Step Brothers
First thoughts…
Crude, outrageous, unrealistic… but above all, HILARIOUS. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly made one of my personal favorites Talladega Nights together, throw in Richard Jenkins and Mary Steenburgen and what’s not to like? So of course I had to go to this movie and review it for you as fast as possible.
What happens…
Nancy and Robert both have a problem; a hairy, immature 40-year-old problem; their sons. After meeting at a convention where Robert is the speaker the two unlucky parents fall in love and get married. This doesn’t go over to well with the boys and once Dale (Reilly) and Brennan (Ferrell) find out they have to share not only a house but a bedroom the situation escalates even further. Then the movie shifts directions. Brennan’s successful yet annoying jerk of a brother Derek (Adam Scott) comes into town and the now step brothers find a common enemy. So they decide to become friends. After discovering that they both love T-Rex’s and would sleep with John Stamos the friendship is sealed. After a night of crazy antics they team up and hit the job trail hard. However, after finding a job doesn’t work out they decide to start an entertainment company. The dynamic duo kick their business off with a music video that causes Robert’s expensive sailboat to be destroyed. Robert is as mad as anyone can imagine and decides to kick Brennan and Dale out and call off the marriage. So we finally get to see the now ex-step brothers spread their own wings and grow up. Everything works out in the end thanks to a now grown up Brennan and Dale.
What I thought about…
The acting.
The cast of this movie was a thing of beauty. Although Will Ferrell still plays his same old self it really works here. You honestly believe that two 12-year-old soles took over the bodies of 40-year-olds and now refuse to leave. What really makes this work though, are the parents. They actually play along with the sons and seem to think that their boys are still 13. Also the entire cast makes the switch from a family with two young boys to a family with grown sons incredibly smooth, and believe me a switch like that is sometimes hard to pull off. Overall the chemistry among this cast really made the movie.
The direction…
Personally, when it comes to an SNL guy like Ferrell, it’s hard for me to tell how much is him being funny and how much of it is good writing and directing. That being said, Adam McKay does great job. This is his and Ferrell’s third picture together so I imagine that his directing should receive some of the credit for Ferrell and Reilly’s hilarity.
What the critics said.
This movie had mixed reviews. Hollywood.com seemed to enjoy it but Rotten Tomatoes had an average rating of 5 out of 10. Here is what the critics said. “Though Ferrell and Reilly bring puppyish enthusiasm to scenes in which the overgrown boys bond, the shift to friendship leaves Step Brothers with nowhere to go.” Carla Meyer from the
Bottom Line
Hollywood.com 2 ½ out of 4
Rotten Tomatoes 5 out of 10
Sick of the Critics If the weekend gets slow
