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Step Brothers (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Step Brothers' is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Adam McKay, produced by Jimmy Miller and Judd Apatow, and written by Will Ferrell and McKay from a story by Ferrell, McKay, and John C. Reilly. It follows Brennan (Ferrell) and Dale (Reilly), two grown men who are forced to live together as brothers after their single parents, with whom they still live, marry each other. Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen, Adam Scott, and Kathryn Hahn also star.
The film was released by Sony Pictures Releasing on July 25, 2008, two years after 'Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby'. Both films feature the same main actors, as well as the same producing and writing team. It grossed $128.1 million and received mixed reviews.
Plot
Brennan Huff and Dale Doback are 40 year old immature adults still living at home. Brennan lives with his divorced mother, Nancy, and Dale lives with his widowed father, Robert. Robert and Nancy meet, fall in love, and get married; forcing Brennan and Dale to live with each other as step brothers. Brennan and Dale despise each other for interfering with each other's lifestyles. Dale warns Brennan not to touch his drum set, which Brennan later does (twice, once with his testicles) anyway. He is confronted by Dale, and the argument erupts into a violent brawl between the two. They are grounded with no television for a week following the incident and told they must find jobs within a month, or they will be evicted.
When Brennan's younger and more successful brother Derek, a helicopter leasing agent, comes to visit with his family, he openly ridicules them for their lack of ambition, enticing Dale to punch him in the face. Brennan is awed that Dale stood up to Derek, while Derek's wife Alice finds Dale's courage attractive, and begins a sexual affair with him. Brennan and Dale discover their shared interests and develop a brotherly friendship. Robert schedules several job interviews for Brennan and Dale, in which they perform poorly. They are attacked and beaten up by school children on their way home and are made to lick dog feces. Robert and Nancy reveal their plans, with help from Derek, to sell the house, retire and travel the world on Robert's sailboat. They also demand that Brennan and Dale attend therapy and find other living arrangements. Brennan becomes attracted to his therapist, Denise.
Dale and Brennan start an entertainment company, "Prestige Worldwide". They present their first music video, "Boats 'N Hoes", which they filmed on Robert's boat, at Derek's birthday party. The presentation backfires when the video shows the boat crashing, shattering Robert and Nancy's sailing dreams. Robert is furious and conjures up an argument and insults Brennan, prompting Brennan to berate Robert as Nancy attempts to calm him down. On Christmas, Robert and Nancy announce they are getting divorced, upsetting Brennan and Dale. Blaming each other for the divorce, Brennan and Dale decide to go their separate ways. Brennan works for Derek's helicopter leasing firm and Dale works for a catering company.
Weeks later, Brennan and Dale are living independently as functioning adults and are doing well at their new jobs. Wanting to reunite the family, Brennan volunteers to oversee a prestigious event, the Catalina Wine Mixer, for Derek's company and invites Robert and Nancy. They hire the catering company that employs Dale. The party is a success until the lead singer of the hired cover band loses his temper and is ejected. With the stage empty, Derek fires Brennan, blaming him for the debacle, and Robert ultimately encourages Brennan and Dale to be their eccentric child-at-heart selves again. Brennan and Dale take the stage and perform "Por Ti Volar". Derek is so moved by the performance that he and Brennan make amends. Dale ends his relationship with Alice, to her dismay.
Six months later, Robert and Nancy are back together living in their old house, while Brennan and Dale have turned "Prestige Worldwide" into a successful entertainment company that hosts karaoke events. Robert has his boat turned into a tree house in the backyard and Denise confesses her attraction for Brennan.
During the ending credits, Dale and Brennan confront the school children who beat them up previously, and exact their revenge.
