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Since then, Apatow has produced and also written a few hugely successful comedies such as Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Superbad, Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin (Apatow also directed the latter two), among a few others. All of the films bear Apatow’s own unique, recurring theme of an immature, vulgar, selfish, adult male in a perpetual state of prolonged adolescence who finally learns to become a responsible mature, functional, rational-acting man. And along the way, of course, are Apatow’s patented gross out jokes and gleeful raunchiness. The Apatow-produced new comedy Step Brothers starring Will Farrell (who also co-wrote this film as well as Talladega Nights and Anchorman with Adam McKay) and John C. Reilly doesn’t veer from the usual Apatow pattern. Together again after their knock-‘em-dead duo act in 2006’s Nights, Reilly and Farrell play two childlike, immature, lazy, unambitious, adult men still living at home with their respective single parent—Reilly with his quietly frustrated, widowed doctor father (hilariously played with increasing frenzy by Richard Jenkins) and Farrell with his divorced, sweetly patient mother (Steenburgen). When the parents meet at a conference, fall head over heels in love and get married everyone finds themselves living unhappily together under one roof. Naturally, Farrell and Reilly despise each other, and the first half of the film recounts the evil, nasty, disgusting side-splitting ways they try to undermine each other. This doesn’t bode well for the household, of course, and they’re ordered by their parents to get jobs or else. Soon afterwards, however, the step brothers discover that they have a lot more in common than they realized and quickly become the best of friends. Their attempts to get jobs and become responsible adults quickly backfires and things turns dire, threatening to destroy not only their newfound friendship, but the entire family, and they are forced to take drastic measures to save what they have left. Bill Cosby once remarked that a comedian must be willing to be completely free with himself in order to be funny. In other words, he must be willing to make a complete fool of himself for the sake of laughs. And that, Farrell and Reilly, fortunately, have no fear of doing. A large part of the wild success of Step Brothers comes from the fact that the both of them (Jenkins, as well) are so totally immersed and committed to their roles that they completely win your over. No joke or sight gag and comic situation—no matter how low, imbecilic or vulgar … and there are plenty of them—are off limits. They give their roles their all and go for broke, and the joy and immense satisfaction from the movie comes from watching actors who are obviously relishing the moment, having the times of their lives. McKay, as a director, is solid with a sure sense of comic pacing and timing. Every gag is given its due and he instinctively knows when to stretch a joke for maximum impact or to quickly hit it and move on. Step Brothers may not be the best comedy from the Apatow laugh factor (an honor that still belong to the wonderfully mad yet subtle and beautifully characterized 40 Year Old Virgin), but it’s still a sure-fire winner and a solid, silly, stupid nuthouse of a film that leaves you smiling. STEP BROTHERS OPENS FRIDAY JULY 25TH |
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