The real enemy of "Step Brothers" is Brennan's egregiously successful younger brother Derek (Adam Scott), a superconfident go-getter whose mercenary brand of ingratiating narcissism makes him a parental favorite -- and unites Bren and Dale in their loathing.

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Learning to negotiate a hard-bargain without being ingratiating and without trading power for sympathy is not beyond the ability of women.

FORBES: Negotiation is a Skill and Neither Gender is "Better"

Linklater wickedly suggests that this ingratiating style, combined with Christian piety, consorts well with a tyrannical Southern insistence on civility.

NEWYORKER: Funny and Funnier

Ms. Ephron's Mike McAlary is a hard-drinking tough-guy Irish reporter who lets fame and money go to his head and turns into a jerk, and Mr. Hanks, here as always, is too ingratiating ever to let himself become truly unlikable.

WSJ: The Who-Cares Test | 'Lucky Guy' | Mike McAlary |Nora Ephron | Tom Hanks | George C. Wolfe | 'Kinky Boots' | Harvey Fierstein | Cindy Lauper | By Terry Teachout

Traffickers, experts say, spent the Fox administration hunkering down, ingratiating themselves to communities, buying food and paying for medical bills, offering restless young people a sense of identity and hard cash.

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