Cast
Release
Theatrical
'Step Brothers' was released in the United States on July 25, 2008.Home media
The film was released for home video on December 2, 2008 in a single-disc rated edition, a single-disc unrated edition and a 2-disc unrated edition. The film generated sales of an estimated 3.87 million units in DVD and Blu-ray, totaling $63.7 million. For the home video release, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, and Adam McKay recorded a commentary track mostly in song, accompanied by Jon Brion; the track covers "the movie-making process [and] their characters' offscreen lives" in remarks that range "from the inspired to the irritatingly prolonged, but when Ferrell and Reilly really get into a good groove, they're actually funnier than the main feature". Step Brothers was released on 4K Blu-Ray on October 2, 2018.Reception
Box office
'Step Brothers' opened in 3,094 theaters and grossed $30.9 million. It grossed $100,468,793 domestically and $27,638,849 internationally for a total of $128,107,642.Critical reception
'Step Brothers' received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 55% based on 205 reviews, with an average rating of 5.60/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "'Step Brothers' indulges in a cheerfully relentless immaturity that will quickly turn off viewers unamused by Ferrell and Reilly -- and delight those who find their antics hilarious." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B" on scale of A to F.Roger Ebert gave the film 1.5 out of 4 stars and stated, "When did comedies get so mean? 'Step Brothers' has a premise that might have produced a good time at the movies, but when I left, I felt a little unclean".
in the British Film Institute's 2012 'Sight & Sound' polls of the greatest movies ever made, 'The Snowtown Murders' and 'Macbeth' director Justin Kurzel, named 'Step Brothers' one of his 10 favorite films.
Cultural and political reception
In the movie, Dale and Brennan make a video investment pitch to both Robert and Derek about investing in Prestige Worldwide. To do so, they shot a music video for a song titled "Boats 'N' Hoes"; since the release of the film, "Boats 'N' Hoes" has contributed to the success of the movie with over a million hits on YouTube and merchandise that references the song.Politically, there was a political action committee (PAC) known as the "Boats 'N' Hoes PAC". It was registered by Shaun Nowacki with the Texas Ethics Commission in 2014. Nowacki's firm was hired by multiple Republicans in Texas such as 48th Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Dan Patrick, who was running for Lieutenant Governor, and Donna Campbell, who was campaigning for State Senator. The purpose of the PAC was never shared and was criticized by Lisa Paul who served as the Texas Democratic Party Deputy Communications Director who said, "Texas Republicans say they want to reach out to women, to be more inclusive, but actions like this reinforce a pattern of disrespect... Their contempt towards women is simply unforgivable."
The Catalina Wine Mixer mentioned in the film was not a real event that existed before or during the creation of the film. The event has since been created and hosted on Catalina Island on Descanso Beach.
Future
Cancelled rap album
McKay announced on Twitter in 2011 that production of a 'Step Brothers' rap album featuring Ferrell and Reilly had begun, but later said that the rap album fell apart and will not be released.Possible sequel
Ferrell and Reilly have talked about a sequel. Reilly had the idea. McKay was also interviewed about the possible sequel: He added that Ferrell and Reilly's characters would be mature and have jobs. "One of them's married and has a kid. They're still kind of goofballs but they've taken three or four steps. Then we have an idea for something happens that knocks him back to square one, and one of the brothers, John C. Reilly sort of instigates it, like 'we can't take this anymore.' And things go really bad, their lives kind of fall apart. They have to pull it back together is sort of the basic structure." McKay has also said that ideas that were not used in the first film may be used in the sequel.McKay spoke to 'Empire' in February 2014 and appeared to rule out a sequel to 'Anchorman 2' or 'Step Brothers' saying, "No, that's the last sequel we're gonna do. There's nothing more fun to me than new characters and a new world. And now we're releasing this alt version, we're totally satisfied. No 'Anchorman 3'."
In a 2014 interview with Collider, McKay indicated the door was still open for a 'Step Brothers' sequel at some point, while making clear it wasn't a short term development priority, stating:
In February 2017, Ferrell said in an interview with 'Rolling Stone' that there are currently no plans for a sequel to 'Step Brothers'.
In November 2020, Reilly said in an interview on 'Conan' of a sequel:
References
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