The summer of 2008 broke history, and rebuilt it.
America suffered through a bitter presidential election on the road to a globewrecking financial crisis.
In theaters, cinematic generations were rising and falling.
DARREN:Like a total duncecap, I ignoredStep Brothersfor years.
I thought it was a dumb stupid comedy.
But I had reasons to be skeptical, Chris!
So it was years before I finally watchedStep Brothers, and realized that this is abrilliantstupid comedy.
The casting is topnotch.
Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins play the frustrated, unglued parents.
(Steenburgen screaming WHAT THE FING F?
is pure cinema.)
Adam Scott seems to conjure every awful idea of self-righteous douchery, I havent had a carb since 2004.
And Kathryn Hahns doorway seduction of Reilly is ten flavors of marvelous crazy.
And there are the nonstop throwaway-absurd lines.
DoesStep Brotherswork for you the same way, Chris?
CHRIS:Darren, I have to admit, I came toStep Brotherslate, too.
I mean, I saw it when it came out.
The best comedies, the ones that really have longevity, seem to work that way.
Believe it or not, the same thing happened to me withThe Big Lebowski.
I liked it just fine the first time around.
Ilovedit the second through forty-sixth times.
The weird thing is we seem to be in the minority.
The movie opened at No.
So I guess the public as quicker on the uptake than you and I.
It made $100 million.
Thats a tough trick to pull off.
I still preferAnchormanto this (Milk was a bad choice!
Oddly, I think thatStep Brotherssort of represents the end of something too.
Meanwhile, Ferrell would prove shortly after this to be not-so-bulletproof after all withLand of the Lost.
I feel like hes been a bit rudderless ever since.
The kind of arrested development, clueless blowhards he specializes in were really a product of the early-to-mid 2000s.
But I wonder how this movie would be received in 2018.
What do you think?
DARREN:You might just be spitballing, Chris.
But to me, you sound like a combination of Fergie and Jesus.
Step Brothersis the apex of a now-debased comedy form.
Like, the mid-credits sequence ofStep Brothersfeatures Ferrell and Reilly beating up a bunch of children.
I guess we were all makingvery different jokes ten years ago.
But in fairness, I think McKay and Ferrell were taking this subgenre andexplodingit.
Dale and Brennan are paragons of modern masculine grotesquerie, all-consuming, negative-producing, demanding everything, giving nothing.
Theyre siblings to the couch-potato human culture parodied inWall-E. Maybe its too personal.
I knew a fleet of exasperating frat dudes who quoted Ron Burgundy the way Adam Scott quotesScarface.
You mentioned that you think the second half drags, Chris.
Color me intrigued, because for me, the swirling final act is what cements the specialness ofStep Brothers.
And then theres a zigzag into the peak of non sequitur absurdity: The Fing Catalina Wine Mixer.
Ferrell doing his best Andrea Bocelli, backed by Reilly murmuring Boats and Hos!
Are there bits in the back half that just dont work for you?
And what do you think of the long-discussed possibility of aStep Brotherssequel?
I worry thatAnchorman 2andZoolander 2have salted the earth for sequelized 2000s bro-comedies.
But I have to admit, Id love to know if Prestige Worldwide became a media conglomerate.
Maybe Prestige Worldwide could stage a hostile takeover ofSuccessions Royco!
CHRIS:Ahh, the Catalina Wine Mixer a fine two-minute joke stretched out to a patience-testing twenty.
That said, Horatio Sanzs Billy Joel just-the-80s cover band is inspired.
I guess I dont find John C. Reilly as dream-sequence Pan as pants-wetting hilarious as you do.
His movies are a little too in love with their own jokes.
But my beef is minor.
Its mostly a devils advocate position.
I dont think Id be alone in the theater watching this thing.
So, yes, bring it on, like!
1:The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon EmperorAug.
6:Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2andPineapple ExpressAug.
13:Tropic ThunderAug.
15:Vicky Cristina BarcelonaandStar Wars: The Clone WarsAug.
22:The House Bunny
