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Ahoy-hoy ladies and germs, this is Mix Master Larios here to drop some phat lines on ya bombacluts! Okay, I'll stop that immediately. Rather this is Chris Larios (aka LordVonQuack) here to present an alternate series to my Worth a Look serialization specifically aimed at rating the movies coming out that take money in exchange for laughter. You might have seen this review up last night, but you know what they say, an artist is always their harshest critic. Not that I consider myself an artist. Or that I'm quoting that phrase directly. Well, just quick I want to explain the format here. I'll see a movie and come home. I'll likely grab a glass of water, and proceed to masturbate. However afterwards I'll write a review. I'll give a summary of the movie (this will usually be SPOILER free and I'll alert you otherwise, and covers the basics of plot, characters, humor, etc. At the end I'll state who will enjoy this picture, who should avoid it like a raptor with a strap on giving you that "I want to make love to your face" look. That just spells trouble. Premise is explained, so let me present the first of my series of Just for Laughs. My first picture reviewed? Why it's none other than the latest Will Ferrel comedy, Step Brothers. 
Step Brothers is the newest film in Will Ferrel's growing comedy picture line and his first team up with John C. Reilly since Talladega Nights a few years back. The film focuses around Brennan Hoff (Ferrel) and Dale Doback (Reilly) becoming family members as their parents get married. Thus the two boys become... wait for it... Step Brothers! Yes, the title is completely unimaginative, but what do you expect? Both Brennan and Dale are 40 year old failures living with their parents as both boys are too immature to get a job or go to school. They're essentially giant hairy twelve year olds with poor attitudes, and completely despise the idea of their parents remarrying. At the start the boys resent each other, and at one point even devolve into a massive brawl to vent their frustrations. It's no where near the epic magnitude of the scuffle in Anchorman. I mean no one was on fire! What a let down. Eventually the boys learn to become best friends, but their hopes of living off their parents are dashed when Brennan's brother Derek (Adam Scott) decides to help the newly wed couple sell their home and enable them to live their dream to sail across the world. Derek plays the pseudo-villain, but he never actually does anything evil. He's a massive jerk, but his plan to sell their home is actually full of good intentions. Of course that story is rather abstract in the long run. Nothing about this movie is intended to make sense, and it doesn't. The plot is there to hold the loosely secured threads of logic to this movie, but those often come undone for the sake of humor. So you might wonder if this is another Will Ferrel movie with the same type of laugh inducing lines you'd hear in any of his flicks. Well it is, but with a twist. See the movie is Rated R for a reason. Now I never saw Semi-Pro, so perhaps Ferrel's foul mouth started there, but if not then it makes it rise here. Everyone in this movie curses like a sailor and launches out the most inane comments possible. Every line uttered is some guff muttered in some wanton attempt to surpass the previous in shock value. Even fake testicles make their way into the movie and not in a hidden effect either. They're focused on quite literally. The humor in Step Brothers is harsh. It's very crude and vulgar, and often times require no justification for how the bratty quasi-brothers react. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though as fans of Ferrel will love the more vile role. No longer does he wear elven clothing and prattle on about Christmas, but the movie completely alienates that audience. People expecting a return of comedic genius of Anchorman or Old School are sadly going to be disappointed, but those who enjoyed Talladega Nights should have something to squeal to each other about. After all, the movie will make you laugh, whether you want to or not. You can attempt to resist, but that movie will throw shock line after shock line at you until you're choking on Milk Duds on a gag reflex. One compliant that Ferrel has always received is that his characters are far too similar, and it's true. Most movies he plays a pseudo-serious, arrogant, self-absorbed moron. In Step Brothers he plays the more vulnerable role of almost an allusion to Napoleon Dynamite. He's a loser, and has not the single scrap of self esteem to stand up to his jock brother who makes his life so miserable by... being a success. Reilly plays more of the same, though at the beginning he's the more aggressive and dominant of the duo. Strangely that disappears around 20 minutes into the film and Ferrel and he become identical characters separated entirely by their last names and physique. Perhaps that's their strength in their identical nature, but the Reilly superiority at the beginning of the film was one of its strong points. Reilly is a rather underrated comedian and actor in general, so it was nice to see him as the head honcho. Regardless, the characterization of Brennan and Dale are nothing special. They're brats through and through. The biggest problem with Step Brothers however is there is no straight man. Anchorman had Christina Applegate, Talladega Nights had Michael Clark Duncan, but no one, aside from brief cameos, is serious in this picture. Their parents originally start as the serious roles, but the father quickly resorts to the same potty mouth his boys use. Their mother (played by Mary Steenburger) plays the role, but she plays it without any restraint. In many of the scenes she appears on the verge of laughter. It's always this problem when you get a good actor in a stupid movie. They don't know how to handle themselves. It's obvious someone told her "Don't act so serious" so she acts completely stupid. She appears as bad sitcom wife without any of the support that someone wants from a straight man. She fails as the anchor to hold the plot together, and thus it flies about in all which ways. So you may wonder if the film is any good. Well I personally found the movie quite enjoyable, but I'm also someone who could be entertained by watching a clown fall down the stairs for 90 minutes. It would be better than Ultraviolet... But most will laugh. Anyone who's entertained by the crudest of humor will laugh at some point during this film as containing yourself through the sheer randomness is impossible. You'll crack a smile, and when you do you'll succumb to the movie. Anyone not entertained by this style of humor may still find some laughs in a few of the movie's better points. When the duo goes on job interviews together you'll find keeping a straight face to be difficult, especially during the Pan/Pam debacle. It's funny, trust me. There are moments of gold tot his movie, but a lot of it is the same humor we've seen in Ferrel flicks before. WHO WILL ENJOY THIS MOVIE: The college crowd of Ferrel fans who can tolerate their crude humor. This is a rather profitable demographic, so there's no harm in making the films more adult, but it's a far different movie than past films. Anyone who thought Anchorman could have used a tad more male nudity (and who didn't?) would be pleased to see this film, but little else. WHO WILL NOT ENJOY THIS MOVIE: Anyone who never enjoyed a Ferrel flick will not have their opinions changed. This movie is not the SNL-alumni's best work. Far from it in fact and anyone expecting to get a small work out for their mind will be disappointed. This movie will tug no heart strings and delivers absolutely no morals. Anyone not a fan of the F-word are sure to be offended here and would have their money better spent on seeing Dark Knight again. If you don't like Batman, then I don't care. Go see the Mummy movie and be disappointed. It's your own damn fault. Overall this movie doesn't do anything new. It's another Will Ferrel movie among a hodgepodge of hit or misses along his career. This one falls short of hit or miss, hovering in some awkward purgatory. It's no Anchorman, but it's no Bewitched either. The movie makes no sense, but it doesn't try to. The psychiatrist sums this movie up best at the end as the parents watch their boy's shenanigans and she simply states "You know this makes no sense right?" Yea, we know, but sometimes we're not looking for something to make us think. Sometimes we just want a fart joke and fake testicles. Both appear in Step Brothers. Well that's my revised version of this review. I like this one better, and I'll likely keep it. Yes, I think I will. Maybe. Perhaps. Never. Damnit. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed, and remember this is Just for Laughs.
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