# Grimsby (film)
**Grimsby**, released in North America as **The Brothers Grimsby**, is a 2016 action comedy directed by [Louis Leterrier](https://www.edgepedia.org/louis-leterrier) and written by [Sacha Baron Cohen](https://www.edgepedia.org/sacha-baron-cohen), Phil Johnston, and [Peter Baynham](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-baynham). Baron Cohen plays Norman "Nobby" Grimsby, a football hooligan from the Lincolnshire port town of Grimsby who is reunited with his long-lost brother Sebastian (Mark Strong), an MI6 assassin wrongfully accused and on the run after uncovering a terrorist plot.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_brothers_grimsby) • [2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thebrothersgrimsby)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writers | Louis Leterrier; screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen, Phil Johnston, and Peter Baynham[3](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/grimsby-aka-the-brothers-grimsby) |
| Cast | Sacha Baron Cohen (Nobby), Mark Strong (Sebastian), Isla Fisher, Penélope Cruz, Rebel Wilson, Gabourey Sidibe, Ian McShane[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_brothers_grimsby) |
| Genre / runtime | Comedy and action; 1 hour 23 minutes (BBFC lists approximately 84 minutes)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_brothers_grimsby) • [4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/grimsby-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zode5ntk) |
| Release | UK 24–25 February 2016; United States 11 March 2016; retitled The Brothers Grimsby for North America[5](https://www.timeout.com/movies/grimsby) • [6](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/grimsby-review/5100743.article) • [7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3381008/) |
| Box office | $27,979,040 worldwide, of which $6,874,837 was domestic; TIME reported a $160 million worldwide figure[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3381008/) • [8](https://time.com/4353061/most-disappointing-movies-2016-first-half/) |
| Reception | 37% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (135 reviews), 41% Popcornmeter; Metacritic 44; IMDb 6.2[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_brothers_grimsby) • [9](https://cinegraph.org/movies/grimsby-2016) |
| Censorship | Rated R in the US; BBFC certificate 15 in the UK for strong sex references, violence, drug use, and strong language[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_brothers_grimsby) • [4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/grimsby-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zode5ntk) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and characters
Nobby is described by the studio as a sweet but dimwitted English football hooligan living in the poor fishing town of Grimsby with his girlfriend ([Rebel Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rebel-wilson)) and nine children, and he has spent 28 years searching for the brother from whom he was separated as a child.[2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thebrothersgrimsby) Sebastian, played by [Mark Strong](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-strong), was adopted in childhood by a well-off southern English family and grew up to become an MI6 agent.[10](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/review-grimsby) When the brothers reunite, Sebastian has just uncovered plans for an imminent global terrorist attack; wrongfully accused and on the run, he needs his brother's help to save the world and prove his innocence.[2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thebrothersgrimsby)
The reunion sends the pair across a series of far-flung settings, including a South African game reserve, a World Health Organisation conference in London, and a football final in Chile.[5](https://www.timeout.com/movies/grimsby) Supporting roles include [Isla Fisher](https://www.edgepedia.org/isla-fisher) as Jodie Figgis, Penélope Cruz as Rhonda George, Gabourey Sidibe as Banu the cleaner, and [Ian McShane](https://www.edgepedia.org/ian-mcshane) as an MI6 boss.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_brothers_grimsby) • [10](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/review-grimsby) The film climaxes with an unauthorized cameo by Donald Trump, with Baron Cohen taking aim at "the scam artist who stole his shtick".[11](https://au.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/sacha-baron-cohen-on-trump-gross-out-gags-and-his-shocking-new-comedy-1043/)
