Step Brothers is a
2008 slapstick buddy-
comedy film directed by
Adam McKay, produced by
Judd Apatow and
Jimmy Miller, and stars
Will Ferrell and
John C. Reilly, who last teamed up in
Talladega Nights (2006). The
screenplay was written by Ferrell and McKay, from a story written by Ferrell, McKay and Reilly. The film was released
theatrically on July 25, 2008, and on
DVD and
Blu-Ray on December 2, 2008.
Plot
Brennan Huff (Ferrell) is an unemployed 39-year-old who lives with his divorced mother, Nancy (
Mary Steenburgen). Dale Doback (Reilly) is an unemployed 40-year-old who lives with his widower father, Robert (
Richard Jenkins). Robert and Nancy get married and move in together, forcing Brennan and Dale to live with each other as step brothers; their childish dislike for each other is immediate.
Dale warns Brennan not to touch his
drum set, but Brennan does so anyway. As tensions escalate, Brennan rubs his
testicles (described by Ferrell in the
DVD audio commentary as "$25,000 of prosthetic balls") over Dale's drums. This ignites a huge fight, in which Dale and Brennan use weapons such as headphones, bicycles, and bare hands to attack each other. In response, their parents declare that their sons must find jobs and see therapists or else be forced out of the house. Brennan's successful, conceited biological younger brother Derek (
Adam Scott) comes to visit with his oddly perfect family (who nearly cause a car accident as they sing an
a cappella rendition of "
Sweet Child o' Mine" on the drive over). Dale retreats to his tree house where he and Brennan read
pornography. Derek drops by to mock them, and incites Dale to punch Derek in the face. Brennan is awed by the fact that Dale was able to stand up to Derek. Brennan's sister-in-law, Alice (
Kathryn Hahn), meanwhile, finds Dale's courage arousing, and becomes infatuated with him. Brennan and Dale become best friends.
They take
job interviews, at which they perform poorly, being rude to their two potential employers and offending a third (
Seth Rogen) by passing gas. Brennan and Dale decide to start their own entertainment company called "Prestige Worldwide." On their way home, Brennan runs into a group of elementary school kids who assault the grown men, causing much pain and injury. At home, their parents reveal that they are going to retire to sail the world in Robert's beloved boat, and allow Derek to sell the house, forcing Dale and Brennan to find other living arrangements. However, Dale and Brennan sabotage Derek's plans by masquerading as a
Neo-Nazi and a
Klansman, and by pretending that Brennan has died of
asbestos poisoning, while Derek shows the house to potential buyers. At Derek's birthday party, Dale has sex with Alice involuntarily in the men's bathroom. Back at the dinner table, Brennan and Dale premiere Prestige Worldwide's first
music video ("Boats 'n Hoes"), filmed on Robert's boat. The video ends when the boat crashes into the rocks, and a furious Robert spanks Brennan upon arriving home.
On
Christmas Eve, the boys destroy the family's tree and gifts during a bout of
sleepwalking, and subsequently attack Robert after he attempts to wake them. Angered to his limit, Robert decides to divorce Nancy. Dale and Brennan each blame the other for the divorce and revert to their original state of mutual hatred.
After another fight which resulted in attempting to bury each other alive, they go their separate ways and move into their own apartments. Brennan starts working for Derek's helicopter leasing firm and Dale works for a catering company. Brennan, wanting to reunite the broken family, takes the initiative to arrange Derek's sales party: The Catalina Wine Mixer, supervised by Randy. The party is a success, and Brennan wins Randy's respect and approval. However, the band that Brennan booked, a (strictly 80's)
Billy Joel tribute band, insults guests after being heckled to play non-80's Joel and is thrown off stage. Derek blames Brennan for this incident, and quickly fires him, believing that this incident will ruin his reputation. Robert, realizing that Brennan and Dale are miserable, encourages them to be themselves again and go for their dream. Brennan and Dale take the stage as Prestige Worldwide and performs "
Por Ti Volare" with Brennan on vocals and Dale on drums.
The audience is moved by the performance, and tensions between the family members are alleviated.
Dale and Brennan go on to form a successful company that runs
karaoke bars and restaurants , and Brennan enters into a relationship with his therapist Denise (
Andrea Savage). Robert and Nancy reunite and move back into their old home, with a new tree house made from the destroyed boat just for Dale and Brennan.
Cast
Reception
The film has received mixed reviews. As of January 2009, the film has a 55% rating based on reviews from critics at the review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes, giving the movie a "rotten" overall review. At the website
MetaCritic, which utilizes a normalized rating system, the film earned a mixed rating of 51/100 based on 33 reviews.
Roger Ebert gave the film 1 1/2 out of 4 stars.
Step Brothers, as of January 2009, has grossed $100,468,793 domestically, and an additional $27 million internationally.
[www.the-numbers.com/movies/2008/STEPB.php]
DVD release
The film was released in a single-disc rated edition, a single-disc unrated edition and a 2-disc unrated edition on December 2, 2008.
Step Brothers opened at #3 at the DVD sales chart, making $23.04m off 1,316,053 DVD units. As per the latest figures, the film has sold 3,358,000 units which translates to $58,017,256 in revenue (rental/Blu-ray not included).
[www.the-numbers.com/movies/2008/STEPB-DVD.php]
Possible sequel
Will Ferrel and John C. Reilly talked about a sequel on TheUrbanDaily.com. Reilly had the idea that they adopt children together.
[www.denofgeek.com/movies/114773/anchorman_and_step_brothers_sequels.html] [theurbandaily.com/movies/step-brothers-reunited-and-it-feels-so-good/]
