Step Brothers (R)

I’ll be honest – raunchy comedies aren’t really my thing. Especially ones involving Will Ferrell. I found “Old School” mildly entertaining at best, “Zoolander” insipid, and “The Other Guys” lacking direction and uninspired. That being said, I avoided “Step Brothers” like the plague, thinking it yet another entry into a genre I abhor, ranking it somewhere between back to school shopping and root canals. I think this is because modern comedies have left me so unsatisfied, that I assume, often correctly, that sophomoric humor has replaced wit, and crassitude has replaced a compelling script. And while “Step Brothers” does little to prove me wrong, somehow it saves itself from total failure by being charming enough to remind me of a place good movies come from, even if it never tries hard enough to get there.  

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly play Brennan and Dale, 40-somethings still living at home who are forced together when their parents (Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins) get married, setting the stage for conflict at every turn. Dale has a drum set that must never be touched. That Brennan will touch it is a given, that he will abuse it a must…and that an ensuing battle between the two in the front yard of their house, a sad, desperate scene tugging at movie goers already abused intelligence a given, the movie positions itself as a throw-a-way while constantly clamoring for attention in all the wrong places.

Where did this movie go wrong? Honestly, and though I wanted to, I couldn’t blame Ferrell and Reilly, as they are simply playing a part in something (although co-written by the duo) much larger than them. Steenburgen and Jenkins, who have appeared in much better movies (think “Life as a House,” “Me, Myself, and Irene”), here flounder as the stepbrother’s ambivalent parents, and aren’t given anything that could be considered backstory. They are set at almost immediate odds with each other due to Brennan and Dale’s obnoxious behavior, Steenburgen being the more accepting of the two while Jenkins appears harsh and one-sided, damning his son and stepson for ruining his dreams.

Here the movie teeters oddly close to making a statement on parenting and hints of emotion, but of course veers swiftly away in the name of slapstick comedy. For instance, as the stepbrothers blow an interview by acting like complete buffoons they are bullied first by a group of neighborhood junior high schoolers before being insulted by most of their family. The lone exception is the understanding Steenburgen, who somehow brings more heart to the role of Nancy than the movie probably deserved.

The film also throws in a number of ludicrous characters, the worst offender Adam Scott as Brennan’s obnoxious brother Derek who warms his way into Doc Doback’s heart by being uber-successful (even if he is a complete jerk). A side plot involving Derek’s wife (Kathryn Hahn) engaging in a romantic affair with Dale blurs the edges of reality even further and gives the movie an oddly hopeless feeling. As Dale and Brennan are the only ones who comment on the crass behavior of Derek, his character’s jerkiness sails along with no repercussions, as all the characters in the movie with any credibility accept him with open arms. Dale and Brennan are little but comic relief during these scenes and are aptly treated as such.

In fairness, “Step Brothers” does have a few gems, particularly in humorous scenes brought by Reilly and Ferrell. While some scenes, such as a fight the two have in the front yard of their house which brings the attention of local police are downright painful to watch, others are vindicating, such as a ‘group job interview’ with the two wearing tuxedos, or a reverse bullying scene at the movie’s end which makes a stronger statement about treating others with respect than the movie probably intended.

The problem with “Step Brothers” is that it never really decided what kind of movie it wanted to be: a raucous throw-a-way or a smart comedy. The best comedies have a way of making comments on society or the human condition while still being sweet or emotional in the right places. The Farrelly Brothers have a produced a legion of these films (“Fever Pitch,” “Me, Myself, and Irene”) with Director Tom Shadyac’s “Liar Liar” not far behind. “Step Brothers” wants to be a raunch-fest, yet also interweaves these scenes with poignant observations on growing up, family life, and how families breaking up can cause irrevocable problems on children. However, instead of exploring these issues, the film glosses over them, using them as fodder for cheap laughs at Dale and Brennan’s expense. A better film would have given the two at least a little humanity before dragging them through their next inevitable roast.

I feel I’m being unfair to “Step Brothers.” I wanted to like this movie; in fact, there were even a few times where it pulled at my heartstrings, especially an ending with Brennan singing “Por ti volaré” and the film’s not so subtle message to just be yourself and follow your dreams. Unfortunately, a multitude of unlikeable characters, over-the-top histrionics, and an over-reliance on raunchy humor render an experience that will probably only please fans who already like this type of genre. Giving this movie an ‘F’ would be unfair. However, giving it a ‘D’ is almost worse; there were so many times where the film could have shed its skin and become something more. But whether a lack of trying or just sheer laziness, it never became any of them. “Step Brothers” isn’t an awful film – it’s just an uninspired one.

– by Mark Ziobro