The latest film from Sacha Baron Cohen includes a hilarious concoction of cock jokes, double entendres, and enigmatic personalities all carefully enveloped into a sentimental and heartfelt spy comedy.
The Brothers Grimsby is based on a story of two brothers who find each other in adulthood after being separated as children. Sacha Baron Cohen plays Nobby Butcher, a football loving father of 11, living in the secluded town of Grimsby in Northern London populated by welfare needing families. Nobby’s character is useless and dumb but has an obsession with affection and family, while Mark Strong plays Sebastian, a M19 agent who is heartless and lonely made by his strict upbringing. The two reunite at a peace conference where Sebastian is targeting a terrorist group led by Rhonda George (Penelope Cruz), however, with Nobby’s unexpected visit, Sebastian becomes wrongfully targeted which ensues a series of comedic adventures as the duo travels to South Africa and Brazil to save the world.
Along the way in the search and escape, the brothers hide in the most unexpected places such as an elephant’s genitalia where they become attacked by a herd of male admirers while inside the animal. As a Cohen movie, this comedy does not shy away from his signature use of cock jokes throughout the film, and that only under these contexts make it seem appropriate. The story plot and comedic timing are spot on and relatable, with (unofficial) appearances of Daniel Radcliffe and Donald Trump conveyed only through the contraction of AIDS. And although many of the references are irrelevant and seeming irregularly interjected, they blend well with the overall thematic setting of the film. This good humored film is universally relatable by using a standard construct of a spy movie with an unexpected comedic twist.
The Brothers Grimsby will be released in theaters Friday, March 11th.
