When the trailer for Pain and Gain came out, I was pretty excited about the release as were many of my friends who enjoy comedies and also love working out at the gym. From what I could tell from the commercials the film was about three bodybuilders trying to take some criminal down and take his money. The movie starred three proven actors Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Anthony Mackie as the three bodybuilders. It was directed by Transformers' franchise director Michael Bay. It seemed like it had all the necessary ingredients to make a great comedy, but I was wrong. It was actually quite a tragedy.
The "R" rating probably should have sent warning signs, but sense many comedies now do have that "R" rating I didn't think twice about it even though there is no need for the material that causes movies to have that rating to make a comedy better. It simply does not need to be there, but that is for another post... Anyway, what made Pain and Gain a terrible comedy and a weak tragedy is that I could not relate to the characters, which is (in my opinion) one of the most important keys to any good story or film. The three body builders did not fit any of the "clicks" in the gym. The movie took the stereotypical "meat-head" bodybuilders and brought it to the extreme where the characters were no longer believable.
The three guys on a mission failed to relate to me because all they cared about was getting big and living the wealthy life even if they destroyed someone else's life in the process. There was a lack of internal struggle or even a moral struggle for the characters committing the crimes... with the exception of Dwayne Johnson's character who often did express his concerns about the crimes they were committing. The lack of internal struggle made it so I could care less for the outcome at the end of the movie, which made watching the second half of the movie more and more painful to watch as it went on.
The only positive I could take from Pain and Gain was that it was based on a true story, which did provide some moral lessons at the end. One lesson is that if you are going to spend so much time and effort into carrying out a plan to commit multiple crimes, why not apply those skills and determination into something to improve your life in an honorable way. But perhaps the most important lesson that can be taken from this movie is to be content. It's appalling and sad how someone could be so dissatisfied with their life that it leads them to a destructive path. Now I'm not saying it's a bad thing to try to improve your situation or advance in life and in your career. Striving to be the best you can be is healthy, however, not ever being satisfied with where you are in life is not.
Watching this movie about three guys who destroyed their lives and the lives of others because they did not know how to be happy and content with themselves was excruciating to watch. Although the movie did offer some kind of epiphany (important realization) at the end, the characters did not experience that for themselves, which is absolutely necessary in a tragedy. The conflict resolution for this comedy was that the movie ended and the three stupid criminals got what was coming to them. I only wish the resolution came an hour sooner because two hours and twenty-nine minutes was a little long for a tragic comedy. An hour and a half would have been sufficient for this not too comical comedy that got less and less funny and more and more painful to watch as it dragged on.
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