Step Brothers is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Adam McKay, produced by Jimmy Miller and Judd Apatow, and written by Will Ferrell and McKay from a story by Ferrell, McKay, and John C. Reilly. It follows Brennan (Ferrell) and Dale (Reilly), two grown men who are forced to live together as brothers after their single parents, with whom they still live, marry each other. Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen, Adam Scott, and Kathryn Hahn also star.
The film was released by Sony Pictures Releasing on July 25, 2008, two years after Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Both films feature the same main actors, as well as the same producing and writing team. It grossed $128.1 million and received mixed reviews.
Plot[]
39-year-old Brennan Huff and 40-year-old Dale Doback are immature adults still living at home. Brennan lives with his divorced mother, Nancy, and Dale lives with his widowed father, Robert. Robert and Nancy meet, fall in love, and marry, forcing Brennan and Dale to live together as step brothers. Brennan and Dale initially despise each other, and after Brennan defies Dale and touches Dale's drum set (once with his testicles), a fight erupts between them. They are grounded with no television for a week and are ordered to find jobs within a month or be evicted.
When Brennan's arrogant classist younger brother Derek, a successful helicopter leasing agent, visits with his family, he openly ridicules Dale and Brennan, and Dale punches him in the face. Brennan is awed that Dale stood up to Derek, while Derek's discontented wife Alice finds Dale's courage attractive and begins a sexual affair with him. Brennan and Dale bond over their shared tastes and interests, particularly music. Robert, meanwhile, schedules several job interviews for them, but they perform poorly and then are attacked on their way home by school children. Robert and Nancy reveal that with Derek's help they plan to sell the house, retire and travel the world on Robert's sailboat. They also sign Brennan and Dale up for therapy and set up bank accounts for them to live off of until they find work. Brennan is attracted to his therapist, Denise, but the attraction is not mutual.
At Derek's birthday party, Dale and Brennan present a pitch video for their entertainment company, "Prestige Worldwide", that includes a music video, "Boats 'N Hoes", which they filmed on Robert's boat without his knowledge. The presentation backfires when the video shows the boat crashing, shattering Robert and Nancy's sailing dreams and straining their marriage. On Christmas, Robert and Nancy announce they are getting divorced, upsetting Brennan and Dale, who blame each other. Brennan and Dale go their separate ways, live independently and gradually become functioning adults.
Brennan gets a job at Derek's helicopter leasing firm and volunteers to oversee a prestigious event, the Catalina Wine Mixer. He hires the catering company that employs Dale and invites Robert and Nancy to attend. The party goes well until the lead singer of the hired Billy Joel cover band loses his temper with a heckler and is hustled away. Derek blames Brennan for the fiasco and fires him. Robert encourages Brennan and Dale to be their eccentric child-at-heart selves again and perform to save the party. The pair take the stage and Brennan sings "Por Ti Volaré" while Dale accompanies him on drums. Derek is so moved by Brennan's performance that he and Brennan make amends and Dale breaks off his relationship with Alice, to her dismay.
Six months later, Robert and Nancy are back together living in their old house, while Brennan and Dale have turned "Prestige Worldwide" into a successful entertainment company that owns various karaoke bars and clubs. Robert has turned his boat into a tree house and the therapist, Denise, confesses her attraction for Brennan. During the ending credits, Dale and Brennan exact their revenge on the school children who previously beat them up.
Cast[]
- Will Ferrell as Brennan Huff
- Bryce Hurless as young Brennan Huff
- John C. Reilly as Dale Doback
- Mary Steenburgen as Nancy Huff
- Richard Jenkins as Dr. Robert Doback
- Adam Scott as Derek Huff
- Dmitri Schuyler-Linch as young Derek Huff
- Kathryn Hahn as Alice Huff
- Andrea Savage as Denise
- Lurie Poston as Tommy Huff
- Elizabeth Yozamp as Tiffany Huff
- Logan Manus as Chris Gardocki
- Travis T. Flory as Redheaded Kid
- Shira Piven as Nurse
- Seth Morris as Doctor
- Wayne Federman as Blind Man
- Maria Quiban as TV Anchor
- Danielle Schneider as Receptionist
- Gillian Vigman as Pam Gringe
- Brian Huskey as Interviewer
- Seth Rogen as a Sporting Goods Manager
- Chris Henchy as First Homebuyer
- Mary Catherine Hamelin as First Homebuyer
- Ian Roberts as Male Therapist
- Phil LaMarr as Second Homebuyer
- Erica Vittina Phillips as Second Homebuyer
- Rob Riggle as Randy
- Ken Jeong as Employment Agent
- Horatio Sanz as Lead Singer
- Jake Szymanski as Caterer
- Matt Walsh as Drunk Corporate Guy
- Brent White as Therapy Patient