Joe Barber reviews “Step Brothers”
Once in a great while, a movie comes along that is such a waste of time and money, you have to wonder why anyone would bother to make it. A big, quick payday is the likely answer, though I suspect the folks who made Step Brothers would never be crass enough to admit it. Too bad they were crass enough to make the movie and release it.
Will Farrell and John C. Reilly, who did good work together in Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby, are the stars of this alleged comedy. They play two forty year old men who still live at home with their respective parents, a widow and a divorced man.
Both sons are slackers who act like spoiled children and swear like sailors. When Farrell’s mother (Mary Steenburgen) marries Reilly’s father (Richard Jenkins) and the four become a blended family sibling rivalry explodes, with tones of crude, obnoxious, tasteless jokes driving the plot to its moronic “happy” ending.
Adam McKay, who directed Anchorman and Talladega Nights, directed this mess and wrote it with Farrell and Reilly. What may be most ironic about the film is that the folks who are likely to appreciate its incredibly sophomoric and juvenile humor-12 year old boys-won’t be able to see it because of its R rating. Of course, they won’t miss much.
If you’d rather not make a bunch of undeserving millionaires any richer, do yourself a favor-and tech them a lesson-by skipping this awful excuse for a comedy. Sometimes the price of even the cheapest laugh is too high.
Step Brothers is rated R for profanity nudity, gross body function humor and just plain stupidity and childishness.
Joe’s Rating: One Star (*)
