Based on the time I had available for a movie yesterday, my choice was between Holmes and Watson and Spiderman. I whiffed on my choice, opting for Holmes and Watson merely because it started a bit earlier. I found one redeeming quality in this film that managed to make some of my favorite actors look like buffoons. Not contextually, either. Buffoons for agreeing to do this film. I am really looking forward to the film about Stan and Ollie, which stars John C. Reilly (who plays Watson in this film) as the portly Ollie. Interestingly, Steve Coogan, who plays Stan in the upcoming film is also in this loser.
Sherlock Holmes (Will Farrell) is a loner child whose only friend in school is the janitor's son, Watson. After getting his entire class expelled, Holmes receives personal attention from his teachers, making him the smartest, most intuitive person to ever walk the planet. So we are led to believe. In his pursuit of Moriarty (Ralph Fiennes), Holmes and Watson must solve a mystery and save the Queen. They are aided in their endeavor by a pair of American women, Dr. Grace Hart (Rebecca Hall) and Millie (Lauren Lapkus). Together, they must solve the mystery of a Moriarty imposter and save the legend of Sherlock Holmes.
Holmes and Watson is pure tripe. The foundation of this film, the screenplay, was the product of Director Etan Cohen who has written a few other mediocre films (Idiocracy, Men in Black 3 and Tropic Thunder). The latter being the only one of those films I enjoyed. One of the issues that plagued this film seemed to be Cohen's incoherent and deranged preoccupation with Donald Trump. It created an incessant anachronistic thread that ran throughout the film. The film had plenty of other anachronisms, borrowing ideas from modern pop culture like pay-per-view and selfies. But the Trump gags were not only not funny, they were awkward and contrived. The story itself was incoherent as well. It bounced around, trying to outwit itself. In the process, it came across as a muddled mess that was only moderately funny. The only part of this film that mildly amused me was a Broadway sequence that was surprisingly well executed in a film that was otherwise tepid, at best.
Will Farrell is a funny guy. His sophomoric humor gets on my nerves at times, but he has done some films that have been exceptional. I liked the Daddy's Home films. I think Farrell has better name recognition, but John C. Reilly is a much better actor with range that extends beyond just comedy. An example of a great film he did in a serious role is We Need To Talk About Kevin. He was a bright spot in this film, just with his presence. Rebecca Hall also has that affect on me. She is a great actress. I recall her being the bright spot in another film that was mediocre, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. I am inclined to see any film Ralph Fiennes is in. He was underutilized in this film, but would not have been able to do much to save it. This film was an incredible waste of talent. It's shameful.
Holmes and Watson eked out a PG-13 rating from the MPAA. It's a good thing, since the sophomoric humor is not likely to appeal to older audiences. The film is replete with crude humor, sexual references, countless references to drug use, a bit of violence and adult themes. There is almost a preoccupation with heroin, cocaine and masturbation. While those are attempts to incorporate some ideas from the era, they fall flat in an otherwise anachronistic film. I am not going to put an age rating on this film. It is not for children. But, in my humble opinion, it is not for adults either. This is going to be a rare film that I rate below five of ten. I usually find redeeming qualities in a film enough to get them to an even five, but this muddled mess just doesn't deserve it.
My quick recap on this film: Don't waste your time. Don't waste your money. In my case, I saw the film for free, using my A-List subscription. However, I can never get that hour and a half of my life back. This film is a waste of time, money and celluloid (or digital media as the case may be). It is a shame that the talent in this film was wasted on such a ridiculous, ill-conceived story. Utter nonsense. 4/10.
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