Although Step Brothers offers some outrageously funny moments, it too often misses on its jokes and relies on cheap, raunchy humor to get its laughs. The writers followed the recent trend in Hollywood to move toward more R-rated comedies, and the movie suffers because of it.

The premise is simple and stupid, but not in a bad way: Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are 40-year-old men who still live with their single parents but are forced to move in together when their parents get married.

The plot is basically an excuse to throw two very funny comedians in a room together and have them act as immature as possible, which can be a really good or a really bad thing depending on the writing.

In this case it’s a mix of the two, as the jokes start flying and occasionally hit their marks. It’s the kind of comedy where you’ll go a good five or 10 minutes without laughing and start to give up on it, and then Ferrell or Reilly will do something hilarious and win you back.

What’s not winning, however, is the crude humor and language, which accounts for most of the unfunny parts of Step Brothers. There’s some really disgusting and sexual stuff in here, so be prepared if you decide to watch it.

There’s also a missed opportunity to deal with the theme of the movie, namely men who won’t grow up, which is increasingly common in our culture today. It’s not that I’m expecting a Will Ferrell movie to be intellectual in any way, but at least some examination of the movie’s theme would have been appreciated.

If you’re a Ferrell fanatic or in desperate need of a comedy fix, Step Brothers might be worth a shot for you. If not, you won’t miss out much by waiting for the DVD or skipping the movie entirely.