Step Brothers (film)
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| Step Brothers | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Adam McKay |
| Written by | Screenplay: Adam McKay Will Ferrell Story: Adam McKay Will Ferrell John C. Reilly |
| Produced by | Jimmy Miller Judd Apatow Adam McKay (exec.) Will Ferrell (exec.) |
| Starring | Will Ferrell John C. Reilly Richard Jenkins Mary Steenburgen Adam Scott Kathryn Hahn Rob Riggle |
| Cinematography | Oliver Wood |
| Edited by | Brent White |
| Music by | Jon Brion |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date | July 25, 2008 |
Running time | Theatrical cut 98 min. Unrated cut 105 min. |
| Country | Template:FilmUS |
| Languages | English Spanish |
| Budget | $65,000,000 |
| Box office | $185,914,686 (worldwide) |
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 thirty-nine-year-old who lives with his divorced mother, Nancy (Mary Steenburgen). Dale Doback (Reilly) is an unemployed forty-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 irresponsible 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 (actor)) 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; sister-in-law Alice (Kathryn Hahn), meanwhile, finds Dale's action arousing, and becomes infatuated with him. Brennan and Dale become best friends.
They take job interviews, at which they perform poorly, being rude to two potential employers and offending a third (Seth Rogen) with a fart. 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 Klansman and a Neo-Nazi, 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, walks 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. As a result, everyone is moved by the performance, and tensions between the family members are alleviated.
Dale and Brennan go on to run a successful company that sells karaoke machines, 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.
At the end of the film, Brennan and Dale go back to the elementary school where they were beat up, and return the favor by attacking the kids one by one. Having exacted their revenge, the two men leave before the cops can show up.
Cast
- Will Ferrell as Brennan Huff
- John C. Reilly as Dale Doback
- Richard Jenkins as Robert Doback
- Mary Steenburgen as Nancy Huff-Doback
- Adam Scott as Derek Huff
- Kathryn Hahn as Alice Huff
- Andrea Savage as Denise
- Rob Riggle as Randy
- Logan Manus as Chris Gardocki
- Travis T. Flory as Redheaded Kid
- Ken Jeong as Employment Agent
- Wayne Federman as Don (Blind Man)
- Abigail Wagner as Erica (Store Owner)
- Carli Coleman as First homebuyer wife
- Brandon T. Webb as First homebuyer husband
- Phil LaMarr as Second homebuyer husband
- Matt Walsh as Drunk corporate guy
- Seth Rogen as Sporting Goods Store Manager
- Horatio Sanz as Singer at the Catalina Wine Mixer
Reception
The film has received mixed reviews. As of January 2009, the film has a 55% rotten rating based on reviews from critics at the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. 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 stars out of 4.
Step Brothers, as of January 2009, has grossed $100,468,793 domestically, and an additional $27 million internationally.[1]
DVD release
The film was released in a single-disc rated edition and unrated edition and a 2-disc unrated edition on December 2, 2008.
References
External links
- Step Brothers
- Step Brothers at IMDb
- Template:Amg movie
- Step Brothers at Box Office Mojo
- Step Brothers at Rotten Tomatoes
- Scoring Session Photo Gallery ScoringSessions.com
- Step Brothers Trailer playnetworks.net