This is much like the recent films coming from Will Ferrell (Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro), a strong premise spoiled by over indulgent routines and sloppy direction. In the case of this film, the premise is that two fully-grown man-children Brennan (Will Ferrell) and Dale (John C. Reilly), who still live with their single parents, are forced to move in with one another when their parents get married. The trailers for the film showed promise. They concentrated on the comedic elements well and had me hoping this would be the production that would pull Ferrell out of the slump he's been in since Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. This didn't help one bit.

The film could have been very good if it had been more reserved. Ferrell and partners Andy McKay (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy) and John C. Reilly (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) overplay their routines and fall into simple crass jokes or into absurd disjointed gags that are reminiscent of the more strained moments of Saturday Night Live. I found myself waiting for bits to play themselves out so the film could advance. One such time is when Dale and Brennan get into their first big fight. The melee sprawls out into the front yard and the scene goes on forever. A more steady hand on the editorial wheel would have trimmed this down, but like many portions of the film the scene is allowed to ramble on until every last bit of life is exhausted.

Ferrell and Reilly are well suited for their roles and work well together. The supporting cast does a good job as well. Of the supporting crew, Kathyrn Hahn (Anchorman) who gives the best comedic performance. Her turn as Brennan pathetic sister-in-law who lusts after Dale (the role is very close to crazy sister Gloria in Wedding Crashers), is one of the funnier parts although much of her job is to simply deliver crude lines. The acting is not the issue. The whole cast works with what they've been given and deliver some laughs but the good parts are stranded in a sea of nonsensical or just juvenile muck.

This film and Anchorman were both written by Ferrell and McKay and directed by McKay himself. There are stark differences between the two productions. Anchorman worked so well because it was focused and each scene was evenly timed. Even when Anchorman gets weird, the alley way brawl ending with a man with a trident in his chest and another on fire for example, it still remains a cohesive piece. This script wanders and doesn't seem to ever fully grasp what its overall purpose is. There's no distinct conflict for the second act since the two step brothers become friends relatively early in the narrative. This puts their parents in the antagonist role, a role they did not hold earlier. Finding no conflict of merit with them, Ferrell and McKay then produce Brennan's brother to be the villain. He's a good villain but by the time he is introduced and established the conflict between the three step brothers is a distraction from the conflicts already built in the first act. This ends up making a very lopsided narrative that can't carry any dramatic punch. When the film ends, with a good conclusion, it falls flat because there has been no systematic building towards the big ending. So, it feels slapped on. A more structured approach to the script and a more liberal use of editing could have made this work.

Overall, if you think Blades of Glory or Semi-Pro were funny, your tastes are probably numbed enough to take this in and enjoy it. The truth is that there are some funny moments but overall the movie isn't worth the rental.



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Labels: Andy McKay, comedy, film, John C Reilly, movie review, Will Ferrell