Sometimes
you’ve got to be smart to get away with being stupid. Michael Bay’s latest
offering Pain and Gain is proof that
if a film is going to be silly and ridiculous it has to stay fully committed to
make it work. Mr Bay has taken a break from his goliath Transformers franchise
to tell the real life story of three jacked-up, protein-munching body builders
who get embroiled in extortion plan which goes horribly wrong.
This
story works for the most part because of the performances. Mark Wahlberg plays
Daniel Lugo, a personal trainer who wants his slice of the American dream.
After going to see motivational speaker Johnny Wu (Ken Jeong), he decides to
become a ‘Doer’ instead of a ‘Donter’ and is convinced that nothing should
stand in his way. His opportunity comes along when he meets his latest client
Victor Kerhsaw (Tony Shalhoub) who starts bragging about how much disposable
cash he has. Lugo convinces fellow trainer Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) and
reformed thief Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) to kidnap Victor and get him to sign
over his assets to them. Given that these aren’t exactly criminal masterminds
we are watching the trio continue to bumble their way through their endeavours.
Mark Wahlberg is at his comedic best despite whatever situation he finds
himself in, he still manages to relate it back to his self-help mantras. I’d
liken his performance in this as his roles in Boogie Nights, Ted and I
Heart Huckabees. Dwayne Johnson delivers possibly his best performance to
date, in a role that sees him playing a devout-born-again-Christian after
finding Jesus in prison. His moral compass goes missing as the film goes on
which results in very amusing fall from grace for the big guy especially as he
gives into old cravings. Tony Shalhoub is at his sleazy best as the reproachable
and unlikable victim in the matter. Home grown Aussie comedian Rebel Wilson
plays Anthony Mackie’s nurse/girlfriend and unfortunately she isn’t really
allowed to do anything outside of her usual shtick. I think her best work is
ahead of her and I don’t want to see her just getting type casted as the larger
woman who says inappropriate comments. 
Michael
Bay’s direction is for the most part fairly restrained, well at least by his
standards. He has a fair few of his usual go-to-shots like the American flag
flapping slowly in the wind, Aeroplanes flying low over the Miami Skyline and
beautiful sunset shots. For the most part though I loved that he didn’t have
any massive explosions or drawn out gun battles the likes of which have plagued
his filmography. This is the type of story usually told by filmmakers like the
Coen Brothers or David Mamet, storytellers who are slightly more invested in
character development. I was impressed that Bay took the chance on this one.
This is a real departure from the types of stories he usually tells and has a
fair degree of social commentary to boot. The 90s setting was recreated with
such finesse that I half expected Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett to
be cruising around the same Miami Streets. It’s fair to say that his projects
to date have been the equivalent of a McDonalds meal, tasty but ultimately
forgettable. My only real problems were the film was the length, at over two
hours it felt a tad bloated towards the end. By trimming twenty to thirty
minutes it could have become a far snappier film. At times the pace seemed to
drop off for no particular reason. Also there seemed to be too much use of the ‘Go-Pro’
style camera. The problem being that the digital look was quite jarring when
compared to the rest of the film, it was a flourish that did nothing for the
overall style.
Pain and Gain is
an enjoyable crime comedy with a few twists and turns. The performances of Mark
Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson alone make it worth seeing. This is a bizarre story which really must be seen to be believed. Fans of Michael Bay
will have a ball. Pain and Gain is in cinemas from the 8th of August. If you see the film and agree or
disagree with my review feel free to drop a line below.
- Stu