This blog is part of my 38 before 38 series. I write a blog for every single day for the 38 days leading up to my 38th Birthday.
Michael Bay is a true American Auteur. That is not a value judgement. His films are crass, have a severe lack of concern for human life, full of creepy objectification of women, recycles shots between movies, and for an action movie director he’s really bad at shooting action. Plus he has a terrible reputation for his on-set behavior.
But if you apply the Auteur theory, Michael Bay fits the bill . He stamps every movie with his style. Whether about LA Cops or Giant Alien Robots, it is a distinct Bay product. It does not mean, however, that he is a great film-maker. Or even a good one.
Pain & Gain is one such movie. Almost all women in it are beyond object, a pornographic fixation of human viscera, he recycles shots from bad boys and the second half is basically a pastiche of Coen Brothers’ Fargo. As Mark Kermode said in his famous rant, “We look into [Bay’s] soul and we find ourselves looking into a void like abyss of blackness, the depth and enormity of which it is impossible to comprehend.”
It is also one of the greatest movies ever made.
“Doers Do”
There is one caveat; you have to read the original article it is based on. The script takes a few liberties with the facts. Mainly it tones down some thing about the perpetrators, changes a few characters, and makes the victims less sympathetic.
It is the story of the Sun Gym gang. In 1994, they kidnapped and forced a man to sign over his wealth. They even involved a shady notary public. They were incompetent throughout the process, and still got away it. Because the police did not believe the victim. They would have gotten away as well, but like all criminals, they got greedy. And killed their next victims in their next scam.
Of course, this is a good story, but that is not why this is a great movie.
“All of my idols are self-made men…”
“…like Rocky, Scarface and the people from The Godfather.”
Pain & Gain could’ve been like the crime movies that it referenced. It could’ve been just a morality tale about an asshole criminal getting his just desserts which would have been glorified by generations of young men missing the point. Instead of depicting them as cool dudes committing stylish violence, they are depicted as degenerate idiots.
It also puts the fundamental American Mythology in its sights: The American Dream. The story that anyone with grit and hard work can make it America. How that story feeds grifters and scammers. How it feeds the toxic positivity, self-help, think-and-grow-rich, prosperity gospel, law of attraction bullshit.
The narrative that keeps separating suckers from their money.
It is not as if it completely eschews the concept. Danny Lugo(Mark Wahlberg) is mad at Victor Kershaw(Tony Shaloub), because he’s an immigrant that made it. He got the American Dream. “I don’t just want everything you have, I want you not to have it.”, Danny says to Victor as he kidnaps him, tortures him in an effort to make him sign over his fortune. You may think they needed a notary, but these criminals are not suave and smooth. They are stupid.
Like most criminals in real life.
In a surprising turn for a Bay joint, it also highlights how racism plays a role in the criminals’ success. The police refuse to believe Victor because he is Colombian. They refuse even when Ed Harris’ private detective provides them with ample evidence. In Michael Bay’s America, grifters and psychos hijack the dream, and those who achieve it are punished for it.
Why I love it
It is the perfect combination of artist and subject matter. The qualities that make Bay’s other work gaudy make this perfect. The protagonists of this movie have no regard for human life or dignity. What is distasteful in Bad Boys is revealing here. You can object to the violence and degeneracy of the characters.
Also the script, despite being a lesser Fargo, is still pretty smart. Every line seems to be on point. Every thing Danny or Paul or Adrian says never veers off the theme of the movie. Lines like “I watched a lot of movies Paul, I know what I’m doing!”, and “I have no sympathy for people who squander their gifts. It’s sickening. It’s worse than sickening. It’s unpatriotic.”
Even the poster with the flag in the background.
It has a clear mission statement, and it is achieved perfectly. It is not subtle, because Bay does not understand the term. But it is not quite overt.
It is the perfect film for 2024 America. We are in a new era of grift. In Danny Lugo was born 10 years later, he would be as big as Andrew Tate. He would not be kidnapping people. But selling courses to young men on how sell his courses to other young men. He would be making videos barefoot in Grocery stores telling you every food is dangerous and poisonous while selling unregulated supplements. He would fighting boring boxing matches with geriatric tough guys.