Only one wince-worthy genital gag recalls the gross-out glory days of solo director Peter Farrelly in this straight-to-streaming outing, but the stars have some potential as a buddy act.
By Guy Lodge
Plus IconGuy Lodge
Film Critic
@guylodge See All
Courtesy of Amazon Say what you will about Peter Farrelly, but he’s one filmmaker who hasn’t let an Oscar go to his head. In the years since his contentious Best Picture win for “Green Book,” Farrelly has shown only sporadic interest in chasing prestige. The lightweight Vietnam tale “The Greatest Beer Run Ever” was just vaguely aspirational, and the level of gilt on his upcoming Hollywood biopic “I Play Rocky” remains to be seen. But two years ago, the streaming comedy “Ricky Stanicky” returned him cheerfully to the lowbrow — and there he stays with “Balls Up,” another direct-to-Amazon throwback to the brand of coarse, chaotic humor on which Farrelly, with younger brother Bobby, made his name in the ’90s.
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