The Brothers Grimsby

That was insane.

The over the top scenes where they just take things to the next level left me gasping for air half from laughing half in surprise. There are a few that are going to be hard to forget.

Surprisingly good action scenes every now and then and otherwise well timed humor.

I watched it alone and would not watch it with the wife, but I am going to try just to see her either cringe or laugh at the same scenes. As an experiment.

Nobby Butcher (Sacha Baron Cohen) is an idiot football hooligan from Grimsby and has 11 children with Dawn (Rebel Wilson). He is looking to reconnect with estranged brother Sebastian Graves (Mark Strong). Sebastian is now a gunman for an MI6 offshoot. His investigation leads to actress philanthropist Rhonda George (Penelope Cruz). Nobby's interference causes Sebastian to be blamed for an assassination. Sebastian is forced to team up with his secret brother Nobby.

Nobby is partially annoying. Once I get over it, his idiocy is a little funny. It's all silly and outrageous. I'm half rolling my eyes, and half smirking in disbelief. I'm bored with the poop jokes and the more obvious stuff. The shock humor is over the top. On the other hand, SBC often hits the audience with some unexpected humor. It's a real mix bag.

This film is unbelievably stupid, crass, vulgar and contains surpringly misjudged recurring jokes which feel like they're from 20 years ago... But...I haven't laughed so hard in ages. The laugh out loud gags and set pieces come thick and fast. Utter side splitting rubbish.

The human-based comedy is mostly kept relatively weak in "The Brothers Grimsby," a sleazy but labored spy satire. With its unsettling blend of jocular genre satire, excessive gross-out content, and casually gory, video-game-style combat, the story of two estranged siblings coming together to confront a worldwide terrorism syndicate earns some stray yucks. The laughs per minute are noticeably lower than they were in "Spy," which was a kinder "Spy" from the previous year. It remains to be seen how many HIV-AIDS jokes auds will be ready to laugh at in an otherwise sparsely filled 82 minutes, however certain relevant punchlines may grant these brothers some ephemeral pop-cultural recognition.

Sacha Baron Cohen has ploughed a career as a divisive and controversial figure in the comedy world. From Ali G to Borat, Cohen has proven adept at satirising popular's themes. Cohen's humour often exceeds the limits of good taste whilst conning ordinary people into revealing their abhorrent views in mockumentary style.

The Brothers Grimsby is no exception in the toilet humour stakes - the movie is often depraved, sickening and disgusting. And yet, it must be said that unlike much of the comedy trash put out by movie studios today, there are genuine comedic moments that make you laugh out loud. For this reason, the film is worth watching. Playing a character obviously inspired by Liam Gallagher, Cohen offers a range of puerile, immature and foul-mouthed gags that may be in bad taste or potty-mouthed but are often incredibly funny.

This comic bravery makes the film watchable, although certain elements were tough to entertain (the elephant scene, sucking out poison and so on). But if you dig through the depravity, there are some fabulous comic one-liners and Cohen is supported brilliantly by Mark Strong (who plays it straight) and Rebel Wilson (who really doesn't!)

To be honest, creating a film that delivers such unashamed filth and yet makes you laugh uncontrollably is a work of genius. Pushing the boundaries of decency is Cohen's trump card and if you have the stomach for it, its worth a watch.