AltWeeklies Wire
Boys Among Mennew
Step Brothers is funny enough--but the duo of Ferrell and Reilly can do better.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
07-31-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Adam McKay, Step Brothers
'Step Brothers': Blended Family Valuesnew
Director Adam McKay and Will Ferrell relish working on an absurdist high wire, and the whole point of their movies isn't how any one scene relates to another but rather how much they can chip away at the logic that holds most movies together. Baghead also reviews.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
07-25-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
'Step Brothers' Finds Will Ferrell Regressing and Repeating Himselfnew
The problem is not that Ferrell has ceased to be funny, although his shtick is clearly wearing thin; the problem is that he and collaborator Adam McKay, with whom he worked on Anchorman and Talladega Nights, have abandoned all goals other than to "be funny" in the most desperate, overblown and ultimately grating manner.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Josh Bell |
07-25-2008 |
Reviews
'Step Brothers' is to Humor what Rape is to Sexnew
The latest Judd Apatow-produced slab of celluloid from Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly is their most blatant exercise in desperation yet.
Dig Boston |
David Wildman |
07-24-2008 |
Reviews
'Step Brothers' is a Good Joke with No Place to Gonew
This feels less like a story than just an amusing idea, having Reilly and Ferrell, two very funny guys, acting like pubescent 15-year-olds.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
07-23-2008 |
Reviews
'Step Brothers' Wastes Its Comedy Giantsnew
Even avoiding Semi-Talla-Anchor-Blades-of-Dewey comparisons, the jokes are old. But underneath the recycling is a sadder story of several very talented comic giants, including Judd Apatow, wasting their credentials on tired gags.
San Antonio Current |
G. Brian Davis |
07-23-2008 |
Reviews
'Step Brothers' Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly Perfect the Comedy of Retardationnew

The touched man-child is a comedy staple. Step Brothers marks the apotheosis of exploiting a repressed urge to laugh at brain-damaged antics. It is also the best film Ferrell and company have made since Anchorman.
Willamette Week |
Chris Stamm |
07-23-2008 |
Reviews