By Josh Moss
josh@louisville.com
The Summer of Superheroes killed the comedy. Well, it did until now. Because director Adam McKay’s “Step Brothers,” which stars the hilarious Will Ferrell and the equally hilarious John C. Reilly, is funny enough for moviegoers to choose it over “The Dark Knight” for the second (or third) time. And that’s saying something.
We like Ferrell as much as the next guy, but we’ll be frank and admit he disappointed in 2008’s “Semi-Pro” and 2007’s “Blades of Glory.” In those, he was simply regurgitating that loud absurdity we’d already seen over and over and over. Though he’s not exactly reinventing his comedy shtick here, it works because Reilly co-stars, and they’re just too entertaining together not to laugh.
The two played a pair of NASCAR-driving best friends in 2006’s “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” (“Shake and Bake!”), but they’re funnier this time around because, believe it or not, their roles are more ridiculous. Ferrell plays a 39-year-old named Brennan Huff who lives at home with his mother (played by Mary Steenburgen, who’s still hot at 55), spending his days masturbating to workout shows on television. Reilly plays a 40-year-old named Dale Doback who lives at home with his father (Richard Jenkins, “The Kingdom”) and rocks out on Guitar Hero in his underwear. Soon their parents meet at a conference and in no time get hitched, making Brennan and Dale stepbrothers who, naturally, hate each other.
Ferrell and McKay, who also directed “Talladega Nights” and “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” co-wrote the script and it works because it captures the way agitated stepbrothers might act in real life. At the dinner table, for instance, they glare at each other while eating chicken tenders and squirting way too much ketchup onto their plates. When Brennan puts something we won’t mention here on Dale’s drum set, the fight spills into the front yard and involves a bicycle.
OK, that last scene, like much of “Step Brothers,” is over-the-top. What makes the movie memorable, though, is the way Ferrell and Reilly capture the nuances of the 12-year-old boy. (Parents, they play 40-year-olds, but you’ll feel like you’re starring at your own kids.) Of course it’s stupid that two grown men literally act like children. But if you can’t look past that, this one just isn’t for you. It’s also probably not for you if you can’t deal with “chest pubes” or “ball fro.” We’ll admit we chuckled.
And that’s not to say we loved everything about “Step Brothers.” Brennan’s younger brother Derek (played by the relatively unknown Adam Scott) is a wealthy Tom Cruise look-a-like who chews up way too much screen time. He annoys more than he entertains. Plus, the seeing-eye dog jokes are mean spirited, and the Vanilla Ice humor misses its mark.
Eventually, Brennan and Dale bond over their shared hatred for Derek and are forced to grow up and get jobs. (One choice cameo that we won’t spoil here involves a job interview that Brennan and Dale attend together.) And we’ll let you decide if the brothers showing off their musical talents is worth the wait.
The moral of the whole thing, we suppose, is to grow up without forgetting your inner-child. Or something like that. We just wish our stepbrother was as much fun as one of these idiots.
3 fleurs di lis out of 4
