A film starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly used to be an event. Alas, things have changed … and I found myself—like much of the rest of the world—waiting to see Holmes and Watson on home video, because I wanted to put off what looked like a supreme letdown.
Well, it’s out on home video now … and it’s indeed an extreme letdown.
Ferrell is painfully unfunny as Sherlock Holmes, while Reilly fares a little better as his sidekick, Watson. Ferrell adapts a vocal affectation that more or less guarantees this period-piece comedy will be a total drag; in fact, it’s almost completely devoid of laughter. There are a couple of good jokes involving not-yet-illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin, and a gag involving a poorly placed nest of killer bees got a chortle out of me—but that’s it.
Ferrell can’t get a good movie to save his life right now, and that’s depressing. Green-light that Step Brothers sequel, and get him out of this terrible slump. But, please, for the love of Pete, don’t make a sequel to this one.
Holmes and Watson is available via online sources including iTunes and Amazon.com, as well as DVD and Blu-ray.