You know you’re in trouble with a film when you find yourself thinking about chicken stir-fry half way through. And so it was with
Step Brothers – I caught myself thinking about the best way to marinade some chicken cutlets at about the 30-minute mark and realised that I must be crushingly bored.
And it’s such a shame, because this film looks so good on paper. It is produced by the new godfather of Hollywood comedy,
Judd Apatow, written by
Adam McKay and
Will Ferrell (who co-wrote
Anchorman) and stars Ferrell and
John C. Reilly, who were such a good team in the underrated
Talladega Nights.
So where did it all go wrong?
Firstly, the storyline is flimsy. It centres around two slobs who become competitive step brothers when their single parents marry (cue dick jokes, toilet humour, petty violence and outlandish insults). While we all know that a strong storyline isn’t crucial for a good comedy, it at least has to have some pretty funny scenes and witty dialogue as compensation. And unfortunately,
Step Brothers has neither of these.
The script is shabby. It feels as if the writers have simply padded together some loose dialogue to connect the mediocre jokes. And none of the material is new. The whole thing feels like a watered down version of the other Ferrell movies we’ve all seen before. It’s also disappointing to note that 95 per cent of the laughs can be found in the film’s
trailer.
The other reason that it may have failed is that the characters are not strong enough to carry the whole movie. The film assumes that the audience is going to be suitably mesmerised by Reilly and Ferrell, but this just isn’t the case. Films like
Talladega Nights, Anchorman and
Old School work because Ferrell is supported by a great ensemble cast. He just doesn’t get that support in
Step Brothers.
Having said all of this, there’s a good chance the film will be a hit with 14 year-old boys who will get a kick out of watching Ferrell and Reilly act like swollen teens. And admittedly, there are two or three really good jokes that will have you LOL-ing in the aisles.
But two or three good jokes just doesn't cut it these days. Especially when you can jump on YouTube and
get your guffaws for free.
The bottom line is that if you’re looking for some giggles from the silver screen, you’d be well advised to give
Step Brothers a miss. You’re better off getting along to a session of
In Bruges, which is a far superior film.
Step Brothers is released in Australia on September 18.