Step Brothers [Archive]

BillBrasky

July 17, 2008, 9:01 PM

MUCH, much funnier than "Pineapple Express" and at times, absolutely hysterical. It's a lot more grounded in reality than "Anchorman" or "Talladega Nights", yet at the same time it retains that Adam McKay madness.

There is so much funny stuff in this movie that it would be a crime to spoil the best bits, so I won't. But what you see in the trailer is just the tip of the iceberg, really. This movie is gleefully juvenile and crass and immature in the best possible way. It definitely earns its R-rating, in a way that feels justified, not like in "Semi-Pro" where they just gratuitously cursed their way to an R.

There are many UCB people and friends of Ferrell in this that add to the funny. I will say that I was the most surprised at Kathryn Hahn, who has done some cute little supporting bits in other films, but who is shockingly hilarious in this. She goes to some places in this movie....wow, well, again I don't want to spoil, but I know you guys will all like this one a lot when you see it. Highly recommended.

Famous Police Dog

July 19, 2008, 12:52 PM

That tears it.

I will be seeing this movie in theaters next week ASAP, unlike The Dark Blight

punkdc

July 19, 2008, 1:18 PM

Going to the drive in next week to watch this...because that's the closest to IMAX this movie can get.

BillBrasky

July 22, 2008, 10:56 AM

Here's a deleted scene from "Step Brothers" featuring Rob Riggle.
Unfortunately, Rob didn't end up having too big of a role in the finished movie, but he does have one pretty funny scene.

<object width="464" height="388" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="movie" value="http://www2.funnyordie.com/public/flash/fodplayer.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value="key=3577bf7d3e" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed width="464" height="388" flashvars="key=3577bf7d3e" allowfullscreen="true" quality="high" src="http://www2.funnyordie.com/public/flash/fodplayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><noscript>See <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/3577bf7d3e">Step Brothers DELETED Scene with Rob Riggle</a> and more <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com">funny videos</a> on <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com">FunnyOrDie.com</a></noscript><div style="text-align:center;width:464px;">See more <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com">funny videos</a> at Funny or Die</div>

nadsat droog

July 25, 2008, 4:29 PM

I didn't think this was all that funny. It was maybe about as funny as Talladega Nights and that wasn't even very good. I disagree with Brasky about the language, I felt it was mostly unnecessary and it could have been funnier if they were not allowed to curse in front of their parents. There are tons of things in the movie that might be funny on paper but just fall flat on screen. And the fact that it's so grounded in reality hurts it because it fights itself for what kind of world it wants to be. It's better than your average comedy but not what one would expect from the people involved.

BillBrasky

July 25, 2008, 5:00 PM

Hmm...weird. I remember I wrote a pretty negative review of "Semi-Pro" when it came out, and then a couple people here disagreed with me and said it wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. And now this movie, which I figured people here would love, gets a lukewarm reaction.
I don't know, I guess I can't explain why things strike me as funny, but I really liked a lot of stuff in the movie- the job interview scenes, the scenes where they're disrupting Ferrell's brother's house selling; actually the whole character of Ferrell's brother in general, and his wife- I just thought the humor was adult and R-rated in a good way.
I didn't mean I liked the cursing necessarily, but scenes like the drum kit scene- they never could have done that in a PG-13 movie, it needed to be R, and you can't tell me you didn't laugh at that.
There was a lot of sketch-y type weirdness in this that there wasn't so much of in Talladega Nights- like the scene with Horatio Sanz as the Billy Joel cover band singer. That was reminiscent of Ferrell/McKay sketches from SNL and I thought it was really hilarious.

yumitree

July 25, 2008, 6:19 PM

i saw this movie this afternoon and generally agree with droog on the movie as a whole, but i did laugh quite a bit, so i shouldn't be nit-picking too much i suppose.

Ivan

July 25, 2008, 7:01 PM

I dug this movie. Lots of great characters all around, especially Kathryn Hahn and Richard Jenkins.

nadsat droog

July 25, 2008, 8:12 PM

The late 80's only Billy Joel cover band did feel like an SNL idea, and it is a funny idea, but it just didn't work for me in the movie.

Kathryn Hahn was probably the only good supporting character. I was disappointed in everyone else, except maybe Rob Riggle who was good but had a very small amount of screen time.

