The Brothers Streep are a creative, funny and multi-talented acoustic comedy act from Cape Town, South Africa, whose comedyballads span everything from flavoured milk to movie stars. Formed in 2005 by Dylan Hichens and Simon van Wyk, The Brothers spent their early years performing their harmonious blend of comedy and music in the Cape Town band scene, before branching into the comedy arena.
Performing as both a duo and full band, The Brothers Steep have made their mark locally by playing at major South African events such as Rocking the Daisies, Synergy, The 1st Annual Comics Choice Awards and Grahamstown Festival, whilst expanding their horizons internationally by playing to Anna Paquin on The Graham Norton Show and debuting their own full length show at The Gilded Balloon as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
They're best known in South Africa for their performance on the first and last episode of SA Idols Season IV and for their quirky songs written for adverts, Geely and DSTV. One thing you may not know about The Brothers Streep is that they are absolute movie fanatics, who are ready to discuss anything from Anchorman to Zoolander. We managed to get an inside scoop on what movies made it into Dylan and Simon's top ten!
"I would ideally like to be played by a muppet."
I can't watch movies without...
- Dyl: Saying out loud what other films and television series the actors have been in. It’s really annoying. Well, I find it rewarding but for those around me it must be annoying. Sometimes I’ll even pause to IMDb the actors on my phone. Help me.
- Simon: A good cup of tea. And if it’s an extra special movie, I throw in some chocolate. Unfortunately Ster-Kinekor and Nu Metro don’t offer this Combo Deal yet.
Which famous people share your birthday?
- Dyl: I’m honoured to say I share my birthday with the lovely Anna Paquin! It sort of makes me feel okay about singing our song to her... like we’re buddies. I’m less honoured to say I also share my birthday with Jennifer Lopez... although that ‘On The floor’ song was fun! (24 July)
- Simon: Nelson Mandela. Which I guess means I also share my birthday with Morgan Freeman. (18 July)
What is the first film you remember watching?
- Dyl: I think one of the first films I went to see at the cinema was Aladdin. Or The Mask. I can’t be sure. I do know that I had to go see Homeward Bound with my mom when my sister and dad saw Jurassic Park. I was too young.
- Simon: That’s a toughy. One of the first would have been that movie where a 14 year old has a huge crush on his teacher, uses a machine to make himself older, masquerades as the new principal, they fall in love, he convinces her to not marry her fiancé, then he has to shrink back for some reason, and when she finds out who he really is... she jumps into the machine, makes herself his age, and they live happily ever after. It’s really quite creepy if you think about it.
What's the worst movie you've ever seen?
- Dyl: There are a lot of bad movies out there. Recently I went on a binge of watching low budget shark movies. But they’re actually quite fun if you go in with the right expectations. However, I think the worst film I’ve seen in terms of expectation to disappointment ratio has to be Boondock Saints 2. Terrible!
- Simon: It’s either Transformers 2 where a human manages to die and go to Transformers heaven, or Skeleton Man, where there is quite literally no plot - just a skeleton riding around on a horse killing people for no particularly good reason.
Which movies have made you tearful?
- Dyl: I actually find myself a bit of a sucker for emotional scenes in movies lately. So pretty much all movies with some sentiment. But not just the usual ones. I get a lump in my throat when Kenny redeems himself and goes to Heaven in South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut! I think most recently I got tearful in Toy Story 3. Okay, I wept.
- Simon: Probably I Am Sam. Far more sad than its’ sequel, I Am Legend.
Who is the most famous movie star you've ever met?
- Dyl: We met Graham Norton a while ago, he’s starred in some strange roles in some strange movies. Oh, and we met Noel Fielding in Edinburgh. Now if only they’d make that Mighty Boosh film! But I guess the most famous would be Jennifer Coolidge.
Simon: Jennifer Coolidge. But you would probably know her as Stifler’s Mom from American Pie.
What's your favourite movie line?
- Dyl: “Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.” - Yoda
- Simon: Aaahhh... so hard to choose. Perhaps just pick any line from The Lion King script.
Who would you choose to play you in your biopic?
- Dyl: I always thought it would be amazing if The Brothers Streep were spoofed in an animated show like South Park or Family Guy. It would be great for us. Not many other people around the world would get the joke.
- Simon: I would ideally like to be played by a muppet.
If you could produce a movie, what would it be about?
- Dyl: I’m quite into the whole realistic dysfunctional family dynamic movement ...think American Beauty, Little Miss Sunshine, Shameless... so probably something people can relate to and laugh at because they know what it’s like. A comedy drama I suppose.
