Step BrothersMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Step Brothers."

Gifts + Promos

The Vow Free Gift

Buy tickets & receive a FREE 3-Month Love Forecast from Astrology.com!

Fandango Bucks

Send your sweetheart the gift of movies this Valentine’s Day!

Journey Sweeps

Enter for a chance to win a trip for 2 to Nicaragua!

Interactive Oscar Ballot

Who's taking home the Oscar? Cast your vote & challenge your friends on Facebook!

Need Help?
So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 51 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Iffy for 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 80
    Washington Post | Stephen Hunter

    So childish it seems to arrive in diapers, and that's not bad; it's good. Read full review

  • 75
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Step Brothers is a Judd Apatow production and it's the closest that the Apatow factory has come to spitting out a dumb-and-dumber high-concept comedy. Read full review

  • 63
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Starting at infantile and regressing hysterically from there, Step Brothers flies on the comic chemistry of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. Read full review

  • 60
    Los Angeles Times |

    Step Brothers is not a retread so much as a reduction, stripping away the magical pretext of "Elf" and the period trappings of "Anchorman" to get to the heart of the thriving man-boy genre. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    America loves dysfunctional families, but haven't we seen enough middle-aged losers who haven't grown up? Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle |

    Essentially a throwaway film. Read full review

  • 50
    Variety |

    The film is funny at times but lapses into the reflexive vulgarity that seems to be the default mechanism of the Apatow machinery. Read full review

  • 40
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    The only thing that can explain middle-aged men acting like 6-year-olds is mental retardation, and there's nothing funny about that. The idea of middle-aged actors playing adolescents isn't much funnier. Put it this way: Such an idea does not make for an inexhaustible source of comedy. Read full review

  • 40
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    They're losers that only a mother, an entertainment manager or a gang of self-satisfied comedy insiders could love. Read full review

  • 38
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    In Step Brothers, the language is simply showing off by talking dirty. It serves no comic function, and just sort of sits there in the air, making me cringe. Read full review

View more reviews for Step Brothers on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Foul-mouthed Ferrell comedy isn't very funny. No kids.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this is a far raunchier comedy than the last collaboration between stars Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, and director Adam McKay, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and much more explicit in how it stoops for laughs. It's loaded with crude, rude, sexual, and obscene language and situations, including visible male genitalia and glimpses of porn and a vocabulary that ranges from "p---y" to "f--k" and everywhere in between. There's also lots of product placement, and the film's half-hearted messages and morals -- about family, being who you are, and accepting people -- are drowned out by its loud, boisterous vulgarity.
  • Families can talk about Will Ferrell's appeal. What makes something a "Will Ferrell comedy"?
  • What age group do you think movies like this one are aimed at?
  • Families can also discuss the movie's essential question: When should children leave home?
  • When does parental protection become more a burden than a shield?
  • What challenges do real blended families face? What fuels sibling rivalry in real life? Also, is it ever worth sacrificing your individuality and passion in order to get ahead?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: The film attempts to convey some messages about the importance of family and being who you are, but they're definitely secondary to all of the crude jokes. Two characters dress in Nazi and Ku Klux Klan uniforms to scare prospective home buyers away from a property. A supporting character commits adultery. A rap song notes that when out of gas, one should "call the A-rabs."
  • rolemodels true0 Positive role models: Dale and Brennan are completely the opposite of what anyone would refer to as role models. They are vulgar, foolish, inactive, and unmotivated-- and that is before they meet each other. Together they terrorize their parents, the neighborhood, and the job market. While there is a half-hearted message about being who you are this is drowned by the film's ridiculous antics. In short, Dale and Brennan are hilarious to watch, but awful to emulate.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Wrestling, scuffling, and tussling; a character knocks another character out; characters are hurled down stairs; a character strikes another in the head with a shovel; two adults fight a playground full of younger children. Children bully grown-up characters into licking dog droppings. Characters watch an action-packed movie.
  • sex false5 Sex: Underwear-clad making out; kissing; upright, clothed comedic sex in a bathroom; implied masturbation; pornography is glimpsed and referenced; a character drapes his testicles (visible on-screen) on another character's property; constant sexual references.
  • language false5 Language: Constant, crude, and rude language including (but not limited to) "f--k," "s--t," "balls," "nutsack," "horses--t," "motherf---er," "p---y," "wiener," "chest pubes," "ball 'fro," "big joint," "man-gina," "sucks ass," "bang," "retard," "whore," "gay," "butthole," "dogs--t," "vagina," "douche," "penis," "butt buddy," "fart," "hos," and "faggot."
  • consumerism false5 Consumerism: Extensive mention and onscreen presence of lots of brands and TV shows and movies, including Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Heinz ketchup, Converse sneakers, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Belkin movers, Pet Smart, Outback Steak House, Hustler Magazine, The Cheesecake Factory, Hulk Hands toys, Sony Vaio, Doritos, Good Housekeeping, The Outsiders, Scarface, Good Will Hunting, Rock of Love, The Apprentice, Star Wars, Guitar Hero, "Shark Week," American Idol, and more.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters refer to "smoking pot" and "smoking a jay" characters drink hard alcohol to excess; characters drink wine.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Step Brothers Featured Trailers + Video Clips

Facebook Movie Fans

Fan Fandango on Facebook