---
title: "Balls Up: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/balls-up/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/balls-up"
critics_score: 49
critics_reviews: 7
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): what the critics said

Critics' score 49 from 7 reviews: 1 positive, 3 mixed, 3 negative.

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.

## The Guardian — Andrew Lawrence

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 15 April 2026. 

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 the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/apr/15/balls-up-review)

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 

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 the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/movies/balls-up-review.html)

## RogerEbert.com

Fi1m's normalised score 62/100 (inferred from the text). 

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 the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/balls-up-mark-wahlberg-prime-video-movie-review-2026)

## The AV Club — Jacob Oller

Rating D+. 15 April 2026. 

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 the review](https://www.avclub.com/balls-up-review)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Frank Scheck

Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 15 April 2026. 

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 the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/balls-up-review-mark-wahlberg-peter-farrelly-1236564035/)

## Empire — John Nugent

Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 15 April 2026. 

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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/balls-up/)

## Film Stories — Simon Brew

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 15 April 2026. 

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 the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/movie/balls-up/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/balls-up.md