Grimsby

Although it contains some memorably outrageous comedy moments, this movie (retitled The Brothers Grimsby for North America) is such an awkward combination of gross-out humour, violent action and sappy sentimentality that it never becomes a classic. Sacha Baron Cohen creates yet another lively alter ego as lager lout Noddy, although he isn't nearly as fully formed as the indelible Ali G, Borat and Bruno.

Noddy Butcher lives in Grimsby, northeast England, with his girlfriend (Rebel Wilson) and 9 or maybe 11 kids. His main passions in life are football and beer, then he learns that his long-lost brother Sebastian (Mark Strong) is alive and working as a super-spy. So Noddy heads to London and crashes Sebastian's latest mission, protecting a model-turned-philanthropist (Penelope Cruz). In the havoc, the brothers end up on the run trying to both clear their names and prevent an impending terror attack. This takes them to South Africa and Chile, as they're pursued by both a villainous thug (scott adkins) and a ruthless assassin (Sam Hazeldine) hired by Sebastian's boss (Ian McShane). Along the way, they're assisted by Sebastian's love-lorn colleague (Isla Fisher), locals (including Gabourey Sidibe and Barkhad Abdi) and the gang from Nobby's hometown pub.

The script merrily pushes the boundaries of taste, often with riotous vulgarity. Some of this is so jaw-dropping that it's funny (an unforgettable scene involving a herd of elephants), while other jokes are harder to take (a running gag about HIV infection). Most of the humour centres squarely on male genitalia and anal insertion, which gives the film an oddly homophobic undercurrent that will only amuse the drunken yobs in the audience. More interesting is the wildly astute pastiche of Britain's perceived benefits fraud subculture. But director Louis Leterrier (The Transporter) seems uninterested in this, instead focussing on intensely brutal action, which results in an unusually high body count for a comedy.

The other false note is in the frequent soft-focus flashbacks to the brothers' childhood, which are never undercut by any humour at all. But never mind, Baron Cohen is on fine form as the inconsistently idiotic but increasingly likeable Noddy, and the terrific Strong dives fully into the mayhem. The other roles are barely sketched in, as if all of their best scenes were left on the cutting room floor in an effort to keep the plot moving. Each of the supporting roles offer plenty of possibility, but the adept cast members barely get to be placeholders. Especially the gifted women: Cruz, Fisher, Wilson and Sidibe are capable of so much more than this that their sidelining makes the entire film feel half-baked.

Rich Cline

Watch the trailer for Grimsby: