Pain & Gain

Movie review by Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media
Pain & Gain Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 18+

Violent, stupid, offensive, unfunny "true crime" story.

R 2013 130 minutes
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Parents say

age 16+

Based on 15 reviews

Kids say

age 16+

Based on 13 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Pain & Gain is a vulgar, violent action comedy from Transformers director Michael Bay. The movie -- which was inspired by a real-life kidnapping, extortion, and murder -- is filled with shooting, chasing, fighting, and blood, as well as more gruesome, torturous images like barbecuing severed hands to remove the fingerprints. Sexuality is also prevalent in the movie; there's some female toplessness and comical sex, and women are treated as dumb sex objects. One character is a drug addict who tries to recover but fails; he's shown snorting cocaine, with results that are played for humor. Language is extremely strong and frequent, with constant use of "f--k," "s--t," and more. The fact that these greedy characters and their illegal, brutal plans are treated with humor makes this movie very iffy for just about any audience.

Community Reviews

Banana wannna
Banana wannna Adult
August 22, 2019
age 16+

Dark comedy movie contains bloody violence and sex

Parents need to know that this movie is sometimes funny but contains bloody violence,two sex scenes (one of them is graphic),and frequent strong languag.This film is more appropiate for teens.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much sex
Too much swearing
marco123-m
marco123-m Adult
August 21, 2016
age 10+

This title has:

Great role models
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 15 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) -- a personal trainer at a Florida gym circa 1995 -- decides to be a "doer" so that he can get all the things he thinks he deserves. His plan is to kidnap a wealthy delicatessen owner (Tony Shalhoub) and get him to sign over his fortune. Daniel enlists the aid of two other weightlifters: ex-con/recovering cocaine addict Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) and Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie), who suffers from impotence as a result of his steroid use but has a predilection for large women. After some initial success, their plan goes desperately wrong, and all their brain-dead attempts to recover it result in disaster after disaster. The plot is based on a true story.

Is It Any Good?

Michael Bay, best known for his loud, explosive action movies, takes a step back with this relatively cheaper film, concentrating on fewer special effects and more characters. Unfortunately, this is like watching a chef doing the dishes; it's not his strong suit. PAIN & GAIN winds up being one of Bay's stupider and more tasteless efforts, though it's a good deal more tasteless than stupid.

Movies about dumb criminals can be highly entertaining (Fargo, for example), but Bay sends his story spinning wildly over the top. His characters are aggravatingly idiotic, the mood is belligerent, and the pacing is erratic. But worst of all is the humor. Bay may be the least funny director alive, and he insists on using an endless array of cruel, horrible jokes -- about fat people, drug addicts, women in general, and just about everyone else. Only Ed Harris, playing a private detective, provides any dignity.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Pain & Gain's violence. How is it depicted? Is it gross? Funny? Does it seem over-the-top or inappropriate?

  • How does the movie portray women? Are they judged by their body type? Are there any positive female role models here? Stereotypes?

  • How does the movie view male body image? Is it positive or negative?

  • Are there any examples of bullying in the movie? Where and how?

  • What's funny about dumb criminals?

Movie Details

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