| ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. | |
| OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Parents need to know that this is a far raunchier comedy than the last collaboration between stars Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, and director Adam McKay, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and much more explicit in how it stoops for laughs. It's loaded with crude, rude, sexual, and obscene language and situations, including visible male genitalia and glimpses of porn and a vocabulary that ranges from "p---y" to "f--k" and everywhere in between. There's also lots of product placement, and the film's half-hearted messages and morals -- about family, being who you are, and accepting people -- are drowned out by its loud, boisterous vulgarity.
Dr. Robert Doback (Richard Jenkins) and Janet Huff (Mary Steenburgen) meet at a medical conference, and it's love -- and lust -- at first sight. Sharing personal facts as they tear each other's clothes off, they're dumbstruck when they both realize they have adult sons still living at home. After a swift marriage, Janet and her son, Brennan (Will Ferrell), move in with Robert and his son, Dale (John C. Reilly). The "boys" initially despise each other but soon become partners in crime; unfortunately, the strain of living with two unemployed boy-men drives Robert and Janet apart. Forced to move out as their shared home is sold, Brennan and Dale have to grow up, fast, and are soon plotting to get Mom and Dad back together.
There are an incredible number of things wrong with STEP BROTHERS, not the least of which is the fact that the filmmakers seem incredibly content to let Reilly and Ferrell's antics stand in for any plot logic or sense. Within five minutes of the film's start, you're wondering why exactly Robert and Janet have put up with their crazed slacker sons for so long. But if they hadn't, you wouldn't have a plot for your movie. Of course, you still don't have much of one, but director Adam McKay seems remarkably content to let Ferrell and Reilly scream, shout, and flail their way through every scene, assuming that the audience will find their antics hilarious. Produced by Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up), Step Brothers has the raunchy rawness of his other comedies, but none of the sweetness or structure.
Overall, Step Brothers feels more like a marketing plan than a movie, more like a poster than a plot. Ferrell repeats his overly familiar wailing buffoon character, and Reilly matches him (shouted) note for (shouted) note. It's as if everyone involved was so sure that what they were doing was comedy gold that they didn't bother making an effort to create fully drawn characters or an actual plot; instead, we get two stars in thinly drawn parts that are entirely too similar to what we've seen them do many times before, drifting lazily from scene to scene with no real direction. What might have looked like a winning plan on paper -- more hilarity from the stars, folks behind hits like Anchorman and Talladega Nights! -- ends up playing out as a shabby, self-indulgent mess.
Families can talk about Will Ferrell's appeal. What makes something a "Will Ferrell comedy"?
What age group do you think movies like this one are aimed at?
Families
can also discuss the movie's essential question: When should children
leave home?
When does parental protection become more a burden than a
shield?
What challenges do real blended families face? What fuels
sibling rivalry in real life? Also, is it ever worth sacrificing your
individuality and passion in order to get ahead?
| Studio: | Columbia Tristar |
| Director: | Adam McKay |
| Cast: | John C. Reilly, Richard Jenkins, Will Ferrell |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 112 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | July 25, 2008 |
| DVD release date: | December 1, 2008 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | crude and sexual content, and pervasive language. |