The funniest scene was the first sleepwalking scene. I lost it pretty hard because it was probably the most absurd thing to happen in the movie to that point. I kept waiting for more things like that to happen but the movie continued to reel it in.

It's definitely better than the Kicking and Screaming/Blades of Glory/Semi-Pro generic Will Ferrell movie mold, but it missed the mark as a whole. That's not to say I'm not looking forward to the DVD because apparently they cut a lot out (as usual). There were a lot of different things in the previews, one being what I'm assuming is another sleepwalking scene where they destroy a convenience store.

yumitree

July 25, 2008, 9:24 PM

i guess i'll be the voice of dissent here and say that i wasn't wowed by katherine hahn's performance. i didn't really care for that plot arc.
the unrated/extended/"prestige worldwide" edition will probably be worth seeing for the deleted stuff along. it seems like john c.'s writing credit might have been attained simply by the sheer amount of improvising he (and ferrell) did.

BillBrasky

July 26, 2008, 7:23 AM

It's interesting to see what makes different people laugh, because the sleepwalking scene was actually one of the few scenes I didn't like in the movie. I thought it was too silly even for this movie; it didn't seem to fit tonally with the rest of the film.

And oh yeah, clearly there was a lot of stuff cut out. Even in the Brennan burying Dale alive scene, they cut out the line "He'll NEVER know you're gone!", which has been in all the commercials, so I don't know why it was cut out of the movie. It was weird to see that scene and not hear that line.

Here's some additional deleted stuff from the interview montage, a lot of which is funnier than what made it into the movie (including a cameo by Adam McKay)

<object width="464" height="388" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="movie" value="http://www2.funnyordie.com/public/flash/fodplayer.swf?96d0a705" /><param name="flashvars" value="key=f7de3e5bdd" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed width="464" height="388" flashvars="key=f7de3e5bdd" allowfullscreen="true" quality="high" src="http://www2.funnyordie.com/public/flash/fodplayer.swf?96d0a705" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><div style="text-align:center;width: 464px;">See more <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/will_ferrell">Will Ferrell</a> videos at Funny or Die</div>

One thing I've noticed this week watching them do press for the movie- does McKay have Parkinson's disease or something? On the Reel Comedy special, and on Charlie Rose last night, he seemed to be shaking involuntarily a lot while he was talking, and it didn't seem to be a joke. I've never seen him do this on camera before, so I guess he can control it if he needs to, but it was a little bit jarring to see.

J.B.

July 26, 2008, 11:49 AM

I'm pretty much 100% in agreement with BillBrasky - the funniest movie I've seen this year - completely hilarious - and the sleepwalking scene did little for me.

Aaron1933

July 26, 2008, 6:07 PM

One thing I've noticed this week watching them do press for the movie- does McKay have Parkinson's disease or something? On the Reel Comedy special, and on Charlie Rose last night, he seemed to be shaking involuntarily a lot while he was talking, and it didn't seem to be a joke. I've never seen him do this on camera before, so I guess he can control it if he needs to, but it was a little bit jarring to see.

From Wikipedia:

In 1998 McKay announced that he has Parkinson's disease on an episode of Fresh Air.

I'm not sure of the veracity of this.

Aaron1933

July 27, 2008, 12:26 AM

I just got back from Step Brothers and fucking loved it. A lot of people don't like the no regard for plot, sequence after sequence of ridiculous things happening style of comedy, but that's pretty much my sweet spot and this movie delivered.

billynord

July 27, 2008, 12:50 PM

Speaking of Fresh Air, <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92794521">here's</a> a great conversation between Mckay, Ferrall, Reilly and Terry Gross from the July 23rd episode.

HeadEgg

July 27, 2008, 12:58 PM

I did not like this movie. I laughed but felt very empty at the end. I was sort of sad.

Kentock

July 27, 2008, 1:17 PM

I did not like this movie. I laughed but felt very empty at the end. I was sort of sad.

Exactly. That is what happens when people make a movie that has really sloppy structure and a third act with no stakes. That scene at the end with Will Ferrell singing was so long and boring, and what did that performance accomplish for his character? Nothing, really.

Maybe some people don't like to analyze story in comedies, but I do. A series of jokes is not a movie, even if the jokes are funny.

BillBrasky

July 27, 2008, 1:45 PM

Oh come on. Now your complaints are getting a little ridiculous. This movie was not about story. If anything, the end of the movie was a parody of the tidy way that movies always wrap up all the story threads, with a happy resolution for everyone. Did you have the same complaint when you saw "Billy Madison"? Or any Farrelly Brothers movie?

