Step Brothers (2008)

I suppose I should just say I am a bit of a Will Ferrell fan before getting in to this review. If like me you thought Anchor Man was one of the funniest films you had seen in ages then you should stop reading and go watch Step Brothers now. NOW! If you like random comedy involving grown men acting like angry teenagers then you will find this funny. Ferrell has teamed up with director Adam McKay for the third time here (previous films were Anchorman and Talladega Nights). Anyone who has seen their other efforts will know just what to expect.

Step Brothers is a story of two 40 year old men, Brennan (Ferrell) and Dale (John C Reilly) who live with their parents. They sit around in their fantasy worlds, indulged by parents that cannot say no to them. That is until these parents get married to each other and move in together, forcing Dale and Brennan to share a room. Yes the plot is stupid, yes the main characters are idiots, and yes the humour is puerile. The plot does wander down some fairly pointless parts that take away from the laughs, but the madness of Ferrell and Reilly more than carry the shortcomings.

Imagine two teenage boys forced into this situation, hating each other at first but eventually realising that they have lots in common, including some of the following: doing karate in the garage, building bunk beds, reading porn mags and hating Dale's younger brother Derek. Ferrell and Reilly throw themselves into the parts worryingly well; their bickering and one-upmanship alone make this film worth watching. Derek (Adam Scott) is fantastic as the over achieving ego maniac, so sadistic he makes his family sing an A Cappella version of Sweet Child 'O Mine in their car! The madness of these characters is given perspective by their sane parents who try in vain to turn them into responsible adults.

The story does fall flat in places where the story tries to play itself out. However this film is so filled with the random one-liners and toilet humour of the previous McKay/Ferrell collaborations that I was more than happy to put up with it.

7/10