Now ‘Milford PA' is

up on the big screen - On John C. Reilly’s chest in ‘Step Bros.’ By Nick Troiano HOLLYWOOD — A single T-shirt making a brief appearance in the new film “Step Brothers” is causing many local moviegoers to take a second look and leave the theater asking, “What are the chances of that?” Worn briefly by one of the main characters, the orange T-shirt of interest has black lettering on it reading: “Milford, PA.” The movie is about two grown adult men who become stepbrothers after their single parents marry. Both men, played by Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, have never left their homes or held jobs. Though they are 40 years old, both are cast as having the personalities of teenagers. Susan Matheson, costume designer for the movie, had the job of matching outfits to their characters and lifestyles. She found that vintage T-shirts were a great way to accomplish that task. Matheson told the Courier that ever since she moved from where she was born in South Africa to Maryland, she has been collecting T-shirts that were interesting to her. This came in handy for the movie, by which time she had amassed several hundred to choose from. The difficult part, she said, was narrowing it down to the 15 or so that appeared in the movie. Each was a very deliberate choice. So how did Milford get its ten seconds of fame? Matheson said that she subscribes to Frommer’s “Budget Travel Magazine” and read that Milford was named one of the “coolest small towns in America.” She recalled the town name when she saw the shirt in a Goodwill store and purchased it. From there, it made its way into the movie. The shirt is worn by Reilly, in a scene in his bedroom. At the time, he was also wearing Star Wars Chewbacca mask. Matheson said that she wanted to illustrate that since they were 40-year-old teenagers still at home, they would presumably still take road trips and summer vacations with their parents. “I wanted John’s character Dale to wear a T-shirt that showed he had traveled far from California, so I thought the Milford, P.A. T-shirt was perfect,” she said. “Step Brothers,” rated R, is currently ranked third in box office.