It was only a few years ago that I found out that Catalina Wine Mixers were a real thing. And that they were a real thing thanks solely to Adam McKay’s Step Brothers, in which Will Ferrell’s Brennan delivers an unforgettable rendition of Andrea Bocells’ Por Ti Volare to a crowd of inspired onlookers. Onlookers who are so inspired that they have visions of John C. Reilly’s Dale as a centaur and Brennan as a randy lumberjack. Powerful stuff. It’s a serious event. According to the Catalina Island website, the upcoming one this year has live music, wine tastings from more than 18 wineries, a whiskey and spirits tasing as well as an exclusive wine pairing lunch. It’s kind of a big deal.
While teetotal folks such as my good self might be happier at an establishment such as Weenie Hut Jr’s (see SpongeBob SquarePants if you’re not getting that admittedly niche reference), the Catalina Wine Mixer is in the major leagues. A fact which Brennan is determined to make clear to his father after initially being kicked out of his chance at the music event by younger brother Derek, stating that people have killed to be in the position he’s in. After Dale gives an inspiring/confounding speech about wanting to be a dinosaur when he grew up, Brennan and Dale are eventually inspired to get up on stage. Dale starts strong with some powerful beats on the drums whilst bigging up Prestige Worldwide, and Brennan is finally inspired to join him after hearing Derek’s bullying, overcoming his fears and belting out some fine cords.
I genuinely can’t listen to this song seriously now when it occasionally comes on the radio without automatically shouting ‘BOATS AND HOES’ in my head. The ‘Boats ‘N Hoes’ song even became so popular that Adam McKay, who also sang the song’s chorus over the phone, wanted it to be expanded into a whole rap album, but the people involved became too busy and had to drop the project. As seems to be the tradition with a lot of Ferrell’s films, most of the dialogue was ad libbed, and the scene apparently only required one take to achieve the final product. The brief clips of Reilley as a centaur and Ferrell as a lumberjack are particular moments of comic genius, satirising theatrical romance and modern comedy in a subtle but hilarious fashion. It’s hard to not see that room in the lumberjack sequence and not think of Ferrell’s iconic performance in the ‘More Cowbell’ SNL sketch. It IS movie quality, and I’ll take it.