Review: Step Brothers

Directed by: Adam McKay

Written by: Will Ferrell & Adam McKay

Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn

Rating: [4.5/5]

Merging families already containing children presents some difficulties in ensuring not only the parents in question can make it work, but also that the kids will accept their new circumstances and change. Doing this when the supposed children are two nearly middle-aged men certainly presents a different type of challenge and one Step Brothers has a tremendous time in comedically displaying not only through the wonderful two leads but also an incredible bench of supporting characters bringing their A-game. 

After meeting, falling in love, and marrying each other, Nancy (Mary Steenburgen) and Robert (Richard Jenkins) move in together with each of them bringing their large adult sons into the mix. Brennan (Will Ferrell) and Dale (John C. Reilly) therefore meet and begin this petty battle of who will take supremacy of this new landscape amongst the pressure of the parents who want them to leave the nest. 

With the economic environment in place having an adverse effect on millennials and Gen-Z individuals, the reality of people living with their parents into adulthood will become more and more prevalent. However, when it gets to the age of Brennan and Dale, it begins to get a bit ridiculous they cannot manage to fend for themselves, which ultimately makes for much of the comedy this feature has to offer. It partly comes from the incredibly childish and immature behavior they display but also because of their age while doing it. Describing these two and their actions would make the average person believe the description befits two 13-year-olds, but this feature presents it through these two older men. 

Therefore, casting becomes integral to the story and how these characters can pull off being both endearing but also hilarious at the same time. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly prove to be the perfect duo as their comedy very much aligns with what gets called upon by these characters. An air of childishness we can earnestly take seriously allowing for incredible pieces of line delivery. Nearly everything they say to each other works spectacularly well because all of it comes with earnestness and true sincerity in the way they say it. This allows a moment where they exchange “Did we just become best friends” so heartening because they well and truly mean what they say when asking that. Seeing how they start, what means the most to them, and then allowing them to bond because of it makes their bond that much more special, which ultimately propels the emotion of this feature amidst all of the comedy it seeks to additionally employ. These childish schemes therefore never get old and makes for so many memorable lines shared between them. 

Through this narrative, it seeks to tell the story of two individuals trying their best to grow up. They definitely did not move at the schedule everyone in their lives prefer but they begin this process because their parents demand it. These two could not possibly live with their parents for this long without a large dose of enabling occurring and this new marriage becomes the final moment where these baby birds need to fly. Their attempts in doing so make for some very funny moments where they seriously have no concept of how the real world works from their efforts to show up to interviews in tuxedos to not fully comprehending Brennan cannot bring Dale into the interview with him. If not for the performances of Ferrell and Reilly, these scenes could have gone off the rails in losing any sort of care for these characters facing relegation to over the top. With these two it simply works. 

These two certainly get some incredible support from the supporting cast each delivering haymakers with the time they receive. Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins are sensational as the parents trying to keep their sanity amid the immature actions of their sons and the moments where Jenkins’s character Robert loses it, allow the actor to go full steam ahead with what he does best. From something as simple as “Dale, no power tools” and several other lines, the man certainly came to play. Additionally, Brennan’s brother, Derek, portrayed by Adam Scott gives the actor the ability to be a true tool in a way he often does not get the opportunity. Nothing quite lives up to the entire car singing scene with his family in the way he displays his expectations of everyone around him and remains to communicate them in blunt ways as necessary. Every scene Scott appears in proves quite the delight as he presents the meanest insults to Brennan and Dale while wielding quite the punchable smile. 

Truly a hilarious and effortlessly enjoyable feature, Step Brothers brings everything one could want from a comedy, especially one directed by Adam McKay and starring two of his old reliables in Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. They serve as the heartbeat and the comedic beacons of this feature in the way they sell these two immature men to us and we completely accept it. This pair shines in this circumstance as well as this impeccable supporting cast doing everything they can to continue to elevate the material. Everything Kathryn Hahn does just astounds in the manner she delivers her lines, but generally how her character has an open disdain for her husband but seeks to maintain this appearance of happiness. All-around wonderful characters to follow and a story about it never being late to grow up even when featuring two fairly older men going through it.