Step Brothers

The Worst "Comedy" I Have Ever Seen, 30 August 2008

Author: gary-444 from United Kingdom


A comedy that isn't funny is in trouble. A comedy that searches for the lowest common denominator, is devoid of life and invention and replaces ideas with formulas is in very big trouble. As a result I award my lowest ever IMDb score.

Director and writer Adam McKay is hopelessly out of his depth with a feature length, his history with Saturday Night live (which he shares with co writer Will Ferrell) is the clue. As a 90 second sketch the premise of this film has legs,at 98 minutes it is 96 1/2 minutes too long.

Ferrell and Mckay are both the same age that they are writing about, but do so with no comic ingenuity or insight.The premise of the film is of two mature singletons who get together with 40 year old sons still living at home. The joke is that they behave like 15 year olds. this is funny for about 30 seconds.It then moves into weird, bordering onto infantilism.

I have no problem with base, gross, profane, crude humour aimed at amusing 13 -15 year olds.But in casting the protagonists as grown men playing children it patronises children whilst causing adults to question the sexual motivation of what is going on here. and when in doubt say "fuck", thats bound to get a laugh isn't it? Pitched against the recently released,equally coarse, but immeasurably funnier and superior "Zohan" this picture is exposed for the barren Turkey it is. Adam Sandler demonstrates a grasp of the grotesque and absurd which is totally missing here. The sparkling dialogue which American Screen Writers have shown they can write, with such institutions as "Friends" and "Cheers", is nowhere to be seen.

"Mother", Mary Steenbergen, and "Dad",Richard Jenkins, who both gave creditable performances in recent hits "The Brave One" and "The Kingdom" respectively do their best (hence the 1), but will not be quoting this one in their memoirs.

Unfunny, unremittingly awful, avoid at all costs.