Step Brothers presents the most literal depiction of the man-child character to date. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly star in this collection of shocking gags. While I busted up laughing at a few scenes, much of the movie left me in stunned silence. The movie might be better watched on DVD where the deleted scenes could improve the joke hit-to-miss ratio.

Ferrell and Reilly play Brennan Huff and Dale Doback, two 40-year-olds still living at home with their parents. One day Dale’s dad, Robert (Richard Jenkins), marries Brennan’s mom, Nancy (Mary Steenburgen), making the two men stepbrothers and instant enemies. Soon, their stepparents give them a deadline to move out and find jobs. Making matters worse, Brennan’s bully of a younger brother, Derek (Adam Scott), comes home to visit. He’s a successful businessman and former pop singer. Brennan and Dale’s mutual hatred of him turns them into best friends, making the situation worse for Mom and Dad.

Watching grown men act like 6-year-olds is an outrageous idea for a ten-minute TV sketch. Onscreen, it gets a little repetitious. A lot of people will be seeing Step Brothers just to watch Ferrell and Reilly in the same movie. They last starred together in Talladega Nights. I admit it’s amusing for awhile to see two human wrecking balls bouncing off the walls. They make a great physical comedy duo. In one scene, they scare off Derek’s customers by dressing like Nazis and corpses. Ferrell surprises me the most. Under that goofy exterior is a great singer who improves with each movie. He tackled funk in Semi-Pro. Here, he belts out opera.

I didn’t see a need for the pointless, gross-out comedy that litters the film. Director Adam McKay seems like he’s pushing the limit for the heck of it. At one point, Brennan and Dale run into some fifth-graders who beat them up and force Brennan to lick old dog poo. The scene is funny enough showing the kids pushing his head lower. But then we get an extreme slow motion close-up of it. I like sick visuals when they are necessary for the punchline. That’s taking the joke too far.

Ferrell’s looney dialogue has always been a bit more hilarious than his slapstick gags in my mind. That’s why I’m stunned at the lines the major characters speak. It’s all swear-laden insults. Sure, R-rated movies have a lot of cursing, but there’s usually more to the punchline than the word alone. Swearing is funny on South Park because it’s animated and the heroes are fourth-graders. That’s not the case when Ferrell swears.

Only a 90 minute movie, Step Brothers caused my attention to wander after an hour. The action changes little from its starting idea. What about Prestige International, Dale’s plan for an entertainment company? Is it a talent agency? A music label? I have no idea, but it sounds exciting.

For brief moments, Step Brothers is funny. Dale’s flirtations with Derek’s stressed out wife, Alice (Kathryn Hahn), are some of the funniest scenes of the year. “Stay gold, Ponyboy,” she says after a bathroom encounter. During the end credits, Brennan and Dale send school kids flying in a brawl lifted from The Matrix. Most of the time, I felt like the parents, really uncomfortable.

Grade: C