Movie Review: Pain and Gain

I feel like this movie got panned and I believe it was wrongfully so. The second I saw the trailer, I thought, man this has some potential even though Michael Bay is directing it. I say this, because its well documented that I hated all three Transformer movies, and am deathly afraid of what he will do with the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. I do love Armageddon though. Can't get enough of that Aerosmith tune. Anyways Pain and Gain was perfectly cast. It was great to see Tony Shalhoub in a role that isn't Monk. I almost jumped to my feet when Ed Harris showed up on screen, but it was 11 at night and my bed is really comfy. I had no idea he was in the movie, I guess I could have read the cast on IMDB or the DVD case, but I enjoyed the surprise.

Synopsis: Mark Wahlberg's character, Danny Lugo, is a ex-con who becomes a personal trainer. Lugo is sick of the rich business men who come into his gym and aren't in shape. He believes that since he is at his tip top shape that he deserves the american dream. He just wants a lawn to mow. It seemed that he was a nice guy deep down and just wanted what everyone else had. He attends a conference headed by a motivational speaker and decides to take action and achieve that american dream. His plan is to kidnap Tony Shalhoub's character, Victor Kershaw, and extort him for all he is worth. Kershaw is the owner of a Schlotzky's deli in Florida. By the way, this movie is based off of a true story. I don't know how close it follows the true tale, but some latter scenes in the movie are hard to watch and I hope some are exaggerations.

Lugo recruits Paul Doyle, played by the Rock, who is also an ex-con but also a reformed Christian. He is working at the local church and working out with Lugo at his gym. Doyle can't find a job because of his record so he is persuaded to join the team. The third and final piece of the puzzle is Adrian Doorbal, played by Anthony Mackie. I've seen Mackie in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Adjustment Bureau, and Gangster Squad and have enjoyed his work thus far, and this movie is no exception. Doorbal is a member of Lugo's gym and has been shooting steroids to get "swol." He finds out that he now suffers from ED and needs money for the medicine to get him up and going again. The three of them are hilarious together and play the muscle bound dummies to a t.

Of course, they struggle with the kidnapping and go through several plans before achieving their goal. After kidnapping Kershaw, they try for weeks trying to get him to sign over all of his belongings. Doyle, being a born again Christian disagrees with a lot of the methods being used to extort him. The Rock has come a long way as an actor. I remember the days of the Scorpion King where he didn't say a word and just had to swing a sword. I knew he was capable of more considering I've seen his entire wrestling career and know he can talk. But Pain and Gain showed me that he play a whole range of characters in one movie. The nice polite muscle bound Christian, tough convict, dopey sidekick, enraged coke addict and much more. He really spread his wings on this one. Lots of craziness and hilarity ensues. Its a very dark comedy and I think its worth a watch or two. My favorite part is when the Rock is BBQing some severed hands, waves to the neighbors and a graphic comes on the screen stating, "Yes, this is still a true story." Awesome.

I give Pain and Gain 4 out of 5 Burning Lariats

Rated R
Run-time 129 Minutes

Movie poster provided by amazon.com.