Movie and Television Reviews

Judd Apatow has become America's most popular moralizer. Movies that he's produced include the pro-life, pro-responsibility Knocked Up; the anti-lothario Anchorman; the pro-relationship 40 Year Old Virgin; the respect-for-girls Super Bad; and now the pro-maturity Step-Brothers. That Apatow chooses the most creatively vulgar dialogue as a conduit for his nearly Christian message shouldn't necessarily be held against him (I live that duality every day.).

The plot isn't much. Basically two stay-at-home forty-year-olds are brought together as step brothers. They don't get along at first, but soon find that they're not much different from each other and become friends. Their recklessness and general obnoxiousness brings about his father's ultimatum: Find jobs in one month or leave.

When the boys wreck their father's boat for a rap video, they're kicked out of the house. It's then that they have to make the decision to reform.

The bothers resemble Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in Dumb and Dumber in that they're un-self-aware idiots. Like in Dumb and Dumber, we marvel at the brothers' profound imbecility. To this, the step-brothers add references to loser and nerd culture like Cops role-playing, and Star Wars. And, it's sexually filthy. It's not nihilistic smuttiness meant to subvert the world order; it's just good, dirty fun, the kind soldiers and athletes engage in from time to time (OK, all the time.).

The movie loses steam towards the middle after the script expends the best gags, but ends with a very clever finish.

The only reason I won't give the movie a higher grade is that the audience for smart-stupid comedy has become somewhat accustomed to Apatow humor and Will Farrell characters just like they've became used to Farrelly humor and Jim Carrey characters 10 years ago.

Message:

As I mentioned: That people need to mature. Sometimes, movies of this kind have the opposite message, that people need to be free and "follow their heart," and this movie does give a nod in that direction before settling on its opposite.

A gratuitous and unfair George Bush quote opens the movie.

Anchorman - The Legend Of Ron Burgundy (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

Knocked Up (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

Superbad (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

Dumb and Dumber - Unrated (New Line Platinum Series)

CNN review.