The Judd Apatow movie machine keeps churning 'em out, cranking up the raunch one more notch with Step Brothers, a comedy of bad manners reuniting the Talladega Nights team of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly.
Ferrell stars as a middle-aged arrested adolescent who still lives at home with his mom (Mary Steenburgen), while Reilly plays an equally infantile 40-year-old who sponges off his despairing dad (Richard Jenkins). When Steenburgen's and Jenkins' characters fall in love and move in together, their petulant, jobless and thoroughly moronic "children" are forced to share a room, setting the stage for a gleefully low-concept Brady Bunch scenario pared to its dysfunctional essence and tweaked for maximum outrageousness.
Ferrell and Reilly initially and elaborately butt heads, with the movie's first (and funniest) half hour filled with absurdly juvenile confrontations and ridiculous pranks (the most notorious involving a cherished drum set being played with a human scrotum). Things become considerably more subdued and predictable as the characters bond during the movie's extended middle, with Step Brothers again picking up a bit of steam toward the end when Ferrell and Reilly briefly renew hostilities before the final, inevitable group hug.
The movie earns its "R" rating honestly, reveling in an impressive array of inappropriate behavior, nonstop crude language and sight gags that include a close-up of Ferrell licking a dog turd — an image that still manages to offend some 30 years after Divine performed the trick in Pink Flamingos. Only the first 30 minutes of Step Brothers really delivers the goods, but there are enough funny or provocative bits sprinkled throughout to keep us amused, and the oddball chemistry between Ferrell and Reilly, both of whom do a lot of improvising here, is consistently enjoyable.
Step Brothers (R) Stars Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins, Adam Scott and Kathryn Hahn. Opens July 25 at local theaters. 3 stars
This article appears in Jul 23-29, 2008.