Will Ferrell Movies

Crude, juvenile, and proud of it, Step Brothers stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as two 40-year-old men, both living at home and leading the lives of 13-year-old boys, who are thrown together when their single parents (Mary Steenburgen, Parenthood, and Richard Jenkins, Six Feet Under) get married. Brennan (Ferrell) and Dale (Reilly) start out hating each other as only teenage boys can–but things get even worse for their long-suffering parents when they become best friends. Step Brothers gets most of its mileage from very lowbrow humor, but hidden among the farts and masturbation jokes is the suggestion that while these guys may be emotionally arrested, so are Brennan’s hotshot business executive brother (Adam Scott, Tell Me You Love Me) and his high-fiving frat-boy pals, just in a way that’s condoned because it makes money. Also crucial is that Ferrell and Reilly capture adolescence in all its gruesome glory–the awkward insecurity but also the egomaniacal, arrogant self-centeredness. Mind you, this isn’t the American version of The 400 Blows or anything–one of the movie’s setpieces features Brennan tea-bagging Dale’s drum set (and if you don’t know what tea-bagging is… well, you will after seeing this movie). All in all, Step Brothers combines the adolescent humor of producer Judd Apatow (Superbad, Knocked Up) and the comic chemistry of Ferrell and Reilly (who previously costarred in Talladega Nights)–fans of either will find plenty to enjoy. –Bret Fetzer

The 1970s are back in all their excessive glory in Semi-Pro, an uneven but not uninspired Will Ferrell comedy about a professional basketball team that puts more energy into insane promotional schemes than playing well on the court. Ferrell stars as Jackie Moon, a former pop sensation who made enough money from a couple of hit records (the biggest: “Love Me Sexy”) to buy Flint, Mich.’s the Tropics, a disorganized bunch of losers with one genuine talent named Coffee Black (Andre J. Benjamin). Despite knowing little about the game, Jackie is the Tropics’ coach as well as a player, though his greater love is in coming up with such bizarre marketing stunts as wrestling a bear and attempting a motorcycle jump over a line of cheerleaders. When the Tropics look like they might be shut down, Jackie desperately agrees to let washed-up veteran player Monix (Woody Harrelson) take over coaching, turning the team’s fortunes around–just a bit. The film’s thin premise opens the floodgates to a series of absurd vignettes that suit Ferrell’s silly-satiric brand of frat humor very well. There are choice moments, such as Jackie’s table-shoving tantrum at a meeting of team owners (presided over by an aghast but tolerant commissioner, adroitly played by David Koechner), and his rapid escape from the Tropics’ arena when he realizes everyone in the stands has won free corndogs (at Jackie’s expense). Other performers shine, too, including Will Arnett and Andrew Daly as a glass-half-full/glass-half-empty pair of game announcers, and Maura Tierney as Monix’s former love interest. The script is by Scot Armstrong (The Heartbreak Kid), and the film is the first directorial effort of producer Kent Alterman (Mr. Woodcock). –Tom Keogh