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Review: “Step Brothers”
By Kyle | July 24, 2008
Kyle Smith review of “Step Brothers”
95 minutes/Rated R
3.5 stars out of 4
I thought I knew funny, but lo, I was mistaken. Before the pure light of “Step Brothers” entered my life, I knew not the sweet comedic splendors of live burial, bunk-bed catastrophe or a minivan family singing “Sweet Child O’ Mine” in four-party harmony.
Ferrell plays Brennan (“You can call me… “Nighthawk) and John C. Reilly is Dale (“Call me Dragon”), two full-grown manboys who each live with a widowed single parent.
Brennan lives with mom Nancy (Mary Steenburgen, who, by the way, is at age whatever in possession of a body that is fierce), Dale with dad Robert (Richard Jenkins of “Six Feet Under,” who busts out a gift for deadpan that rivals Leslie Nielsen’s).
When Nancy and Robert get married, their live-in sons become stepbrothers, and lo, the foreheads of the world’s comedy writers did submit to a mighty thwacking as their owners begged the gods of japery, “Why didn’t I think of that?” There hasn’t been this much fun under the same roof since the creation of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms.
Instead of banging the same gong throughout, though, the writing team of Ferrell, Reilly and director Adam McKay, who is maybe the second hottest comedy helmer after Judd Apatow, keep trying new situations. The boys are alternately sworn foes, BFFs and even sober job-holding adults. The only standing order comes from Reilly: “We’re here to f—k s—t up!” Proclaim it, Sir!
“Step Brothers” is, by a hair, the funniest film I’ve seen this year (over “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” which was a better movie overall), and at least as funny as McKay’s other ones, “Anchorman” and “Talladega Nights.”
After fooling with night vision goggles, one of the manboys says, “Imagine if we’d had these when we were 12.” “Even better,” is the reply. “We got them when we’re 40!” The concept of grown men acting like boys has been done so frequently that it’s nearly time for a shock-value comedy about grown men acting like grown men. But it has rarely been done properly, with the correct degree of vulgarity, social awkwardness, scowly-faced mystery aggression and Bruce Lee t-shirts. Boys are freaks. Picture Tom Hanks in a de-cornified “Big”: wouldn’t his first move have been a mission of porn and beer?
There is fascination with pretty ladies, but a fog of unease when it comes to talking to them. There is much fighting—Brennan hits Dale with a bike—the soft crackling of old bones as geezers are lightly tossed down flights of stairs. At a moment of détente, Brennan (T-shirt: Pablo Cruise) offers Dale (T-shirt: Yoda, a real classy one, with Yoda’s face all shadowy) the chance to ride with him upon “majestic and translucent steeds,” while Dale responds, “I will follow you through the mists of Avalon.” Brennan wants to sing, but he’s too shy to perform, so Dale encourages him: “Your voice—it’s like a combination of Fergie and Jesus.”
Brennan’s rich brother Derek (language sampler: “Bro,” “Not gonna happen,” and “It would be kickass”), who brags that he knows Jeff Probst, becomes a hilarious foil as played by Adam Scott, who has been popping up here and there for a few years but never made his mark before. Now he’s hit on a role that can pay his wages for the next decade: He’s not just a tool, but a power tool.
With its middle-aged roommates failing to meet basic developmental milestones, “Step Brothers” is like “Wayne’s World” and “The Odd Couple” taking a shower together, under a soothing cascade of filthy language. There is too much funny here for a movie (even though it continues into the closing credits). “Step Brothers” should be a TV show. Given the limited career aspirations of its main characters, the demotion would be fitting.
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:35 pm
“Mary Steenburgen, who, by the way, is at age whatever in possession of a body that is fierce”
What??? Please speak english sir.
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Dan H…
Geez Louise, who let Mr. Ferley into the building?
Any person under AARP+20 numbers would know that means “good, only better” especially at her ‘whatever’ up there years.
LRN2Interpret
As far as the review. I was planning on seeing the movie anyway, but now I’m chomping at the bit. Love Will Ferrell, I’m not quite as keen on John C. Reilly (Vince Vaughn would have been better), but it will suffice.
July 24th, 2008 at 2:34 am
I couldn’t understand the “age whatever” line either. Really good writing shouldn’t need interpreting.
