In Development
It’s Elementary! Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell take on Sherlock Holmes
Posted by Robin Ruinsky (robin@filmschoolrejects.com) on July 2, 2008
Columbia Pictures has announced that Sacha Baron Cohen, the actor who put Kazakhstan on the map and Will Ferrell, the master at portraying self important losers, will team up as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
Etan Cohen will write the screenplay and Judd Apatow and Jimmy Miller will produce this comic version of the Arthur Conan Doyle detective and his side kick Dr. Watson.
One must ask: What would Arthur Conan Doyle think of this turn of events?
He could never have imagined, even in his wildest dreams, his deepest darkest nightmares, his most anxious moments that his beloved Holmes and Watson would be interpreted or perhaps deconstructed by two hugely popular comic actors.
In 2006 Baron Cohen and Ferrell teamed up to do damage to another revered icon, NASCAR in the hit Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Both comic actors have recently ventured into unusual territory. Sacha Baron Cohen gave musical theater a try in Sweeney Todd. Baron Cohen was a rival barber and Sweeney’s victim in the film, but not before he demonstrated his way with a song. Will Ferrell stepped outside his box when he took on the role of Harold Crick, Emma Thompson’s creation in Stranger than Fiction in 2006.
Will this work? Is this going to be funny? Will the movie going public embrace the two as comic versions of Conan Doyle’s famous characters? Matt Tolmach, one of the presidents of Columbia Pictures is already laughing:
“Just the idea of Sacha and Will as Sherlock Holmes and Watson makes us laugh. Sacha and Will are two of the funniest and most talented guys on the planet and having them take on these two iconic characters is frankly hilarious.”
It’s easy to see how some of Conan Doyle’s famous quotes such as “It’s elementary, my dear Watson” could become comic setups for the two actors. Now we get to see if we’ll be laughing and if Columbia Pictures will be laughing all the way to the bank.
What do you think of Cohen and Ferrell as Holmes and Watson?
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4 Comments
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:15 pm
I can’t stand either of these two, and the thought of them appearing as Holmes and Watson is just ridiculous. Isn’t there another forgotten sixties television show out there for Hollywood to milk besides Sherlock Holmes? There have been at least two Sherlock Holmes spoofs that I know of and both I predict will prove to be much better than this movie will be. The first is “Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother” with Marty Feldman and Gene Wilder, and the other is “Without a Clue” with Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley as the characters.
I think this like much that Hollywood has pawned off on us lately is a sorry idea for a movie. Kids today don’t even know Sherlock Holmes from Katie Holmes, why make a movie that appeals to them by butchering the most famous literary detectives of all time for a cheap, and knowing Ferrall and Cohen other work, barely funny laugh?
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:14 am
I really don’t know what to think about it. One one had, I thought Borat was hilarious, and I really liked Baron Cohen’s performance in Sweeney Todd, but on the other, I’ve never been a fan of Will Ferrell and, in all honesty, I’ve never found him as funny as most people do.
Would a comic Sherlock Holmes movie work? I guess, as long as it has a decent screenplay and the actors *know* how to the play their characters in a lighter way without making Conan Doyle roll around in his grave. We’ll see…
August 6th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I am frankly horrified. Speaking on behalf of my fellow Sherlockians, the Cohen and
Ferrell picture will be an affront to the character and history of Sherlock Holmes. I am
fearful that the first thing that younger viewers will think of when asked about Sherlock
Holmes is some offensive joke from this version! Because of their star quality, the greats
such as Jeremy Brett and Basil Rathbone will fall by the wayside, and Sherlock Holmes
will become nothing but a passing joke.
Sherlock Holmes has been revered by serious fans for years. A peer reviewed scholarly
journal is put out twice a year and the prestigious group, the Baker Street Irregulars,
meets regularly to discuss the character of this amazing man. To me, this movie is as
bad as if Cohen decided to play Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre, make fun of Edgar Allen
Poe’s life or turn Plato into a womanizer. You just don’t mess with classic literature this
way!
September 24th, 2008 at 4:40 am
Theese 2 guys are great together!
…But u have to understand their sense of humour. I think they make a good team and whatever movie they’ll make i’ll appreciate it. I’m not saying that somebody should be messing with the calssic literature. The movie shouldn’t replace the book …and it never does. So chill and enjoy the acting. It’s all about them!