Turns out Michael Bay can churn out a very engaging film when not saddled with Optimus Prime. Pain & Gain is a very incisive black comedy infusing Bay’s style into a relatively well thought-out screenplay. Now when I hear the phrase “A Michael Bay Production” I’ll wait a second to cringe, instead of just cringing instantly.
The premise is too good for anyone to screw up. Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) is a bodybuilder and a doer. Living in Miami beach, he’s living the American Dream: until he goes broke. He decides then to maintain his dream, he will rob Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub) of all his money. To do so, he enlists the help of some loyal lackies: ED sufferer Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie), lovable ex-con Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson), and “potential” CIA operative Sorina Luminita (Bar Paly). The group eventually succeeds, but not before Kershaw contacts a private eye (Ed Harris) to help him track down and convict the mimbos.
Greed does horrible things to otherwise good people. Pain & Gain uses the American Dream and doing something as a punchline to a sick joke. Daniel robs because he wants the big house; Adrian wants to provide for his lover (Rebel Wilson); Sorina’s American dream is protected by her belief that she is being enlisted by the CIA; and poor Paul does unthinkable acts by referencing a higher power and his need for companionship. The problem with greed is stopping its influence. Eventually, we see these people drop their artificial highs, ending up right back where they started and rejustifying a new potential “opportunity.” Watching each of these men warp their surroundings to fit the narrative they choose to follow, Pain & Gain puts a unique spin on the American Dream is the size of the men. Because of their perceived will power they think they can force any situation to succumb to their brute strength.
With hilarious, amazing punchlines for consequences. Michael Bay sucks at writing jokes, so I can only assume that he pilfered most of these situations from the real life story. Portraying inept con-men is like shooting fish in a barrel, and Bay’s kineticism gives the movie a roid rage of forward momentum when perhaps the leads should take a moment and think things out. The heist planning itself has the feel of other montages in similar films, but only because the leads probably pictured themselves in a planning montage. The running gag of failed kidnapping attempts gets more and more hilarious, culminating in an equally hilarious fate for Victor Kershaw. No movie will ever figure out how to remove finger prints better than this one, and Mark Wahlberg could make a short film on playing basketball with children. At over 2 hours, Pain & Gain’s jokes get a little stale, but shockingly find ways to reinvent the jokes to keep the forward momentum.
The success of Pain & Gain comes from the leads. Mark Wahlberg plays amped up and agitated very well, and his Daniel is built on adrenaline and anger. His charisma and cockiness easily win over the other characters and the audience, giving a nice edge to the stupidity around such a cocksure individual. Less cocksure is Anthony Mackie, playing ED not as sad but more as a nuisance to get around. He has fun in scenes with Rebel Wilson and the boys, but only gets a little bit to do. Dwayne Johnson is the standout though. The Rock himself takes a badass persona and combines it with fervent religious zeal and globs of empathy. He plays Florence Nightingale with Tony Shalhoub extremely well; Johnson overall gives Pain & Gain a little Joe Pesci from Goodfellas unhinged quality. Ed Harris’s straight man nicely fits around the puzzle of weirdos. Rob Corddry, Bar Paly, and Ken Jeong fill minor parts and could easily be excised (Pain and Gain’s biggest Bay drawback is its treatment of women).
Sure not all of the subplots work and some of the characters are mistreated, but somehow that seems to fit Pain & Gain: an incomplete thought from incomplete people. Michael Bay should silence some doubters here that he can write a good story, and the Rock can silence some doubters about his acting ability. Bay must have an affinity for rocks when he makes films: he made the movie “The Rock,” he worked with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Transformers is written with an audience in mind that is dumb as rocks.