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Disowning ‘Step Brothers’
In one scene of Step Brothers, Will Ferrell tries to bury John C. Reilly alive, and the scene is an apt metaphor for most of Ferrell’s movies, including this one.
Like so many Saturday Night Live performers before him, Ferrell’s method is to wear out a gag’s welcome. He’ll crack a joke. It might even be a good joke that’s funny for a few minutes. Then he repeats the same joke ad nauseum until he beats it into the ground.
Ferrell usually doesn’t stop there. Then he exhumes the joke, cremates it, and places the remains in a decorative urn before finally scattering the ashes to the wind, just to make sure everyone got the point.
And so it goes with Step Brothers, the latest variation on Ferrell’s version of Peter Pan: the man who won’t grow up. The intended novelty here is that two of them are front and center. Ferrell is Brennan, a 40-something who acts like he’s 4 and still lives at home with his mom (Mary Steenburgen). Reilly is Dale, a 40-something who acts like he’s 4 and still lives at home with his dad (Richard Jenkins). The mom and dad get married, forcing the man-children to move in together. It’s not too hard to guess what happens from there.
Yet I would be lying if I said that I grimaced through all of Step Brothers. There are a handful of genuinely funny gags. When he’s not busy being obvious like his star, co-writer/director Adam McKay can actually stage his gags well. His depiction of Brennan’s disgustingly white bread clan is hilarious when they sing Guns n’ Roses “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” making it sound like an Up with People cover. And when the credits start to roll, don’t be so quick to leave, or you’ll miss the funniest joke of the film.
There’s something to be said too for this movie’s willingness to do anything, and I mean anything for a laugh. Families who found Talladega Nights hilarious are hereby warned that despite its themes, Step Brothers is not a family-friendly comedy. It is rated R for a reason. Remember the “franks and beans” gag in There’s Something About Mary? Imagine the beans being used to play the drums.
It helps too, that Reilly is a much more gifted actor than Ferrell. He doesn’t have great material to work with, but he manages to sell most of his jokes without making me wish I was watching him in Chicago or The Aviator.
That said, Step Brothers is still Ferrell’s vehicle, and his sense of humor, and I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m not a fan. Heck, many times I’ve shined a light on my disdain of him. Nine times out of 10, I simply don’t find the man funny, because his idea of funny is usually screeching at the audience.
So I found it rather ironic when in a recent interview, McKay said: “You never want to appear needy or desperate with comedy … the second you start to see any sort of calculation happening, people feel like that’s somehow cheap or makes it all fake.”
The irony is, McKay’s right on the money. That’s just Ferrell’s problem. Too often, his characters act so needy and desperate, I don’t root for them. I want his movies, including Step Brothers, to get out of my face - and out of the movie theater too.
GRADE: C
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Comments
By Kim
July 29, 2008 9:23 AM | Link to this
I really can’t stand Will Ferrell - I pretty much refuse to watch anything that he is in anymore because it’s usually pathetic. “Fiction” was an exception because of Emma Thompson - I saw it for her sake and was pleased to see that he could pull off a decent acting job, even though it repulsed me to even have to look at him! I think ME hit it on the head - Will was good on SNL because he was in skits - he can be funny for about 5 minutes- then he ruins it!By SRCputt
July 28, 2008 2:56 PM | Link to this
Land of the Lost? Really? Is he a dinosaur?By Sir Critic
July 28, 2008 1:49 PM | Link to this
ME: Ferrell basically writes his own ticket now. He executive produces and co-writes about half his movies now, including “Anchorman,” “Talladega Nights” and “Step Brothers.” The rest of the time, he does take pure acting gigs - but more often than not they’re the crude, obvious stuff that - bombs like “Semi Pro” notwithstanding — sells tickets and rents DVDs. Up next for him: a movie version of “Land of the Lost.”By ME
July 28, 2008 12:54 PM | Link to this
Why does Will keep getting work is he funding his own way now? I just can’t take five minutes of the guy. He takes over the top to a new level. I think it’s sad because he was usually good in the skits he did on Saturday Night Live. Movies are not his thing and I wish he would get a clue on that … Give it a rest for awhile! YUCK movie looks bad and I won’t see this one either!By Sir Critic
July 28, 2008 10:37 AM | Link to this
I’m actually with you there, SwissMiss. I think “Stranger Than Fiction” is his best movie, and Ferrell’s actually not too over the top in it. He’s better when he stars but does not write the screenplay, as in “Fiction,” “Elf” or “Melinda and Melinda,” in which he was actually a decent Woody Allen surrogate. Another thing: I would imagine you didn’t mean “Walk the Line,” but “Walk Hard,” in which Ferrell had no involvement. I thought that one was uneven but funny.By SwissMiss
July 27, 2008 11:52 PM | Link to this
The only movie I’ve ever enjoyed Will Ferrell in was Stranger than Fiction, and even then, I thought Emma Thompson really stole the show, and even Maggie Gyllenhall was a bit more fun to watch than Ferrell. I was never even tempted to see Talladega Nights or Walk the Line, movies I immediately labeled ‘stupid comedy’ as soon as I saw the previews. I reluctantly saw Anchorman, but that got me more hooked on Steve Carrell than Farrell, surprisingly. Farrell needs to learn to duct-tape the mouth of the 14-year-old boy in him and take on some more interesting and deep roles, like that in Stranger Than Fiction.