Step Brothers: Movie Review (2008)

Directed by Adam McKay, written by Will Ferrell and McKay, 93 minutes, rated R.

Here's a surprise.

I thought for sure the new Adam McKay movie, "Step Brothers," was going to be a groaner--the trailer did nothing for me--but the film, in spite of its one-joke premise, milks that premise with such abandon in its barrage of loose, funny jokes, just try not being transported back to your own childhoods while watching it.

As with so many of today's bawdy comedies, this one hails from producer Judd Apatow, who has a knack for mining raunch while not forgoing a sense of genuine feeling. He does the same here (why mess with a good thing?), and while it's a formula that might, in lesser hands, have neutered this film's rougher edges, nobody is going to accuse "Step Brothers" of not having balls.

Those who see it (*cough*) will know what I mean.

The casting is key. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are Brennan and Dale, two 40-year-old men who act like 10-year-old brats, and who'd rather like to keep it that way. The movie is about the trials and tribulations of them living with their step-parents (Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen) while trying to get along as they're pressed to grow up.

Each is a challenge, but don't expect the strife to end when these two become friends--at least for those ancillary characters affected by Brennan and Dale. In fact, given what happens to them, it's safe to say that this is one of summer's meanest movies, which is why it's so critical for Ferrell and Reilly to infuse their characters with charm. If they didn't, you'd just come to loathe them. But because they do, regardless of how crudely they do it, their movie succeeds.

Grade: B