Parents' Guide to

Holmes & Watson

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Bad slapstick and innuendo ruin good-natured buddy comedy.

Movie PG-13 2018 89 minutes
Holmes & Watson Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 16+

Based on 21 parent reviews

PassOnPolitical
PassOnPolitical Adult
May 11, 2019
age 18+

PASS

Full of distasteful political "humor", sexual innuendos and vulgarities, reference to drug use, and definitely not a family-friendly movie. Aside from all that, it's also just not very funny.
nuenjins
nuenjins Parent
May 8, 2019
age 18+

Ferrels worst casting and script to date.

The movie begins with a glimmer of hope and promise as you see Holmes as a young boy in a semi humorous "origin story", but all hopes slowly fade as you realize that after the first 10 minutes it all goes downhill from there. Enter our lead men. Will Ferrel is a one trick pony, meaning he plays stupid well. But you can't shoe horn that schtick into a "brilliant detective" role. The movie constantly reiterates what a great sleuth he is all the while Sherlock is an utter buffoon throughout who's almost always wrong . Add cringeworthy dialog, constant juvenile sexual jokes that simply aren't original or amusing, then even throw in a terrible musical number and you are left with the worst joke of all, THIS MOVIE.

This title has:

Too much sex
See all 21 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In HOLMES & WATSON, Sherlock Holmes (Hector Bateman-Harden) learns at a young age to keep his feelings deep inside and focus on his education. As an adult, Holmes (Will Ferrell) and his only friend, John Watson (John C. Reilly), attend the trial of Holmes' old nemesis, Professor Moriarty (Ralph Fiennes), and determine that the Moriarty in custody is an impostor, while the real one has disappeared. Later, Holmes is invited to a birthday party thrown for him by the queen (Pam Ferris). There, a corpse is found in a cake, and a note informs them that the queen's life is in danger. A new case is afoot! When an American doctor (Rebecca Hall) and her case study (Lauren Lapkus) enter the picture, Holmes and Watson find themselves befuddled by feelings for the women, and the clues they find simply don't add up. Holmes visits his brother, Mycroft (Hugh Laurie), for advice, and finally determines that the killer is someone close to him.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (21):
Kids say (21):

This shockingly misguided assault of repetitive bad slapstick and sexual innuendo would be an almost complete disaster if not for the two leads' chemistry and the appealing period design. It probably seemed like a good idea to re-team Ferrell and Reilly for Holmes & Watson, given that they worked so well together in Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, and several Funny or Die videos, but a few things go fatally wrong here. Primarily, the whole concept overlooks the fact that Ferrell's humor works best when he plays childish/childlike characters; the intelligent, unemotional Holmes is precisely the opposite.

Plus, writer/director Etan Cohen (Get Hard) replaces the wonderfully weird, verbal, behavioral humor that Ferrell and Reilly specialize in with the most basic, broadest slapstick imaginable -- it's like something you'd expect from a Farrelly Brothers comedy. Jokes based on bashing characters in the face/poisoning them fall flat and then they are unwisely repeated, as if poking and prodding us into laughing. Even verbal jokes seem to be trying a little too hard. But a few small giggles pop up once in a long while, and a surprisingly fun musical number that surfaces at the 11th hour at least ends things with a small measure of goodwill that's otherwise missing.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how Holmes & Watson depicts drinking, smoking, and drug use. Are they played for laughs? Does the movie make substance use seem fun or appealing? Are there consequences? Why is that important?

  • How violent is the movie? Does the slapstick style have a different impact than more serious hitting? How and why?

  • How does this movie compare to other movies or shows about Sherlock Holmes?

  • How does the movie depict bullying? How does it affect the victim? How is it handled?

  • What's the friendship between the two main characters like? Is it an even/fair friendship, or does one friend give more than the other? Have you ever had a friendship like that?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate