Review: Step Brothers (2008) * 1/2
By Craig Kennedy - July 27th, 2008; 12:01 am
1.5 laughs
Filed under: Reviews
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Let’s see, K. Bowen said “eh,” and “funny but irritating,” Chuck panned it (I said “Ouch” in his comment section before he lost his review–just saw he got it back, that’s good), Daniel panned it and now you’ve panned it.
Guess now would be the right time to say I don’t like a single Will Ferrell movie? Even Anchorman, which had some good moments, ended up being just too dumb and not funny enough to work for me.
HAHAHAHAHA. I actually just snort-laughed, and I have friends over.
Nicely done, Craig.
I was already pretty determined to skip this one. I do enjoy some of Ferrell’s movies though (I thought Anchorman was a riot the second time around), and John C. Reilly is usually great.
Oh well. I’m off to watch…. Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!. Hope that’ll have more than a laugh and a half.
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! KIll! is terrific, Hedwig. I demand a review. :)
Ouch.
I wasn’t going to review it at all, but I was inspired by K Bowen. http://antidisartsandent.blogspot.com/2008/07/oh-brother-stepbrothers.html
It’s fair to say comedy is subjective and there were a couple of people in the audience who laughed quite a bit.
I always liked Ferrell on SNL and I loved the much-hated Stranger than Fiction. The last three movies of his I’ve seen, I’ve hated: Talladega, Semi-Pro and Step Brothers. I forgot Blades of Glory even existed. I skipped it.
Ah, shorter than mine! Bravo!
Talladega Nights is such an exhausting bore that maybe everything else looks like up to me. I liked Semi-Pro more and Talladega NIghts a lot less. Where else was there to go?
Interesting KB. I’ve found the three have offered diminishing returns.Will I have to cash in another street cred chip when I admit I skipped Anchorman?
“…and there were a couple of people in the audience who laughed quite a bit.”
America scares the livin’ shit out of me sometimes, and I’m usually reminded of that fact in a dark theater.
I knew I was officially an adult when I stopped the “Talladega Nights” DVD after all of 15 minutes. It was kind of sad, actually. The news was confirmed after having to sit through the “Step Brothers” trailer while quietly cursing the entire movie industry.
ETA: Awesome review, Craig.
Never has a review said so much in the fewest amount of words. Bravo Craig.
I figured a star per laugh was more than generous. Don’t you?
When I tell you my biggest laugh came from ****SPOILER**** Will Ferrell threatening to rub his testicles all over John C. Riley’s beloved drum kit and then graphically following through on that threat, ****END SPOILER*** you know I’m not just a snob who only likes high class comedy. This movie was simply not funny and more than a little annoying.
This looks like the kind of film that I go to with friends and then chuckle and snicker a dozen times to keep up appearances. Luckily, there was the state fair to keep us from this stinker.
For the record, though, I’ve liked most of the Ferrell comedies I’ve seen to varying degrees. The only one I outright hated was Blades of Glory.
I can’t speak for Blades, but If you liked Semi-Pro, I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t like Step Brothers….and just to be clear: there’s nothing wrong with that. Just not my idea of funny.
uh, was that pic from an air guitar scene ??? ;)
and again craig….i represent all that’s pure and innocent at the lic… i’ve never seen a ferrell film.
*takes a bow* :)
beat that… ;)
Oh I already know how I’m going to beat everybody to the world’s shortest review. Now I’m just waiting for the film.
I missed Semi-Pro, but the wrestling grizzly bear in the trailer was hilarious. Would that scene live up to my expectations in the context of a film? I’m guessing not… but you never know.
Ferrell needs to let up on the sports movies. Talladega Nights was funny, but mostly due to the likes of Jane Lynch (she needs a movie all her own instead of having to steal lesser comedians’ scenes), Gary Cole, John C. Reilly and French Borat. Blades of Glory sucked. I didn’t see the soccer movie, but that looked like it sucked.
Blades of Glory was AWFUL. Will Arnett and Amy Poehler did their best, but it was just God awful. I also don’t think I’ve seen Jenna Fischer turn in a half-decent performance in anything other than “The Office”, which is pretty disappointing. If you have managed to avoid it this long, I’d recommend you avoid ever seeing it. Ever.
