Balls Up (2026) Review!!

Synopsis – Two marketers pitch a bold new condom World Cup sponsorship. After a booze-fueled scandal, they must outrun chaos to survive.

My Take – Director Peter Farrelly may have earned an Oscar nomination for Green Book (2018), but for most audiences he’ll always be remembered as the co-director, alongside his brother Bobby, of comedy staples like Dumb and Dumber (1994), There’s Something About Mary (1998), and Shallow Hal (2001).

While he followed up his Oscar winning feature with the decent enough, The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022), however, with Ricky Stanicky (2024), he seems to have gotten back to his old ways. In the sense, his latest Prime Video release, also dives back into the kind of low-brow comedy that may not land for everyone, but is clearly aimed at viewers who enjoy unapologetic, turn-your-brain-off humor.

Written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland, Deadpool), the film isn’t poorly made—it’s deliberately outrageous. Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser throw themselves into one absurd scenario after another, with jokes built around private parts and bodily fluids. It’s crude, excessive, and ridiculous, yet undeniably the sort of trashy fun that plenty of people will find entertaining. If nothing else, it’s unlikely to stir up the kind of controversy Green Book did.

The story centers on Elijah (Paul Walter Hauser), an engineer, and Brad (Mark Wahlberg), a slick salesman at Regal Blue, a struggling condom company run by Burgess (Molly Shannon). Elijah pitches a bold idea: a condom that covers both “the meat and the potatoes.” Their plan is to sell it to Senhor Santos (Benjamin Bratt), a Brazilian official, hoping to make it the official condom of the FIFA World Cup, the biggest market for “protective raincoats.” Thanks to Brad’s smooth presentation, they win the account—until Brad pressures Santos, who has been sober for nine years, into sniffing alcohol.

That slip sends Santos into a downward spiral, and the deal collapses. Regal Blue shuts down, leaving Elijah and Brad unemployed. Still, Santos keeps his word and gifts them first-class tickets and VIP passes to the World Cup final. The match is Brazil versus Argentina, a clash that means everything to fans. But when Elijah and Brad drunkenly invade the pitch, Argentina seizes the advantage and wins. Their stunt enrages the entire nation, forcing the two to flee as furious locals hunt them down.

From there, the film shifts into survival mode, following Elijah and Brad as they try to escape Brazil while being hunted by everyone—ordinary citizens, crime bosses, and even politicians with military ties. In short, they’re doomed unless they find allies fast.

In the hands of director Peter Farrelly, the story feels familiar. His style jumps from one absurd gag to the next, rarely pausing for character depth or genuine laughs. The movie constantly tries to top itself in sheer lunacy, which is both its strength and its weakness.

A cameo from Sacha Baron Cohen spirals into a wild sight gag involving condoms stuffed with cocaine, and while some of these bits are outrageous fun, others feel like they’re trying too hard to shock rather than amuse. Still, he knows how to stage stupidity, and Wahlberg and Hauser lean into it with gusto. They’re clearly having fun playing idiots, and the payoff of each joke often lands even when the humor is childish. Wahlberg relishes being a goofball, while Hauser once again proves he can elevate any project just by being in it.

Though marketed as an odd-couple comedy, this is very much Hauser’s show. Supporting turns from Molly Shannon, Benjamin Bratt, and Sacha Baron Cohen add flavor, but the film belongs to its leads. On the whole, ‘Balls Up’ is an unapologetically low-brow comedy, designed for audiences who enjoy turning off their brains and laughing at nonsense.