Grimsby
A new assignment forces a top spy to team up with his football hooligan brother.
Cast
Sacha Baron Cohen – Norman “Nobby” Butcher
Mark Strong – Agent Sebastian Butcher
Penélope Cruz – Rhonda George
Rebel Wilson – Dawn
Isla Fisher – Jodie Figgs
Hilarious
Let me make one thing clear: I can’t stand Sacha Baron Cohen. I really can’t. His over-enthusiastic portrayal of wacky characters makes me cringe. The classic actor who knows he’s funny so really pushes the comedy and therefore gets on my nerves. Characters such as Borat or Ali G don’t amuse me in the slightest. They are classic ‘watched by a sweary group of lads with cans of beer in ther hands on a Saturday night’ features.
I was therefore slightly hesitant about going to watch Grimsby.
..but found it, him and the story absolutely fucking hilarious.
I loved it.
I howled with laughter during it.
Would love to see it again.
Yes, Grimsby completely won me over with its dry humour and often bizarre situation comedy. Helped along by a very ensemble of vastly different cast, the movie consists of a simple plot that is easy to absorb and very watchable;
Two brothers seperated as youngsters go their own ways – one stays in Grimsby and becomes a lout, the other travels the world and becomes a secret agent assassin. Incredibly different lives for them both, hence the hilarity which ensues as both are brought together again under unusual circumstances.
Killing the wrong people, being hunted by police who should actually be on their side, anal mishaps, violent children, injuring each other by accident and teabagging are just a few of the ingredients that make up this farcical flick. And although stupid during parts, it’s hilarious (probably for all the wrong reasons) – and most people would probably think of Grimsby as immature shit. But I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It’s a simple, stupidly funny watch that will fill an hour or so if you need a bit of entertainment on a night where you have nothing to do. It moves at a good pace too which means no lagging, tedious scenes (in fact a bit too good a pace as I missed something which had the audience laughing out loud as I glanced at my phone for a few seconds).
The cast are a wonderfully weird mix of people; Strong looks as though he should be leading a deadly serious assassin movie. He’s moody looking and stern mannered. But then he’s up against Baron Cohen who, rightly, serves as the movie’s clown. He’s wacky, stupid and full of northern attitude – and the worst ideas.
Surrounding these two are a bunch of tough outside-soft inside children who provide a homely backing for Baron Cohen’s character. And one of them comes in hilariously handy when dealing with Cruz’s character Rhonda..
Stir in two chubby chicks (Gabourey Sidibe and Rebel Wilson) for ‘fat fun’ (who isn’t going to laugh or gasp as the sight of Sidibe with her legs in the air?), a gang of rowdy pub dwellers, foul-mouthed support characters and henchmen and bingo – you have a cocktail of comedy cast.
And speaking of Rebel Wilson..
Pitch Perfect
Rebel Wilson played a character different to herself!!
Yes – for once, the Aussie comedienne wasn’t an Aussie comedienne in a movie. I have to say, when I noticed she was part of the cast before seeing Grimsby I knew she would be same old Rebel. Strolling around with a confused-come-stoned look on her face like a stoned autistic teenager, delivering her lines with that classic hesitant voice which trails off slightly..
Totally different.
Love it when that happens, when my expectations are turned around.
Wilson adopts a (British) northern accent and tones down the enthusiasm to play Nobby’s girlfriend Dawn. I had my eyes fixed on the screen, ears listening intently as she made her first appearance. And there it was.. a northern accent. Rebel Wilson was actually acting. I think my mouth dropped open slightly in a, “wow” as I wondered how many days of training it must have taken her to perfect the accent. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against her, I just get bored of people playing – being – themselves in every movie they’re in. Liam Neeson, Brendan Gleeson, Hugh Grant, Rebel Wilson.. they all do it. And it’s boring. Shows lack of talent.
Wilson did good here, broke out of her shell – good job.
The final scene of Grimsby is quite entertaining and set mainly on a football pitch during a game. Suddenly, all of the characters come together and all hell breaks loose when the two lead characters try to prevent a deadly virus being unleashed. It’s stupidly enjoyable, and sees Penelope Cruz get twatted in the face nastily by a young British boy – a moment to savour – and most of Nobby’s friends and relatives running across the pitch in full force to confront Rhonda’s team of nasty guys; a head-on collision between two very different types of people. It’s pitch perfect comedy-wise and brings such a high level of immaturity that I found Grimsby overall 81 minutes of pure escapism.
A movie containing immature dialogue, gags and moments of stupidity can be enjoyable or unbearable. I’ve sat through some awful stuff in the past which have had me sighing or cringing, with a genuine feeling of irritation at how hard the director tried to push the funny boundaries – but went too far.
Grimsby was different. It contained just the right amount of immaturity, saved from going too far by its cast who managed to rein it in when needed so that the story wasn’t lost in fart jokes and pussy puns.
I liked this.
Christ knows how, but I did.
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