Movies

Step Brothers Review

Wil Ferrell and John C. Reilly team up to bring us Step Brother (they also starred together in Talladega Nights). Brennan Huff (Ferrell) is a 39 year old unemployed bum who still lives with his mother (Mary Steenburgen). He plays video games and eats nachos all day long. His mother meets Robert (Richard Jenkins) at a medical conference and fall in love. They quickly get married. The catch, Robert has a 40 year unemployed bum for a son too, Dale (Reilly). Right from the start, they hate each other and try to maim and embarrass each other constantly. They only stop trying to kill each other when they are threatened by Brennan’s younger brother, Derek (Adam Scott). He is very successful, has a nice family, and is an over-the-top asshole to his brother and new step-brother.

Both Ferrell and Reilly are very funny in their slacker roles. Their gags come non-stop for the first half of the movie. When they team up to become successful, their company’s (Prestige International) rap video is one of the most outrageous things you’ll see this year in a movie. But the big scene-stealer is Adam Scott, who plays an arrogant prick who enjoys taunting his brother and rubbing his success in his face. A close runner-up is Kathryn Hayn, who plays Alice, Derek’s wife. Her scenes with Reilly are downright hilarious.

The film was very good and the pacing excellent. The plot is non-existent, but let’s be honest, plot is usually secondary in most comedies anyways (or a way to set-up more gags). There is hardly a let-up in jokes and gags, and the scene where Ferrell buries Reilly is classic Wil Ferrell.