Page 32 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • May 8, 2013 ‘Pain and Gain’ thrives on incongruities, coincidences by Dennis Seuling The two most amazing things about “Pain and Gain,” the new action flick from director Michael Bay, is that it is based on true events and Bay displays a sense of humor. Bay is known for big-budget extravaganzas in which lots of things blow up. Here, he is far more restrained, taking time to tell a story about an incredible escapade gone terribly wrong. Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub) is a businessman and a client at the gym where Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) works as a trainer. Kershaw is not shy about bragging about his wealth, some of it here in the States, some offshore to avoid taxes. Lugo sees a fast path to the life he wants. He enlists the help of fellow bodybuilders Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) and Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie), whom he manages to convince that kidnapping Kershaw will be a piece of cake. As might be expected, everything that can possibly go wrong does go wrong. Dwayne Johnson, Mark Wahlberg, and Anthony Mackie star in ‘Pain and Gain.’ Bay straddles a precarious fence, balancing laughs -derived mostly from the ineptness of the three plotters -and some gruesome, bloody moments that transpire when ill-thought-out plans go awry. The film goes beyond the typical caper in its detail and nearly unbelievable twists as Kershaw turns out to be a far more stubborn victim than anticipated. When Lugo and his two equally dumb cohorts begin to improvise, they devise Rube Goldberg-type quick fixes that lead to greater complexity and throw them into a panicky tailspin. While the protracted plot plays out, Lugo tries to maintain normalcy by reporting to work daily after taking his turn guarding or torturing Kershaw into signing over all his assets. One of the best ongoing jokes is that Lugo believes he a criminal mastermind when, in fact, he is an idiot. His claim to knowing how to pull off a kidnapping is based on watching movies. Wahlberg plays Lugo broadly, in wide-eyed disbelief as events start to deteriorate. Yet his Lugo perseveres, never pausing long enough to realize the plan has gone sour and he should head for the hills. Ex-con Paul is an alcoholic who tries to maintain sobriety and believes he has found solace in religion. He has a soft heart and is the only one of the three who talks to Kershaw like a fellow human being, even as he keeps him prisoner. Johnson has a tough job, suggesting in some scenes a gentle giant, in others a cocaine-fueled maniac, and his acting skills are not really up to the challenge. Adrian is plagued by impotence and has fallen in love with a sympathetic nurse (Rebel Wilson). He hopes the kidnapping will provide money for the costly medication he needs. His character is perhaps the most interesting, yet receives the least screen time. “Pain and Gain” thrives on incongruities and coincidences, making for a never-dull undertaking. It doesn’t have the crude, off-color humor of “The Hangover” and doesn’t benefit from actors who know how to mine a comic situation even though the dialogue doesn’t contain zippy one-liners. But it fascinates because of the sheer stupidity and audacity of this threesome. The three leads have good chemistry. Their primary weakness is that they are all far more intelligent than the guys they are portraying and this can’t help but show through. The movie is rated R for graphic violence, drug use, and sexual situations.