BALLS UP
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Paul Walter Hauser, Benjamin Bratt, Eva De Dominici, Daniela Melchior, Molly Shannon, Eric André, Jackson Tozer, Chelsey Crisp, and Sacha Baron Cohen
Director: Peter Farrelly
ROBERT
Sometimes you can go home, and other times you can’t. Despite streaming comedy warning flags, I figured Balls Up would be a refreshing return to R-rated comedy for Peter Farrelly and Mark Wahlberg. Unfortunately, despite the aesthetics and general return-to-the-1990s feel, the sentiment was missed horrendously. I think Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser have decent chemistry, and both Molly Shannon and Benjamin Bratt come out firing in their limited time, but the jokes are outmoded, the setups lack energy, and the set pieces don’t inspire fun. There is too much bad to swallow here.
BODE
If there’s anything notable about Balls Up, it's that it's the only movie to come from an Oscar-winning director with a premise built on one long dick joke. But while it’s admirable that Peter Farrelly hasn’t abandoned his comedy roots, this latest effort is just another reminder of how he’s struggled to fully recapture the lowbrow charm of his earlier works. It’s not without some laughs here and there, but there aren’t enough to distract from the haphazard plotting, surprisingly lethargic pacing, and lack of buddy chemistry between stars Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser. Balls Up? More like balls down.
