The Big Picture
- Mark Wahlberg’s performance in Pain & Gain as Lugo showcases a dark side of the American dream through a comedic lens.
- Wahlberg’s character is played for laughs, highlighting his ineptitude and unrealistic expectations.
- Despite the comedic tone, the Michael Bay film doesn’t shy away from the damage caused by Wahlberg’s character, showcasing his dangerous and volatile nature.
It’s somewhat ironic that Mark Wahlberg earned his breakout role playing a pornographic star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights, as it increasingly feels like an outlier within his filmography. In recent years, Wahlberg has committed to starring in biopics, including Father Stu, Lone Survivor, All The Money In The World, Joe Bell, Deepwater Horizon, and the upcoming sports film Arthur the King. While he’s unquestionably talented at playing real people, the heroes that Wahlberg has portrayed recently all start to blend together; they all represent similar all-American heroes with little to no flaws. This is what makes Wahlberg’s performance in Michael Bay’s bizarre crime comedy Pain & Gain such a fascinating one. Wahlberg’s charisma is weaponized to comedic effect in order to show a very dark side of the American dream.
‘Pain & Gain’ Is a Different Type of Biopic
Loosely based on a true story, Pain & Gain follows the bodybuilder Daniel Lugo (Wahlberg), who sees personal fitness as the only satisfying thing within his life. Although Lugo is proud of his personal achievements, he begins to become jealous when he begins training the wealthy man, Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub). Kershaw doesn’t have to put in any effort to be successful, and Lugo can’t help but feel that it’s unfair. Lugo becomes convinced that the only way for him to earn what he’s worth is to extort Kershaw through a kidnapping scheme; he teams up with his fellow bodybuilders Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) and Noel Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) in what becomes an increasingly untenable situation. The excess that is common within Bay’s films works perfectly here because Pain & Gain is analyzing the twisted morality of these despicable characters.
Lugo is a great role for Wahlberg because his radicalization is depicted with complete sincerity. The film does a great job at showing how unstable the character is, as it takes just a few encounters with Kershaw for Lugo to begin questioning his success. Lugo’s defining characteristic is his obsession. Although he starts out only obsessing over his body, he begins to hyperfixate about what he doesn’t have. Wahlberg is able to show how nothing will ever give Lugo the satisfaction that he desires, and how the “American Dream” is just his excuse to get away with morally dubious behavior. As seen in his previous film Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Bay is a more clever satirist than he’s given credit for.
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Mark Wahlberg’s Character Is Played for Laughs in ‘Pain & Gain’
Wahlberg is great in Pain & Gain because it’s clear that he’s the butt of the joke. Although depicting such a disturbing true crime story could have been in poor taste, it’s evident that Pain & Gain isn’t lionizing what Lugo and his allies are doing. It also doesn’t try to make them look cool. Lugo claims that he knows how to lead a kidnapping because he has “seen a lot of movies,” but his plans fall short when things don’t go the way he intended. Between kidnapping the wrong person, getting tailed by the private investigator Ed Du Bois (Ed Harris), and mismanaging his assets, Lugo makes every mistake imaginable. It’s an effective crime comedy because each mistake proves what an ineffective leader Lugo is.
Wahlberg makes it hilarious to see how different Lugo’s imagined version of events are from what actually happens. Although he delivers what are intended to be inspirational speeches to Doyle and Doorbal, there’s a plasticity to Lugo’s words. It becomes clear that he’s only basing his decisions on what he’s seen in movies. This feels like a bit of playful meta commentary on Wahlberg’s part; it’s as if Lugo is trying to do exactly what a “Mark Wahlberg character” would do in any given scenario. Seeing him fail so spectacularly exposes how unrealistic many of Wahlberg’s characters actually are.
Wahlberg’s chemistry with Johnson and Mackie is also brilliant because of how much the other two characters look up to Lugo. Although Lugo needs them to pull off his scheme, he has to deal with the responsibilities of leadership when Dorval and Doorbal look to him for guidance. Although Johnson has rarely played supporting character roles since his performance in Southland Tales, his interactions with Wahlberg are among the most memorable parts of Pain & Gain.
Wahlberg Is an Intimidating Villain
Although Lugo’s incompetence as a criminal is often played for laughs, Pain & Gain doesn’t diminish the damage that he caused. Lugo has shallow desires, and that makes him dangerous because he’s willing to put both himself and innocent people in harm’s way to achieve what he wants. It’s evident from the way that Lugo speaks to Doyle and Doorbal that he doesn’t actually see them as his friends. They’re simply a means to an end for him, and Wahlberg shows how little Lugo actually cares for the people that are helping him achieve his goals. Any notion that their scheme was about justice evaporates when it becomes clear that Lugo’s thirst for money is unquenchable. Bay was guilty of ignoring the collateral damage in Pearl Harbor, but he’s able to evoke empathy for the victims in Pain & Gain.
While Bay has produced many horror films, Pain & Gain is easily the scariest film that he’s directed. The sequence where Lugo, Doyle, and Doorbal torture Kershaw for information is quite disturbing, and marks one of the rare instances where Wahlberg played a villain. Lugo is an inherently volatile person, and he takes out all the rage that has been building up inside him on Kershaw; it’s evident that he’s not just torturing him for information, but because he enjoys it. What’s scary is that Lugo genuinely believes that his actions are justified, as the greatest villains are the heroes in their own narratives.
Although the last few years have seen Wahlberg starring in a number of generic action films and Netflix comedies, he’s often a more versatile actor than he’s given credit for. Although Bay didn’t utilize him properly in the Transformers franchise, Wahlberg is perfect in Pain & Gain because he’s playing against type. Playing a violent, dim-witted psychopath was certainly a change of pace compared to the roles he usually takes, and it hopefully won’t be the last time that Wahlberg challenges himself.
Pain & Gain is streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.
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