THE BROTHERS GRIMSBY (2016)

This film has been directed by Louis Leterrier from a screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen and Phil Johnston and though perhaps better than some of Mr. Cohens’ previous entries, still manages to give off an air of desperation and “how low can we go to achieve a laugh,” type of mentality. I don’t really like low humor or the kind of humor that only someone of a degenerative mind set would find amusing. I think Sacha Baron Cohen is a very good actor when given a proper script to work from (SWEENEY TODD) but he has achieved his success through creating a series of characters in his scripts that are so off the wall that audiences either love them or completely reject what is happening on screen. BRUNO was a good example of his having gone too far as to what the movie going public finds funny and acceptable. Cutting edge humor is a good thing, but it relies on knowing when to step back over the line, if for no other reason but the audiences’ sake. The cast includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Strong (a very fine actor I’ve never seen in this type of film before), Rebel Wilson, Isla Fisher, Penelope Cruz and Gabourey Sidibe.