Analyzing the plot arcs and storyline of a movie like "Juno", or even "Baby Mama", might be germane to a conversation about them, but with a big, dumb comedy movie like this, you're not watching for the story, you're watching it to laugh. All I ask of movies like this plot-wise is that they flow linearly and get you from beginning to end. And truth be told, this was probably the most well-structured movie from a screenplay standpoint that Ferrell and McKay have done to date.

HeadEgg

July 27, 2008, 2:37 PM

Ravi

July 27, 2008, 3:25 PM

I laughed while watching the film, but I don't think I'll rewatch it. I did like that it was a departure from the usual Will Ferrell plot and that it wasn't overly plotted in the first place.

CapnMonterayJack

July 27, 2008, 5:03 PM

guys, dont worry. the movie is very funny.

smartbunny

July 27, 2008, 5:57 PM

That scene at the end with Will Ferrell singing was so long and boring, and what did that performance accomplish for his character? Nothing, really.

I thought that sequence did everything for the character; it made everyone see things differently and made the brothers start their karaoke business. Wasn't him singing the opera the whole turning point for him?

Stay gold, Ponyboy.

Keith Whitener

July 27, 2008, 8:28 PM

This seems like a really lazy movie. I wonder, with these heavily improvised films, how good can they be, specifically the script and the story, if something they made up on the spot is better than what, in theory, should have taken a longer time and a lot of thought to create.

Aaron1933

July 27, 2008, 11:05 PM

nathansmart

July 28, 2008, 6:18 AM

I thought it was great and a return to form (Anchorman-form). I left the movie thankful that the plot was lazy and that it wasn't grounded in reality.

James Morris

July 29, 2008, 8:08 PM

Just saw it, and I can't really complain about anything. I was laughing throughout and having a good time watching it. Mission accomplished, comedy movie.

st.raw

July 31, 2008, 4:12 PM

Saw this yesterday. I thought it was hilarious!

Maybe it could have been shorter but I don't know what I would have cut out.

suavepebble

July 31, 2008, 4:43 PM

Great comedy. I have a feeling this will be one of those that you can watch over and over and still find funny, you know? I really don't understand you guys that didn't like the sleepwalking scene... I can only guess that you have never experienced the sleepwalking phenomenon and on some level view it as some sort of urban legend. It is not, haha. This runs in my family, and although it was certainly an exaggerated portrayal, it wasn't that far off. My uncle used to fall down the basement stairs multiple times a year. I haven't sleepwalked since I was a kid, but there was one time when I walked around the house naked at 5am mumbling about the invaders or something like that... I'd have to ask my mom, which I won't. Ever.

Me!

July 31, 2008, 7:36 PM

The sleepwalking scene was one of the best parts. The random grunts, the hugging and lunges in the air, the tossing random shit at the plates and eating coffee grounds was all great.

billynord

July 31, 2008, 9:55 PM

Always remember...
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SbCd3Y5lN3k&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SbCd3Y5lN3k&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Jouster

July 31, 2008, 11:30 PM

I found myself growing annoyed with the plot contrivances at points. I wanted even less plot, to be honest, but it didn't matter because it was funny enough frequently enough. I liked it, in short.

(I didn't enjoy the first sleepwalking scene, but I did enjoy the second.)

Shane

August 1, 2008, 7:53 AM

Always remember...
<object height="344" width="425">

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SbCd3Y5lN3k&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></object>

that kid is awesome. And when I say awesome I am of course mistyping weird and awkward. But I do agree, zohan was the worst movie of the year.

Sean P. OConnor

August 1, 2008, 1:41 PM

I really liked it! I thought it was super funny at parts.

I really loved every time John C. Reilly had the Chewbacca mask on.

Pimpbot

August 4, 2008, 8:15 AM

My major issue was tone. There was not enough integration of the comedic aspects of the step brothers as man-children who live fantasy lives and their fed-up parents expressing a need for them to grow up. I know that is supposed to be the tension of the film but often it made the humor fall flat and the anger seem out-of-place. The conflict between Derek and the step-brothers played better because they were all cartoonish characters.

