Holmes and Watson: Fans not amused by Ferrell and Reilly team-up

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graphic by Emily DiPasquale

Holmes and Watson does little to amuse audiences.

by Emily DiPasquale and Amanda Krandell

Fans all know Will Ferrell and John Reilly, the big comedic goofs from movies Talladega NightsStep Brothers, and Anchorman 2.  For their new movie, Holmes and Watsoneveryone was prepared for an astonishing performance, but hopes were dashed when fans came to the realization that the movie is not funny. In fact, it’s terribly boring.

Both Ferrell and Reilly have been in average movies recently so the audience expected that this movie would be a comeback for them. Wrong. There were frequent times where it became a comedic mess. It all begins when Holmes and Watson join forces to solve a murder in Buckingham Palace. They uncover clues and make lame PG-13 jokes. “Bromance” related jokes made us super confused and they led away from the plot into dead end jokes. 

Holmes and Watson are assigned to solve a murder case in four days or the queen dies. Holmes’s mind is supposed to be brilliant, throughout the movie they incorporate some jokes and mess-ups just to keep it interesting. The jokes are not consistent with the Victorian era– for example, the jokes are modern. Holmes tries to take a selfie. Not funny. 

The parody destroys the plot and goes a little beyond unfunny. In fact, many critics have rated this movie to be the worst of all time. When scrolling through Rotten Tomatoes, this movie received a shocking 10% and a 3.4/10 on IMDB. Sandy Schaefer of Screen Rant sums it up best, “Holmes & Watson is a lazy comedy that wastes a fun premise and talented cast on tired jokes and tasteless gags.”

The movie was a mess but of course if you enjoy Ferrell and Reilly together, you’ll be a little more sympathetic to this movie’s shortcomings. Our over-all rating would have to be a 5/10.