Ryan Gosling Reveals His Secret Favorite Movie: It's a Dumb Comedy Classic
Ryan Gosling's favorite movie isn't Drive. It's not La La Land, either. Turns out, the guy who made you cry in Blue Valentine is secretly obsessed with... Step Brothers.
In a chat with Still Watching Netflix while promoting The Gray Man, Gosling listed off some of his go-to comfort watches: Bloodsport (because of course), Ghost Rider (which stars his partner Eva Mendes), and then, with zero hesitation, Step Brothers. His exact words:
"I feel like you tell people your favorite movie is On the Waterfront when it's really Step Brothers. I could always watch Will Ferrell. And John C. You could be in a bad place in your life, you could be in a great place in your life — it's always the right time."
And honestly? He's not wrong. Step Brothers has only gotten funnier — and weirder — with age. Released in 2008, the film stars Ferrell and John C. Reilly as two man-children forced to become step-siblings when their single parents (played by Richard Jenkins and Mary Steenburgen) get married. They hate each other, then bond over shared chaos, and pretty soon, they're building bunk beds and starting a business called "Prestige Worldwide."
Critics were split at the time — Roger Ebert famously said the movie made him feel "unclean" — but audiences didn't care. It made solid box office, built a cult following, and helped launch a thousand "Boats N' Hoes" karaoke nights. Literally. A Boats'n'Hoes PAC was even registered in Texas in 2014.
Then there's the Catalina Wine Mixer. What started as a fictional finale gag in the movie became a real annual event on Catalina Island, where fans gather to drink overpriced pinot and relive the magic of "Por Ti Volaré."
A sequel was once on the table, too. Will Ferrell confirmed in 2018 that he and Reilly had brainstormed a follow-up where Dale and Brennan follow their parents into a retirement community, convinced they've earned the right to retire as well. Unfortunately, director Adam McKay moved on to other things (The Big Short, Don't Look Up, you know the vibe), and the sequel fizzled out.
Still, the movie keeps finding new fans. Macbeth director Justin Kurzel once named Step Brothers as one of his all-time favorites, and Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard admitted the ending makes her cry.
And if you need to revisit the greatness, Step Brothers is available to rent on Prime Video.