(Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures)Pitchfork: 4/5
Rated: R
Released: April 26, 2013
Thanks to the “Transformers” franchise, people think they have director Michael Bay pinned, that a couple of bad films (the last two) automatically make him a bad director. His new film, however, is out to prove people wrong. “Pain & Gain” is excessive, ridiculous and glorious.
Exhilarating and funny throughout, “Pain & Gain” is a thrill ride that doesn’t let up. This is one hilarious film. The cinematography has Bay’s self-indulgence of course, but the movie does look great. “Pain & Gain” has explosions, fast cars, hot women, excessive patriotism and a strong, exaggerated sense of manliness. But “Pain & Gain” is self-aware of these tropes; the film pokes fun at them, while embracing them in the process.
In the film, Mark Wahlberg plays bodybuilder Daniel Lugo. His character is a man with all these great ideas, but he doesn’t know how to execute them properly. Lugo works as a fitness trainer at the Sun Gym. After interacting with Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub), a dirty rich businessman that made his fortune with the drug trade, Lugo comes up with the idea to kidnap and extort Kershaw for every dime he has.
Lugo’s friend Adrian Doorbal, played by Anthony Mackie, and recently released criminal Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) help Lugo in the kidnapping and extortion, which throws them into a world of trouble. The three fail to murder Kershaw after he signs away all his finances. Kershaw then hires a private investigator (Ed Harris) to catch the three kidnappers who are now living the high life. But, the good life is short lived thanks to each character’s blatant stupidity. Wahlberg does a fantastic job carrying the movie, but Johnson is, by far, the greatest part of this movie, and he steals the limelight.
Surprisingly, the movie is a satire of the other side of the American dream, the people who try and get rich the easy way, but ultimately fail. These kinds of people truly believe they are smarter than everyone else, that they know something everyone else does not and think they will succeed in their get-rich-quick scheme.
The plot shows that these people never learn from their mistakes, and the movie never misses a moment to showcase stupidity. There is a reason why the get-rich-quick scheme rarely works.
This is “rags-to-riches and back-to-rags” movie follows the same lines as “Goodfellas” or “Scarface,” but with bodybuilders. It is supposed to be funny, crude and taken with a grain of salt. “Pain & Gain” compels attractiveness and charm that is undeniable. Give Bay another chance; this is a really fun movie.
Reach the reporter at tverti@asu.edu
