Film Reviews

Step Brothers

• Rating:
• Director: Adam McKay
• Starring: Mary Steenburgen
• Details: US / 95mins (16).

Take Failure To Launch, ankle the romantic comedy aspect, toss in some Bam Margera antics and you've got Step Brothers, which should have been the comedy of the year. It's written by and stars Will Ferrell (comedy's golden boy) and John C. Reilly (Walk Hard was decent); it's got Adam McKay (Anchorman) directing; and Judd Apatow (which means absolutely nothing) producing. A nice CV but Step Brothers, instead of a tight script, relied on rolling the cameras and hoping that Messrs Ferrell and Reilly do their thing on the day - they do and they don't, and they don't more than they do. The plot was a good idea and ripe for the stars who proved a winning duo in Talladega Nights: Ferrell and Reilly play the childish Brennan and Dale respectively, two 40-year-olds still living at home with their single parents. When Brennan's mother (Steenburgen) marries Dale's father (Jenkins), they are forced to share a room; at first they can't stand the sight of each other and take each other on at every available opportunity, but over time they bond and band together to take their first tentative steps out into the big bad world.

Not a bad idea but an idea is all it is. There's no plot or anything close to it - just a bunch of loose sketches that peak early on with Ferrell placing his testicles (and yes, we see his testicles) on a drum kit. His antics, however, miss the mark here and there are no lines that you can quote back to your mates (ala Anchorman), as Ferrell relies on shouting 'f**k' a lot rather than actually being funny; Reilly is better but not by much and Jenkins, funny in There's Something About Mary, Six Feet Under and Flirting With Disaster, doesn't have a lot to do. A missed opportunity.

Review by Gavin Burke