laughs. Screenwriters Macon Blair (“The Toxic Avenger”) and Etan Cohen (“Tropic Thunder”) have credits that suggest as much, while Hollywood has a history of churning out “high-concept” comedies like “Stuck on You” and “Twins ‘. ‘for those old enough to remember the ’80s movie that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito as long-separated (and far from identical) siblings.

It’s a relief to discover that the gulf in status between Moke (Brolin) and Jady (Dinklage) isn’t the difference “Brothers” wants to focus on at all. Rather, it’s their mild versus wild personalities and opposing life goals that keep these siblings bickering well into their 50s. After decades of assisting Jady in petty crimes, Moke has decided to turn his life around, hold down a humiliating job and prepare to join his wife Abby (Taylour Paige) on a small ‘Blueberry’ to welcome the world. Meanwhile, once Jady gets out of jail, the handlebar-moustached troublemaker shows up with a plan to lead Moke astray.

Now that he’s free, Jady has no plans to go clean. In fact, his early release depends on a bad deal with a shady prison guard (Brendan Fraser), who is banking on Jady recovering a stash of Rockefeller-caliber emeralds that his mother stole many years earlier. The timeline is a bit shaky in “Brothers,” suggesting that the screenwriters didn’t know who would play the title couple and once Brolin and Dinklage were paired together couldn’t be bothered to adapt the script (except for one joke , in which a security guard mistakes a Jady wearing a hoodie for a ‘kid’ from behind).

The brothers have been extremely protective of each other since they were dumped by their mother all those years ago – enough so that that ‘big’ brother risks his marriage to help Jady with one last score. Without fully realizing their goal, Moke lies to Abby about the reason for their two-day road trip and heads off to what we can only hope will be more fun than the boring Thanksgiving meal that awaits him at the in-laws’ house. Apart from the fact that one of the twins is sexually assaulted by an orangutan, it all feels pretty standard.

With “Palm Springs,” Barbakow shared story value based on a very clever script, one that found new wisdom (and refreshing irreverence) in the overplayed “Groundhog Day” formula. “Brothers” also resembles countless films that have come before — in this case, rural dorks, from “Raizing Arizona” to “Logan Lucky,” but also/especially the mid-aughts sitcom “My Name Is Earl” 2000 – but lacks the original twist or improvisation-ready leads that might have set it apart.

If Jady’s goal is to retrieve the emeralds his mother stole, it looks like he should try to get involved her help, not his brother’s. Sure enough, Cath shows up again, first seen in the prologue by Jennifer Landon and later played by a delightfully anti-type Glenn Close, whose redheaded Southern chutzpah suggests Reba McEntire with a predatory streak. In any case, it’s a complete reversal of her “Reversal of Fortune” character and just one of the film’s surprising supporting roles.

Wide-eyed Officer Farful is the kind of role you could see Fraser playing if he hadn’t just won an Oscar. There’s also a corrupt local judge (and Farful’s father) played by M. Emmet Walsh, in what could be a shotgun-toting reprise of his character from “The Jerk,” and a curious cameo from Marisa Tomei, as a gold-toothed, aura-reading madman. Apparently her character has entered into some sort of pseudo-spiritual correspondence with Jady in prison, which the pair now plan to complete… while her pet orangutan goes about his business with Moke in the other room.

While the entire ensemble seems completely committed to roles far beneath them, it’s not at all clear what the point was in presenting the Moke and Jady characters as twins. Two weeks ago, another Prime original – that of a tepid thriller called “Killer Heat” – featured identical twins who use their matching looks to switch places. That may be the oldest trick in the book, but it makes more sense than “Brothers,” which doesn’t do anything particularly unique with its premise.

“Brothers” opens in limited release on October 10th and then hits Prime Video worldwide on October 17th.