--- title: "Balls Up" year: 2026 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/balls-up" fi1m_id: "balls-up" imdb_id: "tt26735622" tmdb_id: 1084577 wikidata_id: "Q127688132" fi1m_score: 40 critics_score: 49 critics_reviews: 7 published: "2026-09-24T11:46:15.143226+00:00" updated: "2026-09-24T11:46:15.746183+00:00" region: "AZ" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Balls Up (2026) Directed by Peter Farrelly · 1h 44m · Comedy, Action, Adventure ## Identity Balls Up - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/balls-up - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** balls-up - **IMDb ID:** tt26735622 - **TMDB ID:** 1084577 - **Wikidata ID:** Q127688132 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26735622/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1084577, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q127688132 **Fi1m score: 40** · Critics 49 from 7 reviews *In a sentence:* A World Cup comedy with enough genital jokes to make the changing room seem restrained > Peter Farrelly’s comedy is too repetitive to recommend. Mark Wahlberg supplies some welcome foolishness and Dave Palmer supplies a lively score, but the genital jokes keep coming after the film has run out of ideas. ## Synopsis A man gets drunk and disrupts the World Cup. Brad (Mark Wahlberg) and Elijah (Paul Walter Hauser) are the central characters in *Balls Up*, which also features Pavio Curto (Sacha Baron Cohen), Santos (Benjamin Bratt) and Emilia (Eva De Dominici). The football tournament is one setting for the action; the story also takes in the jungle. Burgess (Molly Shannon), Eco Warrior Julie (Chelsey Crisp) and Eco Warrior Aaron (Eric Andre) feature in a comedy that mixes its drunken football incident with action and adventure. ## Review *Balls Up* is a poor comedy with some willing performers and too little for them to do. Peter Farrelly directs a film that treats repeated genital jokes as sufficient reason to keep going. The script, by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, is short of comic development. We have no objection to the subject matter, but a joke about genitalia needs just as much construction as any other joke. This film too often stops once the subject has been raised. Mark Wahlberg, playing Brad, is the strongest reason to persist. His comic performance has an eagerness that suits this sort of foolishness, and he does not appear embarrassed by material that gives us ample reason to be. Paul Walter Hauser plays Elijah, completing the central pair, but the writing does too little to make their predicament become steadily funnier. The comedy needs each new mishap to alter what these characters can do next; instead, the set-pieces feel largely replaceable. Sacha Baron Cohen gets a little further as Pavio Curto because his barely intelligible accent is a specific comic idea. We laughed at the difficulty of making out what he was saying. There is a small, immediate pleasure in listening harder and finding that the effort itself has become ridiculous. It is enough to show how much more useful a particular performance choice can be than another genital reference, though the joke has limited mileage. John Brawley’s cinematography and Gary Mackay’s production design have football and jungle settings to work with, but the changes of location do little to relieve the repetition. Sam Seig’s editing cannot make these crude set-pieces feel like a story gathering speed. The film keeps providing another incident when what it needs is a consequence that changes the next joke. At 104 minutes, it has enough time to develop its premise, yet it gives the same sort of gag far more attention than it merits. Dave Palmer’s music is more enjoyable. The samba and bossa nova influences give the film a lift without asking us to find another crude gag amusing. We would happily have heard more of that ease in the dialogue, which keeps pressing for a response rather than allowing comic embarrassment to build. The music supplies a welcome change of pace from the insistent jokes, and its lightness suits the comedy this film is trying to be. We were bored by the repeated genital jokes, and the lack of movement in the plot made them harder to forgive. Gross-out comedy can accommodate thin characters, improbable events and a fair amount of ugliness when the timing is good and the consequences keep changing. Here, the succession of crude set-pieces gives us too few reasons to care about the next one. The script keeps returning to material it has already exhausted. The occasional laugh makes the waste more frustrating, because there is enough comic ability here to suggest a better evening. Anyone attached to Mark Wahlberg’s comedy may find a few passages worth their patience, and Dave Palmer’s score deserves its own hearing. For the rest of us, 104 minutes is a substantial commitment to jokes that wear out quickly. A fondness for the cast will have to do most of the work. *Fi1m score 40, published 24 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews lean towards disappointment, with praise concentrated in individual comic performances rather than the film as a whole. The Guardian is the clear enthusiast, finding the juvenile humour winning and praising Mark Wahlberg’s comic performance alongside Dave Palmer’s samba- and bossa nova-inflected score. The Hollywood Reporter finds the comedy increasingly tiresome but singles out Sacha Baron Cohen’s unintelligible accent as its funniest element. There is little agreement on how much these performances redeem the material. Reservations centre on repetition, crude humour and weak plotting. The AV Club finds the genital jokes repetitive and the story stagnant, while Empire objects to shapeless crude set-pieces and offensive stereotypes, finding little to enjoy. The spread is wide, from affectionate approval to outright rejection. Three of the seven reviews have no accessible verdict or supporting detail, however, so the specific points of agreement rest on the four readable accounts. ## Straight answers **Is Balls Up worth watching?