Step Brothers Poster Review

This is an original and ingenious poster design, it essentially mocks the stereotypical "family photo" by having the characters dress up and pose in the normal "family photo". the comedy comes from the incongruity of the two characters age and how they don't fit in with this "family photo" .

Representation

The film is about two men who haven't moved out and become step brothers living together the film follows the two characters as they bond and grow with each other in a very funny manner. This poster plays off of that and is trying to represent the two characters so that the audience can get an idea for what kind of film lies ahead. The comedy throughout the film is very incongruous and so the poster try's to portray that it does that by placing the two characters in a family photo typical of young brothers as memories for there parents to keep. However these two are men and so it is very odd for them to be doing such a shoot, this immediately sets a tone for the film. The characters are represented as being very childish as portrayed by the setting of the poster and they are also shown to be quite green, this is also represented by the poster as the audience can clearly see the two characters are both looking the wrong way and not at the camera, this creates comedy and builds a picture in the audience's head as to what to expect from the two characters. They are also both men dressed like twins and dressed in middle/upper class clothes this again helps to create comedy and helps to develop the characters further by making them look like they've been dressed by their mum although they are both in there 40's, this creates comedy and reinforces the comedic expectations for the film, it also gives us an indication as to what lifestyle they live based on what they're wearing and the conventions of the class they come from. 

Narrative

The poster gives a good indication as to what the film is about. The main aspects of the poster that do this are:

• The title 
• The image and its setting 
• The positioning of the characters and there expressions
• The strap-line 
• And the actors

These things give away a lot about the story, the title references the main plot of the film, the image setting and composition of the characters reinforces the title as they are in a family style photo shoot giving away the family aspect of the film and giving away the genre as its a funny image giving conventions of a comedy, the strap line reinforces the idea of it being a comedy as it uses a typical phrase and applies it in an extreme manor making it incongruously funny, And finally we are reinforced that its a comedy because of the actors listed and shown on the poster as they are both actors known for playing big roles in hit comedy films almost exclusively. 

Genre 

The genre of the film (comedy) is portrayed in the poster in a number of different ways. For example the two actors who are shown on the poster are almost exclusively known for acting in comedies and for being comedians, this immediately indicates to the audience that this film is more than likely a comedy. This is then further reinforced by the poster using setting and stereotypes to create incongruous comedy, the film plays on the fact that they are both way too old to be living at home and to be having "family pictures" taken of them, this incongruous comedy confirms to the audience that this is a comedic film as it follows the conventions of a comedy by having the comedic actors and incongruous image.