The Brothers Grimsby

Sasha Baron Cohen was once king.  He created shockingly offensive personalities that pushed comedic boundaries few have been able to emulate.  Most notably, Borat, whose film turned both Sasha and his alter ego into cultural icons. You would be hard pressed to find someone(above the age of 12) who hasn't heard the name Borat, let alone seen the film. As we watched Borat go from one crass stunt to the next we wondered "can he really get away with this?" With Borat a distant memory, Cohen once again attempts to make the climb towards relevancy with The Brothers Grimsby.  Like they say with professional athletics, the hardest part isn't getting to the top, it's staying there.  In the case of The Brothers Grimsby, Sasha isn't going to be a repeat champion.

The film centers around Nobby, (Sasha B. Cohen) a well intentioned yet bumbling moron, who has been searching for his brother, Sebastian (Mark Strong) for the past 28 years. Nobby finally reconnects with his brother only to find out Sebastian is a MI6 agent who is on the run.  The two team up to help take down a terrorist plot and clear Sebastian's name. As you may have guessed, action and stupidity ensues.

My largest frustration with The Brothers Grimsby may lie in its own mediocrity. It is by no stretch a quality film, but not quite bad enough to discount entirely.  Somewhere deep in the movie's core is a funny and surprisingly touching premise.  The brothers' relationship, when explored is rather compelling, if only it wasn't followed by jokes involving genitalia. Humorous moments are quickly overshadowed by cheap one liners, disrupting a few promising bits.  I found myself laughing, but those laughs were fleeting and by the halfway point they had almost entirely subsided.

Sasha has become his own worst enemy.  He set the comedic bar so high years back, that now anything less feels disappointing.  As usual, there is a built up expectation to shock the audience with something they've never seen before. He succeeds on that front, but with situations far more gross than funny. It is as if he fears not including 'those' infamous scenes is somehow cheating the audience.  Frankly, he isn't wrong, we expect them, making it all the more tragic when they don't work.

In a nut shell:  I don't see myself revisiting The Brothers Grimsby. Sasha has become a slave to his old formula. He has the aptitude for comedic greatness, but is so fixated on the most vulgar aspects of humor that he cannot actualize his potential. I laughed, although I can hardly recall why.  Still, the film is watchable; never did I feel bored or in a rush to leave. Many of the jokes don't land, but if you are looking for gross humor, this isn't the worst thing out there. (1.5 out of 4)