Modern Cult Classic: Step Brothers

 

 

Directed by Adam McKay, 2008, 98 minutes, Rated R
“Did we just become best friends?”

 

I teased doing this move a month ago. I figured I was due to take on a Modern Cult Classic – no, I deserved to treat myself to a Modern Cult Classic. So I went poking around my streaming services and Step Brothers was just right there, begging to be reviewed. Awesome, great, and… it’s a month later, and I think this movie defeated me.

Because here’s the thing: It’s a different thing to watch a movie to write about it. You’re not just letting the experience wash over you, getting lost in the story or cinematography and getting swept up in the performances. No, you’re noting things to discuss, looking for angles and approaches to the piece, and waiting to capture the Big Takeaway.

All I took away from Step Brothers, pretty much the only notes I wrote during the film was WHAT IS THIS MOVIE?

A month later, and I still don’t know. I watched the whole film while taking notes, and what I keep coming back to is the fact that – on paper – this movie shouldn’t work.

Here’s the story: Richard Jenkins’ Robert and Mary Steenburgen’s Nancy get married, bringing together their middle-aged sons, newly minted step brothers Brennan (Will Ferrell) and Dale (John C. Reilly). Both Brennan and Dale had been living at home, and both stopped emotionally maturing around the age of 14. They do stupid shit to antagonize each other, then suddenly become best friends and team up to do stupid shit like this:

Just as suddenly, they’re kicked out of the house and blame each other. A short montage shows them separately become semi-responsible adults. Then they meet back up at the Catalina Wine Mixer – which became a real thing because of this movie – reunite and resume doing stupid shit, the end.

So… What is this movie?

Is it a character study? Because Brennan and Dale don’t have particularly distinct personalities. Is this a coming of age story? Is it a story at all? If I squint really hard, I think I can almost see a story arc. And hey, not every movie has to sport a traditional Hero’s Journey, but even such shaggy comedies of the period like 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up had pretty clear-cut plots. I don’t understand how Step Brothers works. At all. It shouldn’t work.

And yet, it’s fantastic.

With all due respect to the rest of the cast (Jenkins and Steenburgen are joined by Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn and Andrea Savage, and everyone is great here), Step Brothers works because of the performances of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. Their chemistry was undeniable in Talladega Nights – a nice surprise, as Reilly wasn’t known for comedies at that point – and that chemistry is the driving force of this film. Yes they’re both playing the same note, but it’s a very specific note: not slackers, not man-children (men-childs?) middle-school boys, right down to the amplified horny rage and undercurrents of naiveté.

So what else is there to say? I’m sure papers have been written about the ways Robert and Nancy enable their sons’ behavior despite their best intentions, or of what this film has to say about What It Means To Be An Adult. Or I could call out some of the great gags, such as the joint job interviews, the real estate sabotage or the a capella Guns N’ Roses. Instead, I’m just going to give it a bunch of asterisks and recommend watching it for yourself.

****

(and then treat you to the a capella Guns N’ Roses)

 

 

Intermission: Love, 'Bin Style

 

 

Yes, I know I’ve been teasing a very choice Modern CultClassic for a bit, and it’s coming. But today is Valentine’s Day. It’s a day for red roses and candy and winged toddlers firing arrows at people for some reason. You know, a holiday! And to celebrate the day, I want to give you a Very Special Valentine.

(No, not like that, you sicko.)

It probably won’t surprise you that I like my Valentine’s Day the same way I like my movies and Christmas decorations: as absurd as possible. And just like the bad feature films and odd Christmas ornaments, I don’t really have to go out of my way to find these things. If there’s a great big over-arching thesis to The Bargain Bin Review, it’s that the world is choc-full of absurdity; you just have to acknowledge and appreciate it.

Which brings us to this:

I randomly stumbled upon this while at the local discount store the other day and immediately snatched it up. Best three dollars I’ve spent in a while – and I haven’t read a single page yet.

First, let us consider the cover for Her Kind of Cowboy: Tying the Knot in Texas. 

 

The cover art is remarkably tasteful for a romance novel – no stuffed bodices or oily torsos here – just a headless couple embracing by a wooden fence. Would I have liked to see some ten-gallon hats? Sure, but the setting fits the title just fine. Then, inexplicably, there are five puppies lined up by their feet. Why are they there? Is ‘her kind of cowboy’ the kind that wrangles puppies instead of cattle? Because I’m pretty sure that’s not what a cowboy does.

We also learn that this novel is the work of Dylann Crush. Yes, that is a pen name. And yes, I am intensely jealous cuz that is a fantastic pen name. I mean, “nolahn”? Pfttth.

Now let’s get to the back cover synopsis. There’s no artwork and though it’s tempting, I’m not going to transcribe the whole thing. Here are the highlights:

Zina Baxter…

Wow. I feel like I've failed my daughters with their pedestrian given names. You’re a wizard, Dylann Crush.

Zina Baxter has stood on the sidelines during most of the matrimonial mayhem. But when a disaster at the pit bull rescue has her relocating the pups to a space that will be shared with a winter wonderland scene, she finds herself smack dab in the middle of planning the craziest wedding yet.

Well, at least this explains the puppies on the cover. Are those pit bull puppies? I don't know -- I'm not a dogologist. Also, a winter wonderland-themed wedding in Texas is indeed quite crazy.

Alex Sanders…

It’s okay, Dylann Crush. No one bats a thousand all the time.

Alex Sanders ran as far and as fast as he could from his hometown – all the way to Antarctica. But a job opportunity as the penguin handler for an over-the-top wedding entices him back.

The dude is a penguin handler. This melted my brain. Is that a real thing? Apparently it is, though it only pays about $15 an hour.

So to sum up: Her Kind of Cowboy is the story of a woman who rescues pit bulls who meets cute with a penguin handler at some kind of winter petty zoo of a wedding. Got it. There’s a lot going on, but you know what Her Kind of Cowboy doesn’t have? An actual cowboy.

I’m going to devour this book.

 

Have a happy Valentine’s Day!