## Production
The film was written by Baron Cohen with Phil Johnston and Peter Baynham, and produced by Baron Cohen and Nira Park among others, with [Adam McKay](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-mckay) as an executive producer.[3](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/grimsby-aka-the-brothers-grimsby) • [12](https://crossbinge.com/work/grimsby) Production companies included Big Talk Productions and [Working Title Films](https://www.edgepedia.org/working-title-films) in the UK and [Columbia Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-pictures), Four by Two Films, LStar Capital, and Village Roadshow Pictures in the US, with Sony Pictures as distributor.[3](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/grimsby-aka-the-brothers-grimsby) Oliver Wood was the director of photography, Kave Quinn the production designer, and the score was composed by David Buckley and Erran Baron Cohen, the star's brother.[13](https://www.comedy.co.uk/film/grimsby/cast_crew/)
Leterrier, whose earlier credits include the first two Transporter films, gave the picture a fast-cut action style; reviewers described a blend of gross-out comedy with action sequences they compared to the [Jason Bourne](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-bourne) films.[14](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/grimsby-film-review-sacha-baron-cohens-joyous-ride-that-takes-the-grim-out-of-grimsby-a6890521.html)
## Comedy style and class controversy
The film's humor is deliberately extreme. The [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification) classified it 15 for strong verbal and visual sex references, moderate action violence with occasional stronger moments, strong language, and a comic scene in which a character accidentally injects himself with heroin.[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/grimsby-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zode5ntk) Its most discussed set piece involves the brothers hiding inside an elephant, a scene Time Out called memorable and TIME's reviewer used to assess Mark Strong's straight-man performance.[5](https://www.timeout.com/movies/grimsby) • [15](https://time.com/4254223/review-sacha-baron-cohen-brothers-grimsby/)
Unlike Baron Cohen's earlier characters, the film drew criticism for its treatment of its own protagonist's class. Time Out noted that [Ali G](https://www.edgepedia.org/ali-g), Brüno, and Borat had mocked social norms or satirized attitudes, whereas Grimsby is a silly, juvenile fish-out-of-water comedy that does not pretend to say much about anything.[5](https://www.timeout.com/movies/grimsby) [The Irish Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-irish-times) asked why Borat had been forgivable while a Cambridge-educated comedian's fire directed at working-class East Midlanders seemed mean-spirited.[16](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/grimsby-review-sacha-baron-cohen-makes-the-switch-from-sharp-wit-to-halfwit-1.2547937) Screen Daily observed that Baron Cohen adopts a [Liam Gallagher](https://www.edgepedia.org/liam-gallagher)-style persona for Nobby, a pot-bellied "chav" from the Lincolnshire town, and noted that Sony's retitling for North America indicated the low international recognition of the town's name.[6](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/grimsby-review/5100743.article) A Guardian commentary argued the film punches down at a lumpen underclass portrayed as living in an "Asbo-zone", and reported that Sony's own spokesman admitted disappointment at the US opening.[17](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/mar/17/punching-down-sacha-baron-cohen-and-working-class-cinema) An academic study of the film describes its opening sequence, in which Nobby and Dawn test a mattress in a furniture shop, as a satirical mockery of "the chav lifestyle" that signifies Britain's poor.[18](https://kar.kent.ac.uk/71783/1/109Men%2C%20Manors%20and%20Monsters%20The%20Hoodie%20Horror%20and%20the%20Cinema%20of%20Alterity%20.pdf) The town itself had already drawn attention before release; the Washington Post reported in July 2014 that the film, then in production, was "already offending people".[19](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2014/07/17/borat-star-sacha-baron-cohens-new-film-grimsby-is-about-soccer-hooliganism-and-its-already-offending-people/)
## Release and box office
The film opened in the UK on 24 or 25 February 2016 depending on the source, distributed by Sony Pictures UK.[5](https://www.timeout.com/movies/grimsby) • [10](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/review-grimsby) Box Office Mojo records the earliest release date as 24 February 2016 in Sweden, a UK release on 26 February 2016, and a wide US release on 11 March 2016 with a domestic opening of $3,258,327.[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3381008/) It grossed $6,874,837 domestically (24.6% of its total) and $21,104,203 internationally, for a worldwide total of $27,979,040.[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3381008/) TIME's mid-2016 tally of disappointing releases reported instead that the movie made $160 million worldwide, exceeding its budget, and called its box-office performance the worst of Sacha Baron Cohen's career; the two worldwide figures are not reconcilable, and Box Office Mojo's itemized territory table supports the lower total.[8](https://time.com/4353061/most-disappointing-movies-2016-first-half/) • [7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3381008/)
## Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 37% Tomatometer from 135 reviews and a 41% score from more than 10,000 audience ratings; the critics consensus says it "showers viewers with a steady stream of Sacha Baron Cohen's edgy humor, but too many gags hit the wrong side of the line between audacious and desperate".[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_brothers_grimsby) Metacritic lists a metascore of 44 and IMDb a 6.2.[9](https://cinegraph.org/movies/grimsby-2016)
Reviews ranged from qualified approval to dismissal. Time Out gave three of five stars, calling it a riotous mess that is at its best when it wears its immaturity proudly.[5](https://www.timeout.com/movies/grimsby) The Independent praised a joyously crude comedy whose gleeful set pieces transcend its preposterous plotting.[14](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/grimsby-film-review-sacha-baron-cohens-joyous-ride-that-takes-the-grim-out-of-grimsby-a6890521.html) The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw wrote that Baron Cohen brought his "B-game or maybe even his C-game" to a comedy kept from flatlining by moments of high-impact grossout.[20](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/feb/22/grimsby-review-sacha-baron-cohen-mark-strong) Sight and Sound called it "witless rubbish".[10](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/review-grimsby) TIME's review found the outrageousness wore the critic down despite gags the reviewer tallied as potentially offensive on grounds of homophobia, racism, and insensitivity toward overweight people.[15](https://time.com/4254223/review-sacha-baron-cohen-brothers-grimsby/) TIME's later retrospective argued that, unlike Borat, the film lacks a deeper purpose beneath its outrageous exterior.[8](https://time.com/4353061/most-disappointing-movies-2016-first-half/)
## References
1. [The Brothers Grimsby, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_brothers_grimsby)
2. [The Brothers Grimsby, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thebrothersgrimsby)
3. [Grimsby (aka The Brothers Grimsby), British Council UK Films Database](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/grimsby-aka-the-brothers-grimsby)
4. [Grimsby, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/grimsby-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zode5ntk)
5. [Grimsby 2016, directed by Louis Leterrier, Time Out review by Dave Calhoun](https://www.timeout.com/movies/grimsby)
6. [Grimsby: Review, Screen Daily by Fionnuala Halligan](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/grimsby-review/5100743.article)
7. [The Brothers Grimsby, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3381008/)
8. [The 10 Most Disappointing Movies of 2016 So Far, TIME](https://time.com/4353061/most-disappointing-movies-2016-first-half/)
9. [Grimsby, Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/movies/grimsby-2016)
10. [Review: Grimsby, Sight and Sound (BFI)](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/review-grimsby)
11. [Sacha Baron Cohen on Trump, Gross-Out Gags and His Shocking New Comedy, Rolling Stone Australia](https://au.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/sacha-baron-cohen-on-trump-gross-out-gags-and-his-shocking-new-comedy-1043/)
12. [Grimsby (2016), CrossBinge](https://crossbinge.com/work/grimsby)
13. [Grimsby cast & crew, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/film/grimsby/cast_crew/)
14. [Grimsby film review, The Independent by Geoffrey Macnab](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/grimsby-film-review-sacha-baron-cohens-joyous-ride-that-takes-the-grim-out-of-grimsby-a6890521.html)
15. [Review: Crudeness Reaches New Heights in The Brothers Grimsby, TIME](https://time.com/4254223/review-sacha-baron-cohen-brothers-grimsby/)
16. [Grimsby review, The Irish Times by Donald Clarke](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/grimsby-review-sacha-baron-cohen-makes-the-switch-from-sharp-wit-to-halfwit-1.2547937)
17. [Punching down: Sacha Baron Cohen and working-class cinema, The Guardian by John Patterson](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/mar/17/punching-down-sacha-baron-cohen-and-working-class-cinema)
18. [Men, Manors and Monsters: The Hoodie Horror and the Cinema of Alterity, University of Kent repository](https://kar.kent.ac.uk/71783/1/109Men%2C%20Manors%20and%20Monsters%20The%20Hoodie%20Horror%20and%20the%20Cinema%20of%20Alterity%20.pdf)
19. [Sacha Baron Cohen's new film Grimsby is about soccer hooliganism and it's already offending people, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2014/07/17/borat-star-sacha-baron-cohens-new-film-grimsby-is-about-soccer-hooliganism-and-its-already-offending-people/)
20. [Grimsby review, The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/feb/22/grimsby-review-sacha-baron-cohen-mark-strong)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2015 to 2016 › Titles symbols to J*
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