I’m just hoping that Pineapple Express is better. I laughed a lot at the trailer, and I have a lot of respect for James Franco, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez, David Gordon Green, and even Seth Rogen. I also have a growing appreciation for Craig Robinson and Kevin Corrigan. Daniel (at getafilm) was pretty unimpressed with it though, and I agree with his reviews, more often than not.
Have you seen it yet, Craig?
Nice move here, Craig.
I have to defend Blades of Glory here briefly, if only because I thyink Chaz Michael Michaels is one of Ferrell’s better characters. His first few minutes on screen are pretty amazing. The movie doesn’t amount to much more than him being a sleazebag (as in Anchorman), but I would definitely put it ahead of both Semi-Pro and Step Brothers. It was a lot funnier than I expected it to be, so I guess there’s that.
I’m taking two cred chips for Anchorman, Craig. If you like the side of Ferrell that I think you like, it’s a must-see with no equal. Oh lord I almost need to watch it right now…
k, I’m not going to tell anyone to outright skip Pineapple, but for that cast you mention (and I typically like all of them), I don’t think it achieved its potential, even for a stoner comedy.
Thanks K! (crossing Blades off my list) No I haven’t seen Pineapple Express yet. Part of me wants it to be good, but part of me thinks it isn’t going to be. Daniel’s review doesn’t give me encouragement.
Hmm….for some reason I replied to your Anchorman comment in the Watercooler Daniel…I guess I’d read it before and mixed them up. Anyway. Anchorman will have to wait. Even if it’s funny, I can’t imagine it’s a must-see.
I would also recommend Anchorman, Craig. I mean, it’s not anything Oscar-worthy, it’s certainly silly and over the top, but it’s very funny. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I saw it twice in theatres, and laughed my ass off both times. I think it’s the result of the main unit — Ferrell, Carell, Rudd, and Koechner — led by a hilarious Fred Willard.
I have high hopes for Pineapple Express. I don’t think I’ll be let down, but I’m hoping I won’t be.
I love Fred Willard so the next time I’m in the mood for comedy, I’ll have a look at Anchorman.
I hope you’re right about Pineapple. I will say James Franco looks great, but I’m getting a teeny bit tired of Seth Rogen’s shtick.
I suppose my greatest compliment for Anchorman is, because of my rock-bottom expectations for anything Will Ferrell, I found it unevenly amusing and sometimes shockingly funny for a film featuring him. It only occasionally made me groan or roll my eyes or give me the impulse to find Ferrell and hit him upside the head with a tire iron, and Christina Applegate is pretty strong in it, so I say, check it out, ladies and gentlemen!
I’m with you there, Craig. Franco looks great, but I have seen Rogen in this role before. Then again, it’s only the trailer — who knows what the rest of the film looks like?
All I know is, Rogen is capable of more than playing the down on his luck, stoner loser. Just watch the episode “The Little Things” from Freaks and Geeks and you’ll see that. I really like him, I think he’s a good comedic actor and writer, but I want to see him try something different.
And Alexander — you’re right, Applegate is great in the film too. She is a natural comedienne, and so easy to watch. She fits right in.
If it means anything, more than once I thought the reels switched and I was watching Rogen in Knocked Up.
Alright I’ll try not to say much more, but before I forget (and since I haven’t written a review yet), my biggest knock on Pineapple is not the acting or the story or the characters (like I said, Danny McBride is awesome), but the fact that there appears to be no script anyone’s reading from. In the hands of a really talented, gelled cast, that would not be a problem, but it doesn’t seem to work here.
Speaking of which, Craig, there are few movies I wll unabashedly hype more than Anchorman - it must be seen, and it must be enjoyed for everything that it is: a ridiculous romp featuring the best ensemble cast in any Apatow production. I saw it just before it was on its way out of theaters and I haven’t stopped laughing since. Also, while you might have heard some great lines, there are enough in there that you’d be quite happy to discover some gems for the first time.
Don’t get me wrong K, I like Rogen and I’m rooting for him to be good, I just want to see him branch out.
Oh, I’m agreeing with you, Craig. I like him too, and have seen him branch out in the past, but he’s played the same type of character in like, the last four or five things I’ve seen him in and I’m ready for him to try something new.
I’ll have to go back and check out Freaks and Geeks. I think I maybe saw 1 or 2 episodes when it aired, but I know a lot of people love that show.
Oh, it’s the best. I always feel so sad when I get to the last episode.
I feel the same way about Arrested Development and Firefly. Shows cut down in their prime.
