The Sunday Mail
IT recently came to my attention that while this column is called “The Big and Small Screen”, it has placed more emphasis on cinema with virtually nothing on television.
While I do have a marked fondness for the big screen, television really is where my heart is. So ZBC and DStv, consider yourself put on notice!
In the coming weeks, I intend to highlight what is new, hot and what is a bust, both locally and internationally, in the world of television. Expect spoiler filled reviews and analysis.
That said, this week I will share my thoughts on one Sacha Baron Cohen.
Has the dude finally lost all his marbles?
His latest release, “Brothers Grimsby”, is a thing of utter filth and our rather conservative regulatory authorities are going to excrete bricks as they review the flick.
It is my civic duty to warn everyone who might happen to come across a copy of the DVD on the streets to not risk taking it home.
“Brothers Grimsby”, is a British/American spy comedy starring among others Cohen, Mark Strong, Rebel Wilson and Penelope Cruz.
Nobby Butcher (Cohen) and his younger brother Sebastian (Strong) are separated when their parents die but reunite after 28 years.
Unfortunately, due to growing up on opposite ends of the class spectrum, the two are as different as night and day.
Nobby is an alcoholic residing in the small town of Grimsby with wife Dawn (Wilson) and their 11 children, while Sebastian has become one of Britain’s top spies.
While on a routine mission, the two cross paths and are forced to reunite to prevent philanthropist Rhonda George (Cruz) from detonating a massive viral bomb.
It sounds like your regular spy spoof — and it could have made for a watchable flick were it not for the heavy Sacha Baron Cohen influence.
As producer, writer and star, Cohen has too much control over the final product and it is a wonder he got actors of Cruz, Wilson and Strong’s calibre to sign on the project.
I have nothing against Cohen or his crude humour. I actually enjoyed the “Ali G” series of films and found “Borat” and “The Dictator” somewhat palatable.
Cohen’s claim to fame is his relentless pushing of the envelope in as far as gross and totally unacceptable humour (which he claims is satire) is concerned.
One does not go to a Sacha Baron Cohen movie to be entertained. You do it to see how far he will go this time.
And in “Brothers Grimsby” he somehow outdoes himself: juvenile jokes, poking fun at people with HIV, and all-around nudity and sexual innuendo.
There is a running gag in which an HIV positive kid gets shot repeatedly and his blood spills into the mouths people like Daniel Radcliffe and Donald Trump. Never mind what you think of Trump. This was cringe-worthy, bottom-of-the-barrel, immature humour at its worst.
There are virtually no performances of note to talk about and the cameos are shocking at best.
The action sequences are very video game-ish. The film is total garbage and I sincerely hope the Censorship Board does the right thing.
