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Green Zone

Damon delivers a stirring performance in this thought-provoking film but it ultimately fails to distinguish itself from the recent influx of Middle East war films

My One And Only

A warm-hearted road trip movie which boasts strong performances

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampires Assistant

Despite fun performances, this wannabe franchise lacks ambiance

Remember Me

Pattison delivers another brooding performance in this self-indulgent film about young love and deliverance

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Step Brothers (Film)

by Pauline Adamek | September 15, 2008 15:24 | Edited September 26, 2008 11:48

“…creatively crass…”

 

Perfectly paired as man-child rivals, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly star in Step Brothers, the latest bro-comedy from Judd Apatow's production team. Director Adam McKay was Ferrell's partner on the internet comedy videos "The Landlord" and "Good Cop, Baby Cop" (where a toddler relentlessly bullies Ferrell's character), as well as being a writer on the seminal comedy programme Saturday Night Live, and he co-writes here alongside his two multi-tasking leading men.

 

The pair stars as lazy, live-at-home 40-somethings who become competitive stepbrothers when their single parents find love and get married. Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins play the blissful parents who begin to plan this new chapter in their life that, disconcertingly, does not include their selfish sons. When the petulant pair of men first lay eyes on each other, each sizing up their opponent from either end of the front yard as the opening credits title card divides them, the placement of the song "North America Scum" by LCD Soundsystem - with its dinky, low tech beat - crystallises the moment.

 

Thanks to their ability to convincingly portray adults who have never emotionally advanced beyond their pre-adolescent years, Ferrell and Reilly perfectly inhabit these obnoxious yet hilarious characters. Their mutual hostility and mistrust evolves into something almost noble by the film's conclusion. The screenplay gets maximum mileage out of altercations such as, "Did you touch my drum set?", and goofy scenes such as the boys' inept attempts to land jobs. Anyone with a sibling will surely relate to the childish nonsense shown throughout. While Step Brothers may not achieve the comic heights of Ferrell's most successful movies, such as Anchorman, Talladega Nights and Blades Of Glory, it's certainly up there in its creatively crass execution of a basic and funny idea.