Playing the title characters, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly seem to be having fun in this lowbrow spoof of Arthur Conan Doyle’s mystery stories. It's too bad their enjoyment isn’t infectious. The film is predicated on the joke that Doyle’s supersleuths are also socially inept dolts; that joke isn't especially funny, but it provides the stars with an excuse to rehash the immature idiot act they did in Talladega Nights and Step Brothers, albeit without much imagination or thematic motivation. Director Etan Cohen (who also took credit/blame for the Ferrell comedy Get Hard) displays understanding of neither comic timing nor variation, which only adds to the general air of desperation. Watching this feels like getting elbowed erratically in the ribs. With Rebecca Hall, Kelly Macdonald, and Ralph Fiennes as Moriarty.
By Ben Sachs
