Pain & Gain Movie Review

Pain & Gain (2013)

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Written by: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (screenplay), Pete Collins (based on the magazine articles by)
Directed by: Michael Bay
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie, Tony Shaloub, Ed Harris, Rob Corrdry, Rebel Wilson, Ken Jeong, Michael Rispoli
Rated: R
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Plot
A trio of bodybuilders in Florida get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong.

Verdict
It's an absurd tale about a trio of bumbling criminals, and what's crazier is that this is based on a true story. This oscillates between over the top absurdity and stylish editing. The true story is more serious and absurd than comedic, but this frequently opts for an easy joke. The characters serve the plot instead of the story. This doesn't create characters, they're just props. I'd like a more coherent story and more motivation.
It depends.

Review
While this is based on a wild true story, the script does make several changes to streamline this for film. The original story is riveting, the movie isn't as it dilutes the seriousness and creates a screwball comedy. I read the true story and saw it unfold. This movie isn't what I read. While the actual story has hilarious moments arising from the sheer absurdity, this is less serious relying on cheap jokes. At one point we're told "this is still a true story" when it's only half true. The actual story is better.

Personal trainer Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) longs for more. He believes that hard work is the key to get ahead. It's just like lifting weights. Work had to gain. He doesn't like the life he has, but he knows if he believes enough he can manifest the life he deserves.

Dwayne Johnson, Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Mackie play Paul Doyle, Daniel Lugo, Adrian Doorbal

Lugo envies a rich client, Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub), who has all the material wealth Lugo believes he deserves. He goes from wanting to be rich to deciding to kidnap someone. There's comedy to this. Lugo is the mastermind without a clue, basing his plans on what he's seen in movies. He recruits Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) and Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson). They think he's a genius, unable to see through Lugo's charade.

The trio kidnap Kershaw and coerce him into transferring his assets to them. Setting up their base in a sex toy warehouse seems like too easy of a gag. It's not clever, it's easy. While they're initially successful, they're flying blind with no idea what they're doing and no long term plan. They start burning through the money Lugo takes the house and car, and his neighbors are enticed by his charm and the prospect of a friendly neighbor. Lugo's home safety seminars endear the neighbors all the more. That's contrasted by Lugo hanging out with the neighborhood kids like he has never interacted with children. He bullies and taunts them while playing basketball. While it's funny to see a grown man act like a child, it makes a joke of how serious Lugo's crew's crimes are.

Mark Wahlberg plays Daniel Lugo

We wonder how they aren't caught. They make no attempt to hide their newfound wealth, but all too often if you drive the nice car and claim to live in the nice house, that's enough to convince most people. No one liked Kershaw, so he's not missed.

This also aims to be stylish with slow motion, freeze frame, and on screen text. At one point text on screen claims "this is still a true story," but that's only somewhat true. It's a farce, generating humor by attempting to portray fiction as truth. This stretches the story at nearly every turn. I wouldn't take issue with it, if the movie didn't intentionally try to mislead.

Doyle spirals and Doorbal needs more money. They plan to extort someone else. The plan worked so well before, so they think. They don't realize that they just got incredibly lucky. The plan goes off the rails almost immediately. Kidnapping soon becomes unintentional murder. This is a tale of the most inept criminals that accidentally succeed the first time. It was never a question of whether they'd get caught, only how quickly it would occur. They get much farther than expected.

I get why Lugo is unsatisfied, but the leap to violence is a stretch at least by the character portrayed. Why do Doorbal and Doyle follow him? The characters often seem to serve the plot with no depth. They're never portrayed as dark as you'd imagine someone capable of these crimes would be.

I like the end credit that shows the actors and the people they portrayed along with their prison sentences. The only issue is that there was no Paul Doyle. He's fictional. It's another tale.