Will Ferrell will always have a special place in Christmas schedules thanks to the enduring appeal of the wonderful Elf. However, his latest release, out in UK cinemas, is more of a Christmas turkey than a cracker. The comedy retelling of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson has pulled in some of the worst reviews of the year and currently sits with the unenviable dishonour of the worst possible rating on Rotten Tomatoes. These reviews are no laughing matter. The mystery worthy of the great detective himself seems to be how two cinematic comedy stars managed to make something so utterly unfunny.
New York Times: “More laughs are all that would have been necessary to prevent the stagnation of Holmes & Watson; as the movie stands, smuggling in booze to dispel the sense of dull routine could only help. Sony sneaked this parody into theatres on Christmas without screenings for critics, normally evidence that the film in question is less than the work of a mastermind.”
AV Club: “Might be the worst feature-length film ever made about the “consulting detective” from Baker Street.”
Film Pulse: “So defiantly humourless that it seems to punish any small amount of laughs by doubling down on every joke, reducing them to childishly annoying at best.”
The Hollywood Reporter: “Making their previous vehicles Step Brothers and Talladega Nights seem the height of comic sophistication by comparison, Holmes & Watson features the duo parodying Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous characters to devastatingly unfunny effect. Numerous talented British thespians are wasted in supporting roles in this Christmas turkey that, not surprisingly, wasn’t screened in advance for critics.
“Despite being filmed entirely in England and at numerous historical locations, Holmes & Watson boasts such ersatz-looking visuals that it may as well been shot entirely on sound stages. The overall shoddiness is typical of this feeble sendup that doesn’t even manage to be as funny as the recent Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr versions.”
Indiewire: “The only compelling mystery about “Holmes & Watson” is how so many funny people have been squeezed into such an unfunny movie, a movie that isn’t nearly smart enough to recognize how stupid it should have been.”
Solzy at the Movies: “Holmes and Watson is a brutal cinematic disgrace and a stain to the legacy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s literary detective, Sherlock Holmes.”
HOLMES & WATSON IS OUT NOW
