Comedic moments aside, McKay pushes the envelope and garners an R-rating for pervasive language; just about every character overuses the f-word. For a better grasp, relate this to a comedy club rookie: when the show starts, the vulgarity induces laughter; but as the set rolls on, the crowd begins to consider how funny the material would be without the f-bombs used as a crutch.
What’s more, Step Brothers boldly promotes all Pepsi products just as audaciously as Talladega Nights promoted all of its “sponsors.” Seriously, between the barrage of Diet Pepsi cans, Mountain Dew t-shirts, and bags of Doritos, one could only guess how much PepsiCo contributed to finance this amusing, yet profane, film.
Better than Semi-Pro and Kicking and Screaming, on par with Talladega Nights, and not quite Anchorman, Step Brothers is consistently funny, but fittingly childish. What keeps it involving is its long list of memorable quotes, which kids/live-at-home adults can add to their arsenal of movie lines to spew.
Even so, while the script is hilarious, the phrasing and timing seems familiarly unfunny. Not to say that Ferrell’s humor is becoming stale, but he’s on the bubble of being continually cast and cast aside. Who wants to see Ferrell get spanked by Richard Jenkins?
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