Step Brothers Stars Will Ferrell & John C Reilly

Believable Film Premise Leads to brilliant Delinquent Comedy

Sep 27, 2008

Audiences may be offended or inspired by the swearing shenanigans in this all-too-real premise of a movie, co-written by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell

Step Brothers is Will Ferrell’s latest movie, where he teams up again with co-star John C. Reilly and screenwriter Adam McKay. Step Brothers is a movie about two forty-year old bachelors who still live with their parents and now have to live with each other, after their respective ‘mom and dad’ fall in love. The film’s down-to-earth, home video quality brings out the almost-too-true premise that: yes, grownups like Brennan (Will Ferrell) and Dale (John C. Reilly) do exist and may sometimes be closer than you think!

Adult Humour

When two frustrated bachelors are made to live together against their wills, you can expect plenty of expletives. Step Brothers is not a film suitable for children, though its trailer looks deceptively sweet. From the moment Dr. Doback, Dale’s father, falls in love with Brennan’s mother and unknowingly mentions ‘breasts’ in his public speech, it is obvious that Step Brothers does not aspire to Disney’s heights. But even toilet humour has its inspired moments, and Step Brothers is a real triumph in this respect. Its improvised dialogue is like a spark from a spray can, splashing all manner of language, over the screen.

Will Ferrell & John C. Reilly

Without having to put on strange costumes (like Austin Powers), use a big budget (Tropic Thunder) or talk funny (Don’t Mess with the Zohan), Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly show audiences that simple good old humour can be effective. When Dale warns Brennan repeatedly not to touch his drum set, Brennan breaks the rules, does the deed and starts breaking out in sweat while watching TV. Dale comes in, spots the guilty Brennan and asks, “Why are you so sweaty?” To which Brennan replies: “I was watching Cops.” It is an inspired moment of ‘guy talk’ that befits two forty-year old singletons, not forgetting that extra dash of irony (Cops as a scapegoat for guilty Brennan).

Ferrell and Reilly worked together in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. It became a hit, proving that their chummy ‘Shake and bake’ chemistry could no do wrong. Perhaps it is unusual that two grown men can foster a soppy female-like companionship, while avoiding homosexual undertones. In Step Brothers this proven chemistry works wonders again, with stepbrothers Brennan and Dale huddled up with pillows at night, whispering their darkest thoughts, or when they go on their job search caper, leading to a series of disasters.

Mom & Dad also a great Team

Mom and Dad are played to perfection by Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins, two actors who really show off their chops in this domestic setup. Richard Jenkins was last seen in films like the Coen brothers’ Intolerable Cruelty, where he makes a small but hilarious appearance as Freddy Bender, an insecure lawyer with an axe to grind. Mary Steenburgen’s appearance in Back to the Future 3 shows that beauty does not age, and her mix of love and pride in a sexy package makes her a mother Brennan would be proud of. Step Brothers provides the perfect platform for both veteran actors to let loose a bit and invent, through their well-rounded characters.

The real Villain

Step Brothers is actually not as simple as it looks. First Mom and Dad are the enemies, then job finding, the playground bullies, and finally Brennan’s brother Derek. The movie does not reveal Derek as the ‘real villain’ until somewhere in the middle of the film, and it is as if Step Brothers is a retrospective journey into two forty-year olds’ childhoods, to reveal their deepest fears, causing their present childlike behavior. Towards the end of the film, Brennan realizes he fears singing in public because of Derek, but it makes the inspired finale more spectacular, where WIll Ferrell sings the Spanish version of opera aria 'Time to Say Goodbye' - 'Por ti volare'.

Derek Huff, played by Adam Scott, is an incorrigible brother ten times worse than layabout Brennan, but Derek gets his way and the love of everyone, because he earns heaps of money. His only Achilles’ heel is his wife (a versatile performance by Kathryn Hahn), who sneaks off to congratulate Dale for standing up to Derek, and throws herself all over him. And not just once either. Adam Scott packs a powerful punch in his performance, reminding audiences of similar brat behavior in Top Gun years ago. His squeaky-clean family is first introduced in a posh car, all four singing a hymn in perfect harmony. Ouch. What a difference to louts Brennan and Dale.

Only for Ferrell & Reilly Fans

Though the plot is straightforward to a fault, Step Brothers is an unpretentious comedy that audiences can best enjoy if expectations are not imposed. Audiences new to Will Ferrell’s style of improvised dialogue and films like Talladega Nights may want to warm up with some Saturday Night Live first, or check out his previous offerings like Anchorman and Blades of Glory. Step Brothers is great popcorn fun for a late Saturday night, with close buddies.

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