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)