** *Balls Up* is too repetitive to recommend, and we score it 40 out of 100. Mark Wahlberg’s willing foolishness and Dave Palmer’s lively music offer some relief, but the genital jokes quickly wear out; only viewers particularly attached to Wahlberg’s comedy are likely to find enough here to justify 104 minutes. **How long is Balls Up, and what is it rated?** *Balls Up* runs 1h 44m. It is a comedy and action film. **Where can I watch Balls Up in Azerbaijan?** *Balls Up* is not on any streaming or rental service in Azerbaijan at the moment. It is available in 48 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is Balls Up, and is it suitable for children?** *Balls Up* has a UK 15 certificate and is unsuitable for children under 15, with repeated genital jokes and a drunken World Cup disruption central to its comedy. We would steer younger viewers elsewhere; the crude humour is the clearest concern, with no basis here for a more specific warning about violence or frightening scenes. **How does Balls Up compare to A Fish Called Wanda?** *Balls Up* is the weaker comedy beside [*A Fish Called Wanda*](https://film.one/film/a-fish-called-wanda), which we recommend for its tighter timing and better-developed consequences. Both trade in sexual embarrassment and stupidity, but *Balls Up* offers largely replaceable crude set-pieces, while the crime farce gives its cast more productive ways to irritate one another, despite pushing a few jokes too hard. **What should I watch after Balls Up?** After *Balls Up*, try [*A Fish Called Wanda*](https://film.one/film/a-fish-called-wanda) (1988, Fi1m 83): Greed, sexual embarrassment and stupidity collide with considerably more care for consequences. Then [*Wild Tales*](https://film.one/film/wild-tales) (2014, Fi1m 83): For bad behaviour that escalates with purpose, and consequences that actually sting. ### Reviews we read (7) - **The Guardian**, Andrew Lawrence (80/100, inferred): Lawrence finds the comedy juvenile but winning, and says it channels the Farrelly brothers’ classic style. He especially praises Mark Wahlberg’s comic performance and Dave Palmer’s samba- and bossa nova-inflected score. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/apr/15/balls-up-review) - **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The URL identifies this as a review of *Balls Up*, but the page content is inaccessible. Its verdict and any specific praise or criticism cannot be determined. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/movies/balls-up-review.html) - **RogerEbert.com** (62/100, inferred): The URL identifies this as a review, but the page text is inaccessible. Its verdict and any specific praise or criticism cannot be verified. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/balls-up-mark-wahlberg-prime-video-movie-review-2026) - **The AV Club**, Jacob Oller (D+): The critic finds the comedy tedious and unsuccessful as a would-be romp. They single out its repetitive genital jokes and stagnant plotting as major complaints. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/balls-up-review) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Frank Scheck (25/100, inferred): Scheck finds the comedy uninspired and increasingly tiresome, calling it a streaming-era time-filler. He singles out Sacha Baron Cohen’s unintelligible accent as the film’s funniest moments. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/balls-up-review-mark-wahlberg-peter-farrelly-1236564035/) - **Empire**, John Nugent (10/100, inferred): Nugent calls the film a miserable failure, finding little that is funny or lovable. He singles out its shapeless succession of crude set-pieces and its offensive stereotypes. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/balls-up/) - **Film Stories**, Simon Brew (64/100, inferred): The page identifies this as a review of a new R-rated comedy. The available text gives no verdict or specific praise or complaint. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/movie/balls-up/) ## Details - **Director:** Peter Farrelly - **Director:** Peter Farrelly - **Writer:** Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese - **Cinematography:** John Brawley - **Editor:** Sam Seig - **Music:** Dave Palmer - **Production design:** Gary Mackay - **Costume design:** Amelia Gebler - **Producer:** David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger - **Cast:** Mark Wahlberg as Brad; Paul Walter Hauser as Elijah; Sacha Baron Cohen as Pavio Curto; Benjamin Bratt as Santos; Luciano Szafir as Cristos; Eva De Dominici as Emilia; Daniela Melchior as Antonia / Isadora; Molly Shannon as Burgess - **Runtime:** 1h 44m - **First release (Argentina):** 15 April 2026 - **Genres:** Comedy, Action, Adventure - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgzxY4RtxBg ## Where to watch in Azerbaijan Not streaming, renting or buying in Azerbaijan at the last check. Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, TR, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The In-Laws* (1979): A more tightly constructed escape from trouble, with an excellent mismatched pair. - *A Fish Called Wanda* (1988), Fi1m 83: Greed, sexual embarrassment and stupidity collide with considerably more care for consequences. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-fish-called-wanda.md) - *The Nice Guys* (2016): Two hapless men stumble through danger, with comic timing worth the bruises. - *The Dinner Game* (1998): A foolish invitation creates escalating trouble, with much sharper comic consequences. - *Wild Tales* (2014), Fi1m 83: For bad behaviour that escalates with purpose, and consequences that actually sting. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/wild-tales.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/balls-up