Viewed in
2013
Formats
Movie theater.
Premise
Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, and Anthony Mackie star as bodybuilders who kidnap a rich douchebag (Tony Shalhoub) to get his money.
Loved
Ed Harris.
Liked
Most of the charming cast.
Disliked
Discomfort knowing this was based on true events.
Thoughts
Overall, I was thoroughly entertained.
This movie would've failed without this cast. Playing dumb in a likable way is actually a skill, and Wahlberg was on his game. Mackie shined comedically, delivering laughs going over-the-top and slyly. But of the trio, Johnson's was the most fascinating as an introspective lowlife in constant ponderance.
Flanking them was Shalhoub, perfectly cast, oozing dickishness that you love to hate. Ed Harris pulled a Nate Dogg-like performance, took the story to the next level, cool as ice. To my bemusement, Joe Jr. from While You Were Sleeping, who got microwaved to smithereens in Kick-Ass, got another fun grizzly death scene.
Despite the small-scale story, director Michael Bay's razzle-dazzle worked in a tongue-in-cheek way. Expect poetic slow-motion shots and his "camera revolves around a wall multiple times seemlessly while action happens on both sides" shot. The characters' outlandish behavior and exceptionalism jived with the grandiose visuals.
From the first shot of Wahlberg doing crunches on a mural to look like a drawing flexing its biceps, I was in on the silly, dark comedy fun. It was fascinating that despite how unlikeable most of the characters were, I still found them, and the movie, endearing. The bodybuilders' cluelessness was dialed all the way up to 11. Their outrageous failures attempting to kidnap/extort/kill/hide bodies should've felt cartoony. But the charming performances and style somehow made it plausible that they could mess up so many times and still get away with it.
There were flaws. Ken Jeong's cameo should've been a riot, but maybe I've gotten tired of his singular schtick. In addition, the movie had way too many internal monologs from way too many characters that never added to the story.
However, the biggest issue was a philosophical one. Am I bad for laughing along to a movie that, in a way, kept celebrating horrifically real events? I understood the "truth is stranger than fiction" angle, but every time the film reminded us that this was a true story, it made me feel bad for the unfortunate people involved in this sordid tale. Personally, I was fine with making a dark comedy based on something colorful but gruesome, but to keep playing the "this actually happened!" card, felt disrespectful to the victims.
Dark comedies will always be hit-or-miss with audiences. As a fan of the genre, I enjoyed Pain & Gain mostly thanks to the game performances and visual style.
