Hey everyone. Capone in San Diego here. This posting has nothing to do with Comic-Con, but since the film opened this weekend and I did catch it before I left for this lovely event, I thought I'd better steer you right on over to it.

STEP BROTHERS is comedy in its absolute most simple form: two grown men acting like children, screaming the worst kind of insults at each other and getting into ridiculous physical battles that look more like playground wrestling than adult fighting. It sounds stupid and base. But when the men in question are Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, arguably two of the funniest guys working today, working under the direction of Adam McKay (TALLADEGA NIGHT; ANCHORMAN), then you hope for something a little more inspired. Let's throw a couple more seemingly sure-fire names at you. The script for Step Brothers is by Ferrell and McKay (from a story by the pair and Reilly), and one of the credited producers is Judd Apatow. And while he may not be known for his comic stylings, let me throw one more name at you: Richard Jenkins, the star of one of the year's finest films so far, The Visitor, who is on hand as Reilly's dad. And, guess what? All of these worthy names add up to a pretty damn funny film.

Ferrell and Reilly play Brennan and Dale, two guys cruising the 40-year-old milepost and still living with a parent. Brennan lives with his loving, overly protective mother (Mary Steenburgen, still lovely but looking overly tan), while Dale lives with his dad. For whatever reasons, the two men have never really had to take charge of their lives or be responsible for their actions. Ferrell and Reilly are both playing spoiled, bratty teenagers in the bodies of two guys fast approaching middle age. The two parents meet, fall in love and get married, and suddenly these two men-children are forced not only to live in the same house, but share a room. Creative usage of every four-letter word in the book are on display in Step Brothers, and these two actors have an absolute gift for inventing the most descriptive and demeaning insults imaginable. It's a joy to listen to them invent and improvise. But it doesn't take the pair long to realize how much they have in common, and soon they become fast friends and partners in crime.

Mom and dad give the boys ultimatums about getting jobs and finding their own place to live, but nothing seems to work. Eventually, in a misguided attempt to create their own business, they destroy Jenkins' plan to retire early and spend a great deal of time with his new wife sailing around the world, and dad decides it's time for him to break up the not-so-happy family. The boys do what they can to keep mom and dad together. Hilarity and a bit of growing up ensue. There isn't much more to Step Brothers than that, but I can't stress enough how much fun it is watching these craftsman do what they do best. More than that, they remember what it was like to be that volatile combination of anxiety, hormones, and aggression that make up the teen years. That being said, the verbal gags work far better than the physical comedy, and most of the material about Brennan's younger but far more successful brother isn't nearly as interesting as when it's just Ferrell and Reilly going off.

I'm not sure what else you really need to know. STEP BROTHERS will, without a doubt, produce large, gasping, violent laughs throughout your body. The combination of a wicked script and two totally game lead performers works on paper and in the real world. The real surprise of the film is Jenkins' comic timing and ability to dish it out as well as take it from his ungrateful son. Jenkins has been something of a gift from the acting gods this year, and my heart quickens when I remember that the next time we'll see him is in September for Burn After Reading, the new Coen Brothers comedy. I can't get enough of this terrific long-time character actor finally getting his due. STEP BROTHERS is just two funny friends being as god-damned hilarious as they know how to be, and most of the time the results are dead on. Going into the final month of this summer thinking all I had to look forward to for laughs were PINEAPPLE EXPRESS and TROPIC THUNDER, this little film was a tasty surprise.

-Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com