Beware of any movie whose trailer only gives you an idea of the way things are and not where things are going. That's primarily the thing Step Brothers suffers from most -- a strong, interesting premise, but no real direction. And it's not as though the film has no ammunition; with a comedy team like Will Farrell, John C. Reilly, and director Adam McKay (whose three-year-old daughter Pearl became an Internet sensation for screaming about overdue rent), the potential for on-screen funny is exceedingly high. Unfortunately, the hollow, front-heavy script can't squeeze more than an hour out of the premise, and once that's been milked, the film really grinds to a halt.

The humor is crude and dirty, as you might expect, and although you do get a surprising amount of mileage from what's there, you realize at about the one-hour mark that Brennan's and Dale's lazy ways can only go on for so long, both story-wise and comedy-wise. Something has to change, and it does so only grudgingly, very unconvincingly, and with absolutely nothing on the line after the fact. The script makes a halfhearted attempt at giving the two goofballs a deadline for getting their act together, but it never takes shape, and the film is then left to fall flat on its face as the end credits (don't) approach (fast enough).

Still, Farrell and Reilly are apparently in this one for real, and their comedic talents do as much for the audience as they can with all their eggs in one basket. Step Brothers could have been a surpising, late-summer box office romp with a bit more work and a better story.

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