BALLS UP

(director/writer: Peter Farelly; screenwriter: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick; cinematographer: John Brawley; editor: Sam Seig; music: Dave Palmer; cast: Mark Wahlberg (Brad), Paul Walter Hauser (Elijah), Sacha Baron Cohen (Pavio Curto), Benjamin Bratt (Santos), Molly Shannon (Burgess), Eva De Dominici (Emilia), Daniela Melchior (Antonia), Chelsey Crisp (Eco Warrior Julia), Eric André (Eco Warrior Aaron), Luciana Szafir (Cristos); Runtime: 104; MPAA Rating: R; producers: David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Andrew Muscato, Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese; Amazon Prime Video; 2026)

“A raunchy, low-life comedy.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
 
Peter Farelly (“Ricky Stanicky”/”Green Book”) directs this raunchy, low-life comedy. It’s grossly written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.

Brad (Mark Wahlberg) and Elijah (Paul Walter Hauser) are condom salesman who get mixed-up in an international scandal after accidentally causing the Brazilian soccer team to lose the World Cup when selling revolutionary condoms.

Hauser draws a few chuckles when he sings a falsetto rendition of “Somebody That I Used tio Know.” Wahlberg plays the fast-talking hustler straight man, while Sacha Baron Cohen plays a rough Brazilian drug lord with an exaggerated foreign accent. 

The movie is awkwardly executed and the jokes that land are as rare as goals scored in a World Cup soccer game. It’s a Farelly stinker.

REVIEWED ON 5/24/2026  GRADE: C
dennisschwartzreviews.com