My wife hates Will Ferrell, yet loves Step Brothers and quotes it daily (“We’re here to fuck shit up” being her favorite). And unlike me who plugs movie quotes into conversations as if they’re Lego blocks, she–like most socially adept humans–rarely quotes films. Yet, you don’t know my wife so that probably means nothing to you, but I find the fact she digs a Ferrell film and puppets it to be astonishing.
Her behavior drills to the core of Step Brothers‘ success. Like the previous collaborations between director Adam McKay and Ferrell (Anchorman, Talladega Nights), Step Brothers crackles with anarchic, hilarious lines that sound as if they were thought up during a mescaline-soaked fever-dream. I’m attracted to bizarre, zany dialogue, the sort that lends itself to constant quoting among friends. And I don’t deny the immature kid in me giggles even harder when it’s especially vulgar (and Step Brothers definitely embraces its R-rating).
Not everyone enjoys this sort of thing. Many will deem Step Brothers as a threadbare excuse for Ferrell and John C. Reilly (a perfect comedic duo if there ever was one) to out retard one another as a pair of near-forty losers forced to live together when their parents get hitched after a whirlwind romance. I can’t argue with that. The entire film amounts to an improv-off between Ferrell and Reilly (with some nice assistance from Richard Jenkins and Mary Steenburgen). You either forgive the loose, ridiculous framework for a story and characters or you bolt from it.
Personally, when it comes to comedies I couldn’t care less about the normal cinematic values we judge most films on. If it makes me laugh throughout, it’s a good comedy, and Step Brothers accomplishes that with gusto.
For any fan of the film, the “2-Disc Unrated Edition” Blu-ray contains just about everything one could desire. Special features for comedies often lack the hours of cutting-room-floor material that you know exists, since almost any comedy allows for plenty of improv while filming. However, this 2-Disc edition is stacked with deleted scenes, extended scenes, alternate scenes and multiple takes of varying lines. Some of it was rightfully snipped from the film, but much of it is just as funny as what McKay chose for the final edit.
Yet, this edition contains much more than deleted material. One of the niftiest features discusses the film’s surprisingly memorable music, scored by the brilliant Jon Brion (Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, I Heart Huckabees). While it’s obvious improv was alive and well on set, the featurette demonstrates the same spirit fueled the scoring process as we’re given several great moments of Brion and his fellow musicians (including Nels Cline) jamming out tunes for the film.
Perhaps the most unexpected bonus additions are two short movies, “Charlyne Moves In” and “L’Amour En Caravane.” Both are the type of videos you expect to see on FunnyorDie.com. “Charlyne Moves In” follows Charlyne Ni (the Asian stoner-girl from Knocked Up) as she squats on the film set after getting evicted from her apartment. It’s amusing, especially as the actors and filmmakers scold her for using the prop toilet or walking into the middle of a scene. However, “L’Amour En Caravane” is truly an ace. It involves Richard Jenkins laying down his seduction skills on Mary Steenburgen. However, the less said the better since there are some hilarious cameos toward the end.
This is simply a fantastic Blu-ray edition of the film. Even if you didn’t like the film, something among the wealth of bonus material on these two discs would still manage to entertain you, which is very rare achievement.
