Ugh, another Monday. The weekend is over and it’s back to the grind. Well, lucky for you, I’ve got a field trip planned for Disc Dive this week! Pack light and let’s head out to the Catalina Wine Mixer as we dive into… Step Brothers (2008).
Title: Step Brothers
Director: Adam McKay
Released: July 25, 2008 (Theatrical – Canada and the United States)
Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes
Disc Format: Blu-ray
Brennan (Will Ferrell) and Dale (John C. Reilly) are 40-year old men who are giant man babies. Brennan still lives at home with his mother, Nancy (Mary Steenburgen), while Dale lives at home with his father, Robert (Richard Jenkins).
Both “boys” are very much set in their ways and fully expect their respective parent to wait on them hand and foot.
However, one day Nancy and Robert meet by chance at a conference and immediately hit it off. Oddly enough, they even bonded over each of them housing a giant man child.
One thing leads to another and we eventually see Nancy and Robert get married. Their marriage means that the two households will now become one.
But can Brennan and Dale grow up and learn to co-exist?
Or will the entire marriage go up in smoke because of them?
Step Brothers (2008) is a movie that I have seen a handful of times, though the last time I saw it all the way through was probably close to 5-6 years ago. So what better time than Disc Dive to pop open the blu-ray and revisit it again.
While I can’t say that it is a “bad” movie, it definitely isn’t as funny as I remembered it being.
Yes, there are quite a few quotable moments, from the drum set interactions, the interviews Brennan and Dale go on, family dinners, them lying in bed at night and threatening each other, and of course “Boats and Hoes”.
And there isn’t a bad performance in the bunch either. I think Richard Jenkins is absolutely hilarious in this role. Though it is a smaller role, Kathryn Hahn steals every scene she’s in as Alice, the wife of Brennan’s brother.
Somewhere between the quotes and the gags, this 98-minute comedy starts to feel like an SNL sketch stretched a bit too thin.
While other Apatow produced productions tend to have some clever humor sprinkled in throughout, Step Brothers (2008) is all about chasing the next big shock-laugh.
It hits more often than it misses, but I won’t be rushing to revisit it again any time soon.
So, what are your thoughts on Step Brothers (2008)?
Leave a comment below or reach out to me on Bluesky and tell me what you think!
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