STEP INTO LAUGHTER

Will Ferrell is an interesting comedic actor. When he appeared on SNL I thought he was one of the best things on it. When he left, his movies inspired laughter. But then something happened. Each character he played in a movie seemed to be the same one with little or no differentiation from the past one. In short order, I began to avoid Ferrell films.

The he did STRANGER THAN FICTION and showed that he had some acting chops. TALLADEGA NIGHTS was more of the same though it was funny and BLADES OF GLORY showed that he did have talent. Now we have STEPBROTHERS and Ferrell has made me believe that as with Adam Sandler, the one note character may have more life in him than I thought.

The story of STEPBROTHERS revolves around two grown step-siblings who are so mentally undeveloped it's sad in a way. Ferrell is 39 year old Brennan Huff whose mother Nancy Huff (Mary Steenburgen) has just met and married Dr. Robert Doback (Richard Jenkins). Doback has a son named Dale (John C. Reilly) who is 40. What's the catch? Both sons still live with their parents.

No, I don't mean they live under the same roof, though they do. Both "boys" still live at home and depend on their parents to take care of them. Neither has a job nor seems to be looking for one. Both are interested in juvenile things, not as collectors or such, but as involved participants. Both seem to be stuck in that pre-teen world where cursing comes unnaturally and often and their interests revolve solely around themselves.

The two face off as Brennan and his mother move in with Dale and his father. They take an immediate dislike to one another as step siblings do now having to share their parent with someone else. Dale suggests that Nancy is hot for him and his dad and Brennan threatens to punch Dale in his sleep.

The back and forth battle rages until Brennan's brother shows up. Derek (Adam Scott) is a snobbish, self praising jerk who likes to do nothing more than make life terrible for older brother Brennan. With a new target in Dale, he starts in. A punch in the nose turns the battling step-siblings into best friends.

Even though the pair now find they have more in common than they thought, their dad has decided that its time for them to leave the nest. Giving them one month to find jobs or their out on their own, they struggle against the idea, eventually coming up with one of their own that fails. The step parents don't see eye to eye on how to handle it and a split occurs.

Forced to find a new place to live, the duo fight once more only to start the next day growing up. Each one takes on a real life job. Each one moves up in their positions. Until a chance encounter gives them the opportunity to make amends for all involved.

So where are the laughs in all of this? Mostly in the hijinks and insults hurled back and forth between the two. The situations between them are hilarious. And the sad thing in writing about this is that to fill you in on particulars would do nothing more than to ruin the comedy you see first hand. Trust me when I say the film is hilarious. Offensive? Sure. Crude? Certainly. But anyone who's seen a Ferrell film won't find it so.

Having tired of Ferrell's one note character I wasn't looking forward to an enjoyable evening watching this film. I will say I was pleasantly surprised to discover this was one of the funniest movies I've seen in ages. It's one that I know I'll come back to time and again when I need a laugh. If you're looking for one, I highly recommend that you check this one out.