Step Brothers Ferrell, Reilly reunite as duo

Bob Hope and Bing Crosby might be on the road to nowhere if they tried to team up today the way they did in old Hollywood. Today's funny folks reunite now and then, like Will Ferrell and John C Reilly in Step Brothers , a follow-up to their 2006 comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. But cynical audiences now might carp at perpetual pairings that were a movie staple in the days of Hope and Crosby, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy or Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon or Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson have hung around together on screen or popped up in cameos in each other's movies, but even they have to be mindful of moviegoers who gripe that Hollywood dishes out too much of the same old thing. "It became a stigma, which is kind of unfair," said Ferrell. "Could Hope and Crosby exist today without getting, like, here they go, another Road picture? Let me guess, Road to Bali. They'll probably open with a song, and then they'll get in trouble, then more of the same. You'd just get picked apart." Adam McKay, director of Step Brothers and Talladega Nights, said escalating salaries also can make it uneconomical to pair up top comedy stars, who can pull in $20 million a movie. Movie marketing is built heavily around solo stars the new Adam Sandler comedy, the latest Eddie Murphy farce and marquee talent sometimes can be reluctant to give up any of the limelight, McKay said. "One of the reasons that this all came together again is that Will is such a cool guy. A lot of the bigger actors or comedians, they don't want to share with another person," Reilly said. "That's why so many of these movies are one-man-show kind of situations, and Will is much more like a theater actor in that way. He's willing to share the stage." Added Reilly, "I would work with people I know over and over if I had my choice. There's a few directors I've met that I really love. There's a few actors that I've met that I really love, and if I did nothing but movies with those people for the rest of my life, it would be great." Step Brothers casts Ferrell and Reilly as middle-aged losers unemployed slackers, one living with his dad (Richard Jenkins), the other with his mom (Mary Steenburgen). When their parents wed, the two become instant family, sibling rivalry springing up from the start.