Will Ferrell and John O'Reilly reunite for Step Brothers, a silly and over-the-top 2008 comedy that asks the viewer to accept a lot, but if you can, finding major belly laughs here shouldn't be a problem.
Ferrell plays Brennan, a 40-something unemployed bum still living with his widowed mother (Mary Steenburgen). O'Reilly plays Dale, a 40- something unemployed bum who lives with his widowed father (Richard Jenkins). Brennan's mom and Dale's dad meet, fall in love, and decide to get married forcing Brennan and Dale into a familial relationship neither wants that we watch morph into a friendship and eventual business partnership.
First of all, you have to wonder why Brennan and Dale's parents are still allowing their 40 year old sons to live with them. You also have to wonder why the parents tolerate the guys' childish behavior or why they didn't tell the boys to hit the road the second they decided to marry. I'm pretty sure there isn't a parent on the planet who would continue to support a 40 year old unemployed child, but if you can just let all of this flow over you, there is fun to be had here.
Ferrell and O'Reilly prove that the chemistry they created in Talledega Nights was no fluke and it is kind of funny watching the relationship change...the beginning is especially funny when they are forced to share a bedroom and begin snarking at each other in the dark, trying to make each other feel like the intruder. Even when their parents give them 30 days to get a job, they actually job hunt together, evidenced in a couple of very funny scenes, especially one that features a cameo by Seth Rogen.
Adam McKay's direction is loose and having worked with the actors before, seems to know when to let them go and when to rein them in. The presence of Steenburgen and Jenkins actually give the piece a touch of class that I'm not sure it really deserves. Adam Scott is also very funny as Brennan's snotty younger brother, as is Kathryn Hahn as his wife, who starts lusting after Dale after he punches her husband in the face.
The comic gold in the on screen chemistry between Will Ferrell and John O'Reilly is reason enough to breeze through the over-the-top silliness of Step Brothers.
Ferrell plays Brennan, a 40-something unemployed bum still living with his widowed mother (Mary Steenburgen). O'Reilly plays Dale, a 40- something unemployed bum who lives with his widowed father (Richard Jenkins). Brennan's mom and Dale's dad meet, fall in love, and decide to get married forcing Brennan and Dale into a familial relationship neither wants that we watch morph into a friendship and eventual business partnership.
First of all, you have to wonder why Brennan and Dale's parents are still allowing their 40 year old sons to live with them. You also have to wonder why the parents tolerate the guys' childish behavior or why they didn't tell the boys to hit the road the second they decided to marry. I'm pretty sure there isn't a parent on the planet who would continue to support a 40 year old unemployed child, but if you can just let all of this flow over you, there is fun to be had here.
Ferrell and O'Reilly prove that the chemistry they created in Talledega Nights was no fluke and it is kind of funny watching the relationship change...the beginning is especially funny when they are forced to share a bedroom and begin snarking at each other in the dark, trying to make each other feel like the intruder. Even when their parents give them 30 days to get a job, they actually job hunt together, evidenced in a couple of very funny scenes, especially one that features a cameo by Seth Rogen.
Adam McKay's direction is loose and having worked with the actors before, seems to know when to let them go and when to rein them in. The presence of Steenburgen and Jenkins actually give the piece a touch of class that I'm not sure it really deserves. Adam Scott is also very funny as Brennan's snotty younger brother, as is Kathryn Hahn as his wife, who starts lusting after Dale after he punches her husband in the face.
The comic gold in the on screen chemistry between Will Ferrell and John O'Reilly is reason enough to breeze through the over-the-top silliness of Step Brothers.