The review gave me a pretty good impression of what the movie is, and I might actually see it now since I liked Talladega Nights.
July 25th, 2008 at 5:30 am
Forgetting Sarah Marshall was funnier than Anchorman??? I’ve forgotten that movie already. Except for it having the annoying Russell Brand in it.
But you can’t forget, “Old man, I’m gonna come at you like a spider monkey” or “why, if it isn’t our mangy, transient grandfather.” Okay, the kids got all the best lines.
July 25th, 2008 at 5:41 am
Should have said those were from Talladega Nights. Curse this message board.
Also: “Dad, you made that grace your bitch!”
July 25th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Kyle,
What a tragedy that you have never known the sweet comedic splendor of the bunk-bed catastrophe! The Three Stooges did this bit more than once (I know it’s in “I Can Hardly Wait” from 1943). The Stooges, of course, upped the ante with the three-level bunk-bed collapse initiated by Curly, the most heavy-set of the three who nonetheless was forced by Moe and Larry to climb toward and occupy the top, and most rickety, bunk. I’m willing to bet (but not willing to expend time actually finding out!) that Laurel and Hardy did a dual-bed collapse at some point too. Sweet comedic splendor? I say yes.
ABuckman
July 25th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Still stunned at how funny this one proved to be. Found the trailer forced and a harbinger of doom. Not quite. And the supporting roles, particularly Jenkins’ performance, is exceptional. That guy’s been toiling in the character actor mines for 30 years … but now may be his time.
July 30th, 2008 at 9:05 am
I have no idea what movie you saw, or what intoxicants may have been pulsing through your body when you saw it.
Two sixty-somethings playing the parents of two forty-somethings who are all quite clearly willing to do ANYTHING to get a reaction out of teens and twenty-somethings. The word that comes to my mind: humiliating.
I, a forty-something, was at the theatre only because my wife was near the radio station when they were giving out free passes. To my eventual wincing pain, she stopped in for the freebies. As they say, when you get something for nothing you get what you pay for.
It was humorous to see these two talented men given nothing remotely comedic to do? (And blame Ferrell: he’s so big, he can even get his own scripts approved, no matter how empty-headed they may be.) Reilly is really slumming now; no Paul Thomas Anderson for him anymore. Ferrell has never pretended to have the slightest weight to him, so he can be excused for choosing to play still another dimwit with charm enough to survive. And we wouldn’t mind seeing him play that same character over and over; but why couldn’t we wait for a better script?
The premise is useful enough; certainly many in the audience can relate, on one level or another, to the idea of a child who gets older but won’t grow up. But movies are about tone, aren’t they? In other words, the movie has to know what it is about, if it has a chance of working.
Step Brothers has no consistent tone; to the extent that it fakes having a tone, thank the mom and dad parts for that. These seasoned Hollywood vets do deliver their lines with an understanding that there is supposed to be comedy going on; Ferrell and Reilly are content to play surly and expect it to come out funny.
You thought it did. So did many in the audience of my sneak preview. I still have no idea why.
OK, forty-something, maybe out of touch. But I loved Talladega Nights, for example. I saw wit and originality all through that movie. Laughed plenty. Actually gave a damn about the “characters”. So, farces can work on more than one level. Ferrell has done it with great success; so has Stiller.
But what have we here? We have boys night in. Ferrell and Reilly are in nearly every scene; the other brother is too nasty to even be funny. Who didn’t know Reilly (or Ferrell) really would punch him? Who didn’t know he’d win every battle except the final one? Who didn’t know that would be a singing scene?
I can identify two funny bits in the entire excruciating ordeal: The pitch at the restaurant with the “Boats & Hos” video, and the 80’s Billy Joel guy that got into a fight.
Too much of the rest was, in a word, overindulgent. It was Ferrell using his free pass to waste our time. Cardinal sin, ESPECIALLY in a “comedy”.
That he can do far better than this should go without saying.
I have NO IDEA what movie you saw, but I hope you were on something.
That would at least pass as some sort of explanation for your evident enjoyment of this muck.
September 8th, 2008 at 12:46 am
I loved Step Brothers! I laughed so hard I had tears. Great review!