A Reel Review: PAIN & GAIN

 

Based on a true story, PAIN & GAIN is director Michael Bay’s look at the American Dream and how its social divide can make stupid people do stupid things. It is heavy on its message, light on the action, and often ventures into new territory for Bay.

Daniel (Mark Wahlberg) is a con-man/bodybuilder who believes strongly in the American Dream. Not convinced he is getting all he deserves, he decides to clean out Victor (Tony Shaloub), the richest man in the gym. To pull off the heist, Daniel recruits fellow bodybuilders Adrian (Anthony Mackie), and Paul (Dwayne Johnson), who is a born-again Christian fresh out of prison.

What separates PAIN & GAIN from Michael Bay’s previous works is that the film does not rely on spectacle to get its point across. The movie starts very strongly in introducing the characters and their predicaments. The story focuses on the three knucklehead bodybuilders, and the movie works in that department because Bay lets the characters drive the story; the dumb decisions that they make and the consequences keep things moving along. Probably the best part about it is that the audience already knows the characters even before the movie begins; it’s the poor envying the rich and wanting more.

The film unfolds as a violent satire, with just enough seriousness to keep the story grounded. However just when things seem promising, Bay just can’t resist his urges and injects a lot of his middle-school humor into the story. Off-color jokes and gags keep popping up dealing with racism, overweight people, women, erectile dysfunction, and homosexuals. It’s hard to tell if Bay is just letting his characters be assholes or if he is just showing his inner thirteen year-old boy. Teens may get a large amount of chuckles out of it, but adults will simply roll their eyes in disbelief at what they just heard and saw. It’s frustrating because just when things are looking promising, a bad ill-timed joke derails it all.

With only one foot-chase, a dozen gunshots, and only one (!) explosion, the film is very light on action. Bay’s directing style doesn’t suffer from the lack of spectacle. His camera does some wild and fun things and everything on the screen; cars, boats, houses, oceans, horizons…and women, look stunning.

The cast seems to be having a blast with their characters and they clearly buy into their parts. Mark Wahlberg plays a despicable character, as does Tony Shaloub, and they are both fun to watch. The show is stolen by Dwayne Johnson, who plays a dumb, goofy and lovable born-again Christian. It’s hilarious to see Johnson as a born-again struggle with his faith (and his sobriety), and he seems to have no fear when it comes to the outrageous things he is asked to do. Ed Harris eventually shows up as a private detective hot on the heels of the crooks, and he brings a much needed maturity to the film. In fact, Harris is so good he often feels out of place; it feels like Daniel Day-Lewis on the Muppet Show.

Other than a few excess characters and useless scenes which drag on too long, PAIN & GAIN has no real mortal sins as a movie. It is well-shot, well-acted, never boring, and the story itself has meaning. The film is a bit of a head-scratcher because when Bay isn’t making a clever social statement, he’s putting oversized sex toys on the screen. PAIN & GAIN gets a lot right, and it gets just as much wrong.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it