Review: Step Brothers

It was ineviateble that at some point, Will Ferrell would break his downward trend of the quality of his films. Starting from the comedy classic Anchorman, weaving through the acceptable Talledega Nights, before releasing the unremarkable Blades Of Glory, and finally crashing and burning in Semi-Pro. Step Brothers had "average" written all over it. The comedy duo of Will Ferrel and John C. Reilley reunite once again to bring you the story of two forty-year-olds still living at home, who are forced to live together after their respective single parents hook up and marry. It's a very wide-appeal, and despite the R (or 15 in the UK) rating, a first for Ferrel, it still manages to wade through the fart, vomit and nutsack jokes and become quite a sweet, enjoyable family film. (And by that I mean a film about a family. Don't take the kids)

Right from the beginning, Ferrel and Reilley's man-child characters are on top form. Ferrel's loveable loser Brennan waves goodbye to his mother as she goes to work, before sticking his hand down his pyjama bottoms as soon as she's out of the door. Reilley's character plays Guitar Hero in his room as his dad goes to work that day. Already we see this is the duo's domain. A quirky comedy with a paper-thin plot, but plenty of gags to fill the void. It's something about the entirely cliched nature of this film that's so charming, however. A genuinely-funny-for-once sleepwalking scene makes for good laughs (and they use that one twice) as does the coming together of the two brothers as they try to put off potential buyers of the house they aren't ready to give up slacking in. It has to be said the pair truly do save the film. The prepoeterousness of two single 40-year-olds behaving like children living with their parents is something only a select hollywood few could pull off.

As Brennan's psychiatrist observes near the end of the film: "You realise this is totally fucked-up, right?" Hell yeah, we do. But this film has magic despite the plot holes and cliches. Ferrel's back, ladies and gentlemen.

Rating: ****
Best bit: The funny-for-once sleepwalking scenes
Sequel?: No.
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