Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

In the alleged comedy “Holmes & Watson,” the fictional late-nineteenth century detective Sherlock Holmes and his clueless partner Dr. John Watson accidentally uncover a scheme to assassinate Queen Victoria in two days’ time.  The two then literally fall all over themselves trying to unfold the plot and solve the crime before it occurs. The nation’s critics are similarly falling all over themselves trying to invent new adjectives to warn movie audiences away from this dreadful misfire before they waste their money on tickets.  Slapstick and low blows abound in a picture so bad that even the Grinch wouldn’t have wished it on viewers, especially at Christmastime. Starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly and written and directed by Etan Cohen, the filmmaker behind Ferrell’s 2015 comedy “Get Hard,” “Holmes & Watson” was first scheduled for release on August 3.  The picture was moved back to November 9, and then moved back again to December 21 before finally being set for release on Christmas Day. Originally intended as a vehicle for Sasha Baron Cohen as Holmes and Will Ferrell as Watson, the script for “Holmes & Watson” languished in development for a full eight years, during which both Baron Cohen and original producer Judd Apatow bailed out of the picture.  The project eventually went forward with Ferrell as Holmes and John C. Reilly as Watson. Ferrell and Reilly had previously appeared together in the more successful “Talladega Nights” in 2006, “Step Brothers” in 2008, and “Anchorman 2” in 2013. How bad is the picture?  Preview scores from test audiences for “Holmes & Watson” were so abysmal that prior to release distributor Sony Pictures reportedly tried to sell their rights to the picture to Netflix for a release directly to television. A number of sources report that scores of viewers walked out during Christmas Day screenings of the picture. And that due to critical reviews and strong negative word of mouth, ticket sales for the picture plummeted by nearly half between December 25 and December 26. Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of just 9% for “Holmes & Watson,” against Metacritic’s score of 24%.  Audiences polled by CinemaScore award the picture a grade of D-plus. Rolling Stone in their review reports the picture is “so painfully unfunny that we’re not sure it can legally be called a comedy.”  And The New York Times recommends smuggling liquor into showings “to dispel the sense of dull routine.” Also starring Ralph Fiennes as Holmes’ arch-nemesis Moriarty and Rob Brydon as Scotland Yard’s Inspector Lestrade, “Holmes & Watson” is rated PG-13 for crude sexual material, some violence, language concerns, and drug references.