Balls Up (2026) is directed by Peter Farrelly, featuring a screenplay written by Paul Wernick & Rhett Reese. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Paul Walter Hauser, Sacha Baron Cohen, Benjamin Bratt, Daniela Melchior, Luciano Szafir, Eva De Dominici, Molly Shannon, Chelsey Crisp, Eric Andre, Jackson Tozer, Henrietta Amevor, Abe Farrelly, and Ryan Shelton. The film follows marketers Brad (Wahlberg) and Elijah (Hauser)after their new condom design is chosen as the official prophylactic of the World Cup. While attending the championship, a drunken decision leads the two to interfere with the game’s outcome. As a result, the two are branded as the most hated men in all of Brazil. Hunted by locals, the duo sets out on a dangerous, zany trek home.  

Wahlberg and Hauser have some surprisingly strong “odd couple” comedic chemistry, so it’s a shame that it’s wasted on such weak material. It often feels like the film never actually had a script. Wahlberg and Hauser were clearly forced to improvise much of the humor, which is way more than they can handle. It’s as if Peter Farrelly just told these two to fill multiple 5-minute+ scenes with as many crude words and actions as they could think of. As you can imagine, this is just the kind of juvenile nonsense that a typical 5th grader would think of. I felt sort of embarrassed for Wahlberg and Hauser, but I suppose that’s why they get paid the big bucks. That being said, the two will have a tough time convincing people they aren’t above selling out every once in a while, especially Wahlberg. The worst part is that all of these unfunny scenes are painfully drawn out. It’s like watching a stand-up comedian bomb a set, but only double down on their crappy material.

The only aspect of the humor that doesn’t fall completely is anything involving Sacha Baron Cohen’s zany drug lord character. That being said, it’s nothing you haven’t seen from the actor before, and it leans heavily into absurd gross-out humor. I chuckled a bit, but I can’t say there was anything intelligent about it. Other than him, cast members such as Daniela Melchior have been pushed aside, as if they had a last-minute scheduling conflict or were simply hired so the studio could attach their name to the marketing.

Despite its juicy, larger-than-life comedy premise, the film’s most memorable moments feel derivative of modern stoner cult classics like Without A Paddle (2004). Look, I enjoy that film, but it’s not particularly known for being smart or original. In fact, a lot of people would/do consider it to be an outright bad movie, so it’s not really the smartest material to copy. The only praise I can really give the film is that it’s never exactly boring, but only for unintended, so-bad-it’s-good reasons. 

Overall, this is a big swing & miss for Peter Farrelly, Mark Wahlberg, and Paul Walter Hauser. Hopefully, Amazon learns that putting together an A-list comedy team such as this is almost pointless if the one thing neglected is the script. Talented comedic actors can only take a film so far, and Balls Up is proof. If you’re stoned and/or drunk, not easily offended, and can laugh at something stupid, it has the potential to kill two hours if you’re already subscribed to Prime. Other than that, this is pretty much a failure on every level. D