The Brothers Grimsby - Review

    Sacha Baron Cohen is funny. Characters such as Ali G, Borat, Bruno, and General Admiral Aladeen were all daring in their own way. And his unplanned appearance as Ali G at theAcademy Awards was perhaps one of the funnier moments of the night. But what’s presented in The Brothers Grimsby is neither clever nor satirical, and though it does have it’s moments, is often unfunny.

   The dimwitted Nobby (Sacha Baron Cohen) resides in an old English town, Grimsby, with his loving girlfriend (Rebel Wilson) and their nine children. For the last twenty-eight years, Nobby has been searching for his long lost brother Sebastian (Mark Strong). When two reunite is an oddly timed situation, Nobby finds out the secret about his brother; he’s been a highly trained MI6 agent for years.

   No role is particularly hilarious but Sacha Baron Cohen can be commended for his commitment to the absurdity of it all. The moments that do have a bit of humor to them largely come from the interaction between Cohen and Strong. Strong himself plays the role fine and commits as well, but the end results still pale in comparison to what they should’ve been.

   The comedy in general is all very crude and vile, with very little left to the imagination. A few sequences stick out but beyond those select scenes The Brothers Grimsby just isn’t funny. The action, when it’s there, is surprisingly decent for a comedy but that has to be credited to director Louis Leterrier rather than Cohen himself.

   Overall The Brothers Grimsby is just another run of the mill comedy with nothing to truly set it above the rest. Its reliance on dimwitted humor or over the top disgusting jokes doesn’t allow any of the jokes to actually and when they do, they don’t have the affect they should have. There are funny scenes, but certainly not enough to justify spending money to see this film. (3.5/10)

   So what did you think of The Brothers Grimsby? Have you seen it and what's your favorite Sacha Baron Cohen role? Share, comment below, and as always return to I Am Sam for weekly reviews and insight.