Part of it is to do with the fact that cracking the case is secondary to cracking open their hearts, and part of it is a seeming indecision as to exactly what Holmes and Watson is meant to be. As the detective and doctor work toward foiling an assassination attempt on the Queen (Pam Ferris) by none other than Professor Moriarty (Ralph Fiennes), the situations they find themselves in become increasingly bizarre. What makes the film more than a retread, however, is also what makes it so unwieldy. Granted, their particular spin on Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous creations paints his legendarily brilliant pair as emotionally stunted morons, but the point still stands: There’s an archetype that the story fulfills that’s a perfect match. That Ferrell and Reilly should take on Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, respectively, feels like a logical next step for the comedy duo, as they’ve made something of a speciality out of two-handers featuring Ferrell as the bright star and Reilly as the yearning sidekick. Reilly’s work (the aforementioned Step Brothers, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, etc.), that’s not necessarily a damning distinction. Admittedly, it’s no Step Brothers, and I can’t help wishing for a more bizarre cut of the film (there’s an undercurrent of weirdness to the whