Comments on The House Next Door: Step Brothers

(and this doesn’t apply so much to “Stepbrothers” ...

2008-12-18T09:51:00.000-05:00

(and this doesn’t apply so much to “Stepbrothers” which really IS about two deeply repugnant human beings)

LOL

This was a good, thoughtful essay. My problem with...

2008-12-03T12:52:00.000-05:00

This was a good, thoughtful essay. My problem with some of the criticism of Apatow’s movies (and this doesn’t apply so much to “Stepbrothers” which really IS about two deeply repugnant human beings) is that when commentators (not the author of the essay, just in general) mention the characters “arrested development” and their failure to “grow up”, it seems like what they’re actually doing is chastising them for not acquiescing to a stagnant culturally-mandated vision of life: i.e. cubicle, nuclear family, suburbs…I’m not so sure that rejecting that lifestyle in order to smoke pot and make jokes with your friends is such a bad thing.

For me, this is a conundrum these movies express but never convincingly resolve. In “Knocked Up”, Paul Rudd’s post break-up speech about how he can’t accept pure love struck me less like an insight (which is what the movie sells it as) and more like a rationalization for his wife’s shitty, controlling behavior.

"As the brains behind Anchorman (2004) and Tallade...

2008-12-03T11:36:00.000-05:00

"As the brains behind Anchorman (2004) and Talladega Nights (2006), the pair specialize in ‘shtick’ comedy (Will Ferrell plays a self-absorbed newsman; Will Ferrell plays a self-absorbed NASCAR driver), meaning that the failure of Step Brothers inevitably comes down to a clash in sensibilities"

Apatow produced Anchorman and Talladega too, though. Perhaps I've misunderstood your point.

Really sharp essay, and I commend you on being abl...

2008-12-02T08:11:00.000-05:00

Really sharp essay, and I commend you on being able to mine some kind of cultural significance from a film I found completely unfunny.

I like the point about how "Step Brothers feels like a giant playground built around its audiences’ desire for guilt-free anarchy." Talk about a playground - Dale and Brennan, in the last scene of the movie, kick the shit out of a gaggle of gradeschoolers at one.

It validates the idea of arrested development, and fulfills the wish of every geek that headlines these movies: that one day, I'll grow up into a big strong man capable of beating you UP.