The original STEP BROTHERS

Will Farrell is an original funnyman. No one has enjoyed a career essentially playing themselves for so long since Jim Carrey in his Ace Venture/Dumb & Dumber phase. I don’t deny his talents, his utter fearlessness, and astounding absurdities. Farrell is the real deal.

John C. Reilly is a truly original actor. He’s a sensitive Everyman who isn’t given enough opportunities to shine. Every role he takes is of an unsung hero just like his life. He commits fully to his craft life few other actors of this generation, and when given the right co-stars, he feeds off that energy and morphs into the role he’s given.

STEP BROTHERS is not an original movie. The concept of two 40 year olds acting as adolescents is original. When the concept broken down and stripped to a nut sack on a snare drum, this is a “Buddy Movie” in the style of Steve Martin and John Candy in PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES, Abbott and Costello, or (the aforementioned) Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in DUMB AND DUMBER…only not as good.

Comedy can be dumb and silly. Comedy can be thoughtful. But comedy demands heart for it to be palatable. Without heart, it becomes difficult to care about the character’s careless antics. As such, it is difficult to care about Brennan (Farrell) and Dale (Reilly).

This isn’t a slight on Farrell’s or Reilly’s comedic ability. They made as much as they could from what they were given. The fault lies on their writing abilities to produce an adequate script (also written by the two stars). It almost felt like they were relying on old jokes and just “phoning it in” instead of pushing the envelope.

I found myself caring more for their father (step-father), Robert (Richard Jenkins of SIX FEET UNDER), who displays the most depth in this movie. His dreams of traveling around the world on a boat are shattered as quickly as the brothers shattered his boat on some rocks. Only when they realize Robert’s pain do they try to make amends and grow up. But even here, this seems forced and out of character for them.

Still, STEP BROTHERS does offer a few laughs (most of which are given away in the trailer), and a good fill of Will Farrell. Not one of his best movies (ANCHORMAN), not his worst (NIGHT AT THE ROXBURY), and better than the dated SEMI-PRO. This is a movie in search of a heart.

6.9 “Boats and Hos” out of 10