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Step Brothers (Blu-ray) Unrated 2 Disc Edition Official AVSForum Review

6K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  Franin 
#1 ·


The Review at a Glance: (max score: 5 )

Film:


Extras:


Audio/Video total rating:

( Max score: 100 )

85






Studio and Year: Sony Pictures - 2008
MPAA Rating: R / Unrated
Feature running time: 98 / 106 Minutes
Genre: Comedy

Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 2.40:1
Resolution: 1080p/24


Audio Format(s): English/French/Portuguese Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Spanish/Thai Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, Korean, Chinese
Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins, Adam Scott, Kathrun Hahn
Directed by: Adam McKay
Music by: Jon Brion
Written by: Will Ferrell & Adam McKay
Region Code: A,B,C

Blu-ray Disc release Date: December 2, 2008







"They grow up so fast"



Film Synopsis:


Brennan Huff, a sporadically employed thirty-nine-year-old who lives with his mother, Nancy. Dale Doback, a terminally unemployed forty-year-old who lives with his father, Robert. When Robert and Nancy marry and move in together, Brennan and Dale are forced to live with each other as step brothers. As their narcissism and downright aggressive laziness threaten to tear the family apart, these two middle-aged, immature, overgrown boys will orchestrate an insane, elaborate plan to bring their parents back together. To pull it off, they must form an unlikely bond that maybe, just maybe, will finally get them out of the house.



My Take:


For me I find that Will Ferrell's films run hot and cold. There are several of his movies that I have really liked while there are others that I just can't stomach. Honestly I am not clear as to why he feels the need to burden us in pretty much every one of his films with seeing him practically naked. I had seen the trailer for Step Brothers and after seeing his last collaboration with John C. Reilly and Director Adam McKay, Talladega Nights, I had no desire to see it. I was happy to see Richard Jenkins was in it because he is one of my favorite character actors. I watched the Unrated version which adds a little over seven minutes to the theatrical version. I don't see the need to try and expound upon the storyline because the synopsis pretty much sums it up. As you might expect this is an outrageous, raunchy, and silly film that delivers some over the top humor which is typical of Will Ferrell. If you like him at his absolute best in this regard than you will love Step Brothers. He and John C. Reilly team up as two of the most juvenile, annoying, immature, bed wetting and narcissistic 40 year olds ever. Their combination of nonsensical physical comedy and dialogue that borders on pure drivel is incessant throughout the course of the film. The interesting thing is that while it became fatiguing at times, there were many times where it bordered on hilarity. Be warned that no stone is left unturned with respect to vulgarity so if you are thin skinned or easily offended don't bother. Richard Jenkins was of course priceless as the frustrated father and step father Dr. Robert Doback. He delivered some of the funniest lines and best reactions (from the perspective of a fairly sane person) in the film. There were just too many instances where I found myself saying out loud this movie is ridiculous. At 106 minutes the unrated version was simply too long and I can say with certainty that even at 98 minutes the theatrical cut will feel similar. This film doesn't have universal appeal and I found it more absurd than entertaining.




Parental Guide:

The R rating is for crude and sexual content as well as pervasive language. The unrated version is the same but more of it.




AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
REFERENCE = 92-100 / EXCELLENT = 83-91 / GOOD = 74-82 / AVERAGE = 65-73 / BELOW AVERAGE = under 65

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**


(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)


Audio: 82


  • Dynamics:

  • Low frequency extension:

  • Surround Sound presentation:

  • Clarity/Detail:

  • Dialogue Reproduction:





Video: 88


(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

  • Resolution/Clarity:

  • Black level/Shadow detail:

  • Color reproduction:

  • Fleshtones:

  • Compression:

Step Brothers comes to Blu-ray Disc from Sony featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 26 mbps and lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 channel audio that has an average bitrate of 1.5 mbps.

The high definition video quality was on par with other new release films of its type and generally looked great. Colors were natural looking with pleasing tonal quality and vivid hues. Flesh tones varied a bit with some appearing well delineated and lifelike while others had a bronze/golden finish that made them look sun soaked and fake. Contrast was dynamic in quality which occasionally washed out bright scenes but added punch to primary colors. Images were well detailed and crisp, with sharp lines and three dimensional depth. Blacks were respectable with good gradational quality and detail in dark areas and low lit sequences had estimable visibility in backgrounds. The video was rendered with pristine quality that didn't show any signs of compression related anomalies or noticeable artifacts. The lossless Dolby TrueHD soundtrack readily handled the elements contained in the recording. The presentation retained a front loaded perspective with well defined and clearly articulated dialogue that extended well into the room. Sounds were dynamically potent with intricate clarity and discernible fine detail. Surround activity was limited to rear channel spatial cues and occasional directional sounds. It was a fine match with the source material and never felt out of focus or inadequate.



Bonus Features:


Disc 1:

  • Commentary track with Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Adam McKay, special guest Baron Davis and scored by Jon Brion

  • (HD) 6 Deleted scenes

  • (HD) 15 Extended/Alternate scenes

Blu-ray Disc Exclusive:

  • Boats-N-Hoes video editor - Requires BD-Live access/registration

Disc 2:

  • (HD) Line O Rama - Best of select lines from film

  • (HD) Gag reel

  • (HD) Job interviews - 10 film based segments with cast in character

  • (HD) Therapy - 7 film based segments with cast in character

  • (HD) Prestige Worldwide: Full presentation - extended from sequence in film

  • Boats-N-Hoes music video

  • (HD) Dale vs. Brennan - Various encounters taken from scenes in the film

  • (HD) The making of Step Brothers - 22 minute Featurette

  • (HD) The music of Step Brothers - 18 minute Featurette

  • (HD)Charlyne moves in - a short spoof about a girl living on the set of the film

  • (HD) L'Amour en Caravane - A spoof that documents a staged on set romance between Richard Jenkins and Mary Steenburgen

  • (HD) Red band trailer

  • (HD) BD Previews

  • BD-Live functionality enabled by release day





Final Thoughts:


Step Brothers is an over the top comedy from the rather twisted minds of Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and Director Adam McKay. It bombards the audience with a profusion of twaddle that can be quite funny at times but becomes tiresome very quickly. Sony has supplied a generous amount of bonus supplements (all in high definition!) some of which is exclusive to Blu-ray Disc. Fans can look forward to its high definition presentation which looks and sounds great.













Ralph Potts
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews





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15
#3 ·
Hi Ralph,


What films of his do you not like or find as bad as this one? Just curious



Tom
 
#5 ·
I find Ferrell a little over the top in most of his performances, but I realize that is how the director/writer want him to play. I still found myself laughing at most of the jokes in this movie, even though many of the jokes were just plain stupid. I guess I just can't help but find these movies amusing and that is good enough for me.
 
#6 ·
This film is an excellent example of how out of touch Hollywood is with the rest of the country.


An excellent cast is wasted. A storyline with great potential for humor is reduced to juvenile pranks, and the end now shows that given the right provocation, children can be beaten by adults - because kids can be mean.


The film confuses humor with cursing, reducing even the "adults" in the story to throwing "F" bombs like candy at a Christmas parade.


I just have a hard time believing that actors actually read the script for this turkey before signing on. It is an embarassment to everyone involved, save Will Ferrell who seems to be looking to cash in as many times as possible before becoming the next Chevy Chase or Eddie Murphey.
 
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