- Simon: For ages I’ve had the idea of doing a movie about a washed up South African pop star who decides he wants to revive his career and finds out that the only music which is making money are Afrikaans treffers. He goes on to launch himself as an Afrikaans star, despite never having spoken Afrikaans in his life. Hilarity ensues.
Dylan's top ten movies of all-time...
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (or The Greatest Sequel of all time...) ...it’s usually a close competition between Empire and Jedi, but after much thought, the battle on Hoth, meeting Yoda and getting some quality Boba Fett time beats the battle on Endor, watching Yoda die and seeing Boba swallowed by the Sarlacc so early into the film.
- American Beauty ...my first real glimpse into the style of the dysfunctional family dynamic. Amazing performances by everybody and secured Kevin Spacey’s place in my top actors list.
- The Truman Show ...I really liked this concept. I’m not sure why because I certainly don’t enjoy Big Brother. I’ve also always preferred Jim Carrey in a slightly more serious role.
- Shaun of the Dead ...Simon and I watched this film together and were plunged into the world of great British comedy – a genre that would only expand and become more influential with time.
- Toy Story ...this film seemed to come out at just the right time for me. I completely connected with it in every way - the characters were strong, the animation was incredible, and I was delighted to see the third instalment fifteen years later do so well!
- Love Actually ...one of the great romantic comedies. I love the cast. I love the soundtrack. I love Martin Freeman in any movie he’s in, even though this is one of his more obscure roles. Its place in my list is only strengthened by the tradition of watching it every Christmas.
- The Big Lebowski ...I saw this film quite a long time after it had been released and had become familiar with the Coen Brothers' style in the meantime. It is certainly my favourite of theirs. It’s quirky, funny, psychedelic, mundane and macabre all in one.
- Zoolander ...this was an introduction for me to the new style of comedy that seems to have come along. The setting is strange, the characters are left of centre, the dialogue is bizarre and the end product is hilarious! I still think Zoolander is one of the strongest comedies that has come out over the years.
- Jurassic Park ...as a child I wanted to be a palaeontologist. I collected all the weekly issues of that magazine with the dinosaur skeleton you could build, I had interactive dinosaur computer games, I even dug up some dirt once and went at it with a paint brush in an effort to discover a fossil. Needless to say I loved Jurassic Park ...when I was old enough... and have continued to watch it repeatedly. John Williams’ score still gives me goosebumps.
- High Fidelity ...it’s got everything; music, relationships and a bit of Jack Black. One of the few films where I’ve actually read the book too. The translation to screen is great and John Cusack’s talking to camera really works well!
- Inglourious Basterds ...I enjoy a bit of violence from time-to-time and Tarantino does it well! There’s something about this film that makes me want to watch it over and over. Maybe it’s the revenge plot, or Brad Pitt’s awful Italian, or Christoph Waltz’s terrifying changes from wacky to sinister. All good fun.
This list will probably change over time, but my base for selecting these films would be that they’re films I’ve returned to again and again.
- The Lion King and Shaun of the Dead ...it’s a tie for first place, and I can’t choose between the two. The Lion King brings excellent dialogue, an epic story, with great songs. Shaun of the Dead is hilarious, and far cleverer than people might realise – it also introduced me to a world of British comedy.
- The Muppets ...it’s funnier than most comedies I’ve seen this year, and it’s catchy positivity makes it hard to leave this film without a smile on your face.
- Memento ...only Christopher Nolan could create a film that has a twist at the very beginning of a story, that technically happens at the end – amazing.
- Toy Story 3 ...it’s rare to see sequels grows from strength to strength, but this film proves that Toy Story is easily one of the greatest trilogies ever made.
- Scott Pilgrim vs. The World ...another Edgar Wright film, and a great example of creative editing and storytelling.
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ...in the past my award for offbeat animated film would have probably gone to Emperors New Groove, but as I’ve watched that movie to death, it now goes to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which I’ve yet to grow tired of.
- Super 8 ...okay, it’s probably a tie between Super 8 and the Star Trek reboot, but LOST’s JJ Abrams needs a credit in this list, so it seems fitting to include one of my favourite movies of last year.
- Liar Liar ...whenever I revisit this movie I’m surprised at how funny it is, and impressed by the warmth Jim Carey displays in it. I was tempted to choose The Boat That Rocked, Death At A Funeral or Forgetting Sarah Marshall in this place, but went with Liar Liar because it’s stood the test of time.
- Batman Begins ...it helped redefine the superhero genre, and kick-started another great film trilogy which is very hard to fault.
Top Ten Movies with... is a people series on SPL!NG, featuring a host of celebrities ranging from up-and-coming to established personalities from all industries including, but not limited to: Internet, Radio, TV, Film, Music, Art and Entrepreneurs. It's a chance to discover who they are, find out where they're at and to get a fun inside look at their taste in movies.
