An action-comedy about two long lost brothers who join up to save the world from a band of villains with a deadly super-virus, Grimsby is an outrageous take on the buddy-spy genre, with typical smart-agent/idiot-agent humor juxtaposed throughout the new trailer.
Baron Cohen co-wrote and stars, and the film also features Mark Strong (as the spy brother), Penelope Cruz, Rebel Wilson, Johnny Vegas, Ian McShane, and Baron Cohen’s wife, Isla Fisher.
Director Lous Leterrier (Now You See Me) helmed the project, with Wreck It Ralph screenwriter Phil Johnston and frequent Baron Cohen collaborator Peter Baynham helping polish the script.
Named after a real town in England, Grimsby has been previously criticized by members of the town’s city council for much the same reason that nationals of Kazakhstan disliked Borat. “It is using the town’s name in a potentially poor light,” said councillor Matthew Brown in a statement last year.
A 44-year-old comedian not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, Baron Cohen first rose to fame in the early-2000s as the host of Da Ali G Show, an interview-based comedy show in which he portrayed a number of stereotype-based characters, including the relentlessly ignorant Ali Gi. The funny man eventually tested his mettle on the silver screen, earning massive success by way of Borat, a fake documentary about a Kazakh TV host’s trip to the US.
A logical follow-up to a career now filled with stereotype-laden comedy films including Bruno and The Dictator, Grimsby looks to take a more mainstream Hollywood story line and give it that Baron Cohen brand of ridiculousness. The trailer teases a stylized comedy/spy film that goes almost to the same extremes as Undercover Brother or Austin Powers.
The new film will be released on February 24 in the UK, March 10 in Australia, and March 11 in the United States.
