Anyway, Dargis takes issue, not only with the smug step brothers of the title, but also with the portrayal of the women they love. "So, once again, there is the spectacle and pathos of the sexually stunted immature male, here times two: Brennan (Mr. Ferrell) and Dale (Mr. Reilly)," Dargis writes. "Mary Steenburgen, as Brennan’s mother, Nancy, takes the fantasy parent role: she’s saintly, sexy — her relaxed, ready smile telegraphs satisfaction — and endlessly patient. She looks good for a woman who would have had her youngest at about 14."

Dargis goes on to skewer the film further for its semi-insulting portrayal of both men and women, but really, it seems like the cardinal sin in this comedy is that it's not especially funny. I don't really mind so much if comedies don't show women in the best light or elevate the adolescent male psyche, so long as they're entertaining. But Dargis' description of Ferrell and Reilly — "They’re losers that only a mother, an entertainment manager or a gang of self-satisfied comedy insiders could love" — makes me think this movie is both vaguely insulting and entirely unfunny. Come on Apatow and Co., we've seen Freaks and Geeks, and even the actual adolescents in that show were more mature than these dingbats. You can do better. Whatever, I'll probably see it anyway. (You're talking to a woman who saw Let's Go To Prison in theaters. I have no standards.)

Once More To The Well Of Goofball Comedy [NYT]

Earlier: What To Expect When You're Expecting Too Much From A Movie
Now That Her Paycheck Has Cleared, Katherine Heigl Calls Knocked Up Sexist

While there may be some truth to Heigl's complaint that Knocked Up "Paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys," it also raised her tinsel town profile by leaps and bounds: she's now making $6 mil a picture and starring in big budget studio films like 27 Dresses. Speaking of which, can Katherine really be that concerned with perpetuating stereotypes of women when she's starring in a movie with the tagline, "This January, always a bridesmaid, never a bride"? To portray women as marriage-obsessed isn't sexist at all, right Katie?

Heigl Knocks 'Knocked' [New York Post]
Heigl Voltage [Vanity Fair]

Earlier: Didn't Like Knocked Up? Screw You
What To Expect When You're Expecting Too Much From A Movie
The Celebrity Sartorial Health Care Complex