I'm a fan of Will Ferrell, but even more -- a fan of John C. Reilly. Still, I expected this film to come up a little short. I was wrong. Despite so much screen time dependent on their natural funniness, Ferrell and Reilly don't falter. Their sense of comedic energy and friendship are well matched, and they've got great chemistry together.

Add to that a great supporting cast. Steenburgen and Jenkins are solid as the boys parents (although, I secretly would have liked "Coach" in the dad role). And Adam Scott as the younger brother aptly brings to the film a bad guy you love to hate.

Improvements? The first and second acts are developed well, but the third act could have used a little more attention. More specifically, the "jobs" sequence needed more scenes, we didn't get enough of the "and time passes" feeling to justify the internal changes of the step brothers and the father. I think this was a missed opportunity to give the production some added depth. That said, and despite it, the climax still successfully impacts emotively.

As with other Apatow pictures you can expect a certain amount of obscenity. Overall, not an out of the park home run, but a solid hit.

-- Books by Author/Illustrator Ross Anthony --