Holmes & Watson Trailer Investigates the Funny Bone

Movies

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman can take all the vacation time they need because we’ve just gotten our first glimpse of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as perhaps literature’s most celebrated dynamic duo in the Holmes & Watson trailer. Directed by Etan Cohen (of Ferrell’s Get Hard), the film reunites the Talladega Nights and Step Brothers team of Ferrell and Reilly as Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and his best friend/biographer, Dr. John Watson in a comedic take on the characters. Rounding out the cast are Rebecca Hall as Dr. Grace Hart, Hugh Laurie as Sherlock’s brother Mycroft Holmes, and Ralph Fiennes as Professor Moriarty. Check out the Holmes & Watson trailer below:

They had me at the premise, but the Homes & Watson trailer is wonderful, introducing us to the type of humor we can expect from the film. I laughed hysterically throughout, but it doesn’t feel like the trailer goes anywhere near the best jokes. Ferrell and Reilly’s camaraderie is perfectly utilized to show the friendship between Homes and Watson; Watson is still in awe of Holmes’ genius, despite both of them being bumbling idiots in line with the actors’ typical comedy roles. We don’t see much of anyone else (which is exactly as it should be; let these characters introduce themselves to us when we watch the movie), but the casting is superb. Hugh Laurie should make an excellent Mycroft, especially with a doofy Sherlock like Ferrell to insult. I don’t recall a character named Grace Hart from the Doyle stories – which doesn’t mean she isn’t in one; there are a lot of them, and I’ve only read them once, with the exceptions of “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” and “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” – but Rebecca Hall is welcome in anything, and like Laurie, her intelligence will play off the leads well. Ralph Fiennes almost makes me sad this is a comedy because he would be a terrific Moriarty in a played-straight Sherlock Holmes movie. Holmes & Watson is a must-see for me.

What did you think of the Holmes & Watson trailer? Are you a fan of Ferrell and Reilly’s other team-ups? Can we expect a Hardy Boys spoof somewhere down the line? Let us know in the comments and stick around Geeks + Gamers for more on the latest movies, video games and more!