"Pain & Gain" Review

The American dream.

People spend their whole lives chasing it.

But what exactly IS the "American dream"? It's tough to put a finger, or in the case of Miami bodybuilder Paul Doyle, a toe on it, but one thing is certain. When it comes to the "American dream", not everyone envisions the same thing.

Witness the case of gym rats Daniel Lugo, Adrian Doorbal, and Paul Doyle in Pain & Gain, a true-life caper of three Miami bodybuilders working together to violently extort a multimillionaire in order to live lives of luxury. That posh lifestyle is what Lugo, Doorbal, and Doyle consider to be their "American dream".

As it turns out, Michael Bay (Transformers) is the perfect director for a movie as wildly chaotic as Pain & Gain. Miami is the perfect setting for the story, as the backdrop is appropriately flashy, sexy, and dark enough to keep the appalling true events believable. Scribes Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely also make this true story consistently engrossing by exposing the scathing, dark humor that lies within the events. Bay earns stellar performances from his entire cast, and proves that he can actually handle a real story rife with human drama.

As for the cast, let's face it. No movie about dimwit, bodybuilding criminals is complete without Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. For a former pro wrestler, Johnson's come a long way in his acting career; though I don't recall ever seeing him in anything and saying "Oh, The Rock was absolutely terrible!" Now granted, maybe The Scorpion King and Race to Witch Mountain weren't exactly Citizen Kane, but Johnson has been choosing his roles more wisely as of late. From what I've heard, February's Snitch featured his most sincere and thought-provoking performance to date. As the God-fearing drug addict Paul Doyle in Pain & Gain, Johnson maintains another sensitive, thought-provoking turn that's probably my favorite from him so far. It may still be a light at the end of a long tunnel, but if he keeps choosing complex roles that prove he can do more than beat people to a pulp, I think the Academy may come knocking on Johnson's door sooner rather than later.

Mark Wahlberg again shows that he can make the most out of any material he's given. As the bodybuilder and bumbling criminal mastermind Danny Lugo, "Marky Mark" is gleefully excessive, even if his character's increasingly poor decisions effectively put the "pain" in Pain & Gain.

As for Sun Gym newbie Adrian Doorbal, Anthony Mackie gets to flex more than his biceps. Turns out, the dramatic Hurt Locker star has some hysterical comedic muscle that's most effectively seen when dealing with the emasculating side effects of steroid use. Mackie also shines in his scenes with the incomparable Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect) as his "freaky" muse.

Rounding out the supporting cast are Tony Shalhoub, Ed Harris, and Rob Corddry. Shalhoub plays Victor Kershaw, the smarmy deli sandwich and drug kingpin who lives that "American dream" that Lugo and the guys are after. Ed Harris makes a strong turn as Ed DuBois, the retired private investigator who Kershaw hires after the police fail to pursue his case against Lugo. Rob Corddry also stars as John Mese, the manager of the "supergym" that Lugo and Doorbal work at. All three are perfectly cast, and never feel squandered. Kudos to Bay for allowing the plethora of talent at his disposal ample time to shine.

At first viewing, I didn't really notice anything inherently wrong with Pain & Gain. If there's anything truly negative to say, it'd be that it gets a little painful to watch the protagonists essentially dig their own graves for two hours. After about 60-90 minutes and a seemingly equal amount of boneheaded decisions, you can't help but think to yourself, "How stupid can these guys honestly be?"

Let it also be known that Bay's trademark misogyny is still at work, as Bar Paly only really comes off as eye candy in her role as the stripper Sorina Luminita. She was an integral part of the operation in real life, but she feels slightly exploited in the Hollywood version. That's just Michael Bay though, so if you didn't like the Transformers movies for how he showcased Megan Fox and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, you probably won't be a convert of his after seeing Pain & Gain.

There are also some issues with product placement that come off as inconsistent for the mid-90s setting. For example, I'm pretty sure that there were no purple, 12-taco party boxes from Taco Bell or Xbox 360 controllers laying around back in 1995. However, these are minor, blink-and-you'll-miss-em errors that don't detract from the overall impact of the film.

Even though the actions of the main characters prove to be more of a "pain" in the end, there's far more to be "gained" in what I would call director Michael Bay's finest film yet. With a strong cast, engrossing story, dark sense of humor, and stylish setting, Pain & Gain affirms Bay's career and shows that he doesn't need talking robots or decimated cityscapes to make an entertaining movie. Definitely worth seeing on the big screen to get the full effect of the larger-than-life personalities involved.

8/10