Along the same lines, a lot of the non-sequiturs, extended put-downs and references just fell flat whereas in Anchorman and Talladega Nights, to a degree, they almost always were direct hits. In Step Brothers, I felt like Ferrell and Reilly were really grasping at funny insults and resorting to asshole, shithead, etc.

That said, I did laugh more than in most comedies (although as we know, that is not saying too much). As I mentioned above, I thoroughly enjoyed the contrasting archetypes of immaturity of Derek, Brennan, and Dale.

nathansmart

August 4, 2008, 8:17 AM

That said, I did laugh more than in most comedies (although as we know, that is not saying too much).

I feel like in this type of movie, that is all that needs to be said.

Pimpbot

August 4, 2008, 11:19 AM

I feel like in this type of movie, that is all that needs to be said.

Fair enough. I guess sometimes movies suffer from not living up to the lofty standards set by the creative teams behind them.

yomamacuhsuckit

August 5, 2008, 1:05 PM

I really enjoyed this. Kathryn Hahn's character wasn't great, but I think these guys have zero understanding of women except as plot contrivances in Hollywood movies. But Reilly was incredible and so much better than Ferrell, I thought. He was so committed; he genuinely looked like a person who just understands about one eighth of what everyone else understands. Confused and angry and self-assured. But a real performance of that! Amazing!

MAACP

August 5, 2008, 1:48 PM

I think my favorite part of this movie was Derek and his family. Their first scene in the car is my favorite in the movie, and i think he plays the arrogant douchebag perfectly. Also, Rob Riggle was great in his limited role.

isoS

August 5, 2008, 2:03 PM

This movie made me laugh. A lot. Agreed re: Derek -- almost stole the movie. Sleep-walking scenes killed me. Second act felt adrift at times, but the first 30 minutes were so funny and I thought it closed strong too.

nathansmart

August 5, 2008, 2:26 PM

I think my favorite line in the whole movie was Horatio Sans' "Sometimes it's hard to.. Keeping the Faith."

aenemaTron

August 14, 2008, 12:06 PM

This movie was great!

I had to go to the bathroom and I missed the second sleepwalking scene and I still really liked it!

Jixby Phillips

August 16, 2008, 1:22 AM

I liked this a lot! I laughed and even when I didn't laugh I was having a blast. I can easily see myself putting this on to entertain family. Thanks.

Scratch Lightning

August 18, 2008, 9:08 AM

Finally saw this last night, and I was really disappointed. I figured that even in a worst-case scenario, I'd be entertained by the dynamic between Ferrell and Reilly. Instead, the movie just felt really lazy, as someone already mentioned.

Great comedic actors with a premise of unlimited potential, and instead the whole thing just felt kind of...off. Maybe the tone was a little too dark, or the characters weren't all that likeable, or maybe I was expecting a more ridiculous situations for the two to get into. It just didn't really go anywhere, and I felt like they threw "fuck" into every line just to make it edgy.

I would have liked this movie a lot more if almost every major funny bit wasn't in the trailer (which I thought was the funniest trailer of the year). So when I finally saw the movie, it just felt like it was filling in the gaps between trailer moments.

The only part of the entire movie that made me laugh out loud was "fucking Catalina wine mixer". The whole movie should have aimed for a more random tone like that.

matt in the east

August 18, 2008, 9:34 AM

i thought this was the funnies.

nadsat droog

August 18, 2008, 10:23 AM

There's a crappy but watchable version of this online. As I watched the first half of the movie again the other night, I realized how superior John C. Reilly is to Will Ferrell in the man-child role. Ferrell's character comes off as way too angry. Even if he loosened it up just a little bit I think it would have made a big difference.

As flawed as I think the movie is, I think it will get better on repeat viewings. The whole bunk bed scene kills me because Ferrell keeps going on about getting more "activities" done with the extra space they'll save.

BillBrasky

December 1, 2008, 11:38 AM

This was mentioned in the DVD thread, but the Step Brothers DVD (which comes out tomorrow) has a "singing commentary" by Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. Yes, apparently Will and John sing the entire commentary, with musical accompaniment by Jon Brion. Also, NBA player Baron Davis makes an appearance at one point.

nathansmart

December 1, 2008, 11:46 AM

can't wait!

Shane

December 1, 2008, 5:11 PM

for whatever reason i have to watch will ferrell movies twice to love them, and the second time i saw this i laughed so much harder, I wonder how the third time will treat me.