Oh, don’t even get me started on Arrested Development. Such a great show, treated like absolute shit.
Although, Freaks and Geeks was treated way, way worse than AD ever was.
I have to give Fox credit for giving AD nearly every chance to succeed. The audience just never materialized.
Part of the problem was lack of promotion and crappy time slots. The first season, they were on at 9 Sunday nights (yuck) opposite The Sopranos (and I believe a couple of episodes of Sex and the City?). For the second and third seasons, they put it on Monday nights at 8 — right when Monday Night Football starts. Then they aired the two-hour series finale at 8 pm on a Friday, opposite the the two-hour Olympic opening ceremony which began exactly at 8 pm.
They just never gave it a proper shot. It was a show struggling to find an audience, and it seems like, instead of having it just before or just after a popular, similar show, they did everything they could to bury it where it could never be found.
And even after that, Fox gave Arrested Development a better shot than NBC did Freaks and Geeks. Some of NBC’s treatment of that show is just appalling.
The suits just don’t know what to do with original material.
Yeah, the schmucks at Fox have screwed up so many good shows it’s actually kind of amazing. But I mostly agree with Craig that they did a better job with AD than they have other shows. Regardless of the time slot, they didn’t move it around mercilessly the way they have other shows, they aired rerun marathons repeatedly on FX, and they released the DVD sets in time for folks to catch up for seasons 2 and 3.
They even promoted the crap out of in magazines and online and did a good job submitting it for Emmy nominations.
People just didn’t get it or bothered not to watch. At least we got three seasons out of it.
They really don’t.
Judd Apatow and Paul Feig mentioned on the commentary that NBC was desperate for them to turn Freaks and Geeks into an American Pie type high school experience, which is pretty much the opposite of Freaks and Geeks (and, basically, REALITY). NBC didn’t know if it was a comedy, a drama, a show meant for adults, a show meant for teens… they didn’t know the demographic, so they just decided to let them have their run and then cancel them.
There are so many horror stories about that experience. NBC moved the show to Saturday nights, they rarely ran promos, they refused to air an episode with a major plot development because they didn’t like it (and they never offered up a real explanation, just that new viewers would move past it, or whatever), they would order only one episode at a time, they cut the budget, they would air a few episodes and then wait several weeks before airing new ones. They eventually just stopped airing episodes all together, even though there were about six or seven left, and then sent the remaining ones over to Fox Family or some other bullshit channel — which then aired them all COMPLETELY out of order. Some of them they aired in July (including the finale), and then they aired the rest in October.
It was just a giant mess, and when you see just how accurate, funny, sweet, and heartbreaking (and just flat out AMAZING) the show is, you just get pissed that they weren’t given the opportunity to continue once they really hit their stride. If only Paul Feig had taken the pilot to HBO; the show aired in 1999, right when HBO was starting to take off on the heels of Sex and the City and The Sopranos, which were two shows that would never, in a million years, pass as a network show.
Sigh. This is really my problem with television — it really does become about numbers rather than quality. With film, you have independent features and people CELEBRATE those small films, the obscure films, even though they may not have the same budget or make the most money . On television, you need to sell air time, and if you can sell a crappy show to 10mil+ viewers a week, then that’s a show that’s going to stay well past its welcome. Small treasures aren’t accepted in television, and it’s a shame.
Add to that the fact that a network show has to air 20-24 episodes a year to fill a standard “season” and for the network to REALLY get behind it, it has to show the potential of running for more than 3 seasons in order to receive syndication. This number has actually changed from 5 seasons a couple years ago due to the proliferation of cable channels and DVD sales for TV shows.
That is one massive hill to climb for anything remotely quirky, original, or daring.
The ONLY silver lining to all this is that the network now happily release anything they’ve created on DVD, so even though they destroyed Firefly’s chances as a series you can actually see it in its proper order and with the unaired episodes.
Not much of a lining, sure, but better than nothing.
I’d say kill your television, but then I’d be a hypocrite.
I feel like shows like Freaks and Geeks and Arrested Development would have had much easier runs if they aired when iTunes and internet viewing were popular. They just missed the boat there… it would have generated extra revenue for the network — just enough to keep them happy — and it would have garnered more viewers and potentially extended the shows’ lives.
I really hate the way TV works.
I’ve largely fallen off the TV band wagon. Too often the stuff I liked got cancelled or became watered down and crappy.