Embiggen

December 1, 2008, 6:51 PM

I just saw this over the weekend and thought it was a lot funnier than I was expecting. Ditto on Reilly being a slightly better manchild than Ferrell, but I thought Adam Scott and Richard Jenkins stole the show comedically. This was the first Will Ferrell movie that was consistently funny since Anchorman. Fucking Catalina Wine Mixer!

[edit] Also loved the "Federman And Out" as the blind neighbor. I saw Seth Morris' name in the credits, but I went back through the movie trying to find the scene he was in and had no luck -- at about what point does he show up?

CapnMonterayJack

December 1, 2008, 7:04 PM

I saw Seth Morris' name in the credits, but I went back through the movie trying to find the scene he was in and had no luck -- at about what point does he show up?

he plays a doctor..and yet i cant remember why they go to the hospital in the movie. come on guys, this was like 5 months ago! help me out!

Shane

December 1, 2008, 8:17 PM

the lady that plays Will Ferrell's mom gets a call about the sons beating each other up while she is working in a hospital or doctors office or whatever. That could have been the part, I don't remember any other hospital visits.

nadsat droog

December 1, 2008, 10:39 PM

The unrated version has an extra little scene at the dinner table that should not have been cut out of the film. It might be my favorite part of the movie now.

BillBrasky

December 6, 2008, 1:26 PM

Even if you were lukewarm on the movie, get the DVD. The singing commentary is hilarious. It tops the Anchorman commentary.
Edit: And yes, that is the scene with Seth Morris, the hospital scene where they call Richard Jenkins' character.

theodoric

December 6, 2008, 1:58 PM

This was a documentary about my two brothers-in-law, except I didn't see the part where one got thrown in jail for shoplifting a $7 DVD, or the part where the other one had a girlfriend that turned out to be 14, or the part where the latter traded the iPod I gave him for crank.

crlygrl

December 6, 2008, 2:46 PM

Oh man I loved this movie. I think you probably have to be a big fan of Reilly and Farrel, which I am, to really enjoy it but I thought it was hilarious. Silly and kinda stupid, but hilarious.

Jixby Phillips

December 7, 2008, 6:13 AM

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh114/jixbyphillips/happysmall.jpg

I liked this a lot! I laughed and even when I didn't laugh I was having a blast. I can easily see myself putting this on to entertain family. Thanks.

I'm pretty sure I said this to be funny, but tonight we decorated the (christmas) tree with my mom+dad+sister and my sister put this on. When we were done we all sat around and watched the rest. When the nuts*ck part came on I went MOM WATCH THIS PART and my dad got drunk and laughed like a maniac throughout. Even though my dad laughed at everything, he LAMBASTED the movie for saying the f-word so much, to which me and my sister and eventually my mom responded with by saying FUCK over in a conversational tone. A successful family night!

theodoric

December 7, 2008, 12:14 PM

Jixby, you still live in Redding, right?

Jixby Phillips

December 7, 2008, 3:39 PM

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh114/jixbyphillips/sadsmall.jpg

Yeah

NausicaN

December 14, 2008, 7:08 PM

Anyone see how the current TV commercials make it seem like it's a Christmas movie, showing the only holiday-related scene. Sneaky, sneaky!

nadsat droog

December 28, 2008, 12:48 PM

The deleted scenes are funnier than many of the scenes that made the final cut. There are only about six or seven on the single disc unrated version. Does anyone know how many are on the 2 disc extravaganza? McKay mentions on the commentary that they shot more film than Apocalypse Now. I wonder if any of this will surface à la Wake Up Ron Burgundy or if it's mostly improv.

BillBrasky

December 28, 2008, 1:03 PM

The 2-disc edition contains the following:

.More extended and alternate scenes
.Deleted scenes
.Job interviews
.Therapy sessions
.Prestige Worldwide Full Presentation
.Dale vs. Brennan- Sibling Rivalry
.The Music of Step Brothers

I haven't watched everything, but the job interviews are all really funny. There's one with Craig Robinson that was cut from the film; one with Adam McKay; one with Ed Helms; extended versions of the ones with Seth Rogen and Brian Huskey.
Also, the extended version of the one with Gillian Vigman (The 'Hello, Miss Lady' lady) goes on for what seems like 20 minutes, with Ferrell and Reilly trying to figure out what her name is, and the ongoing "Pam"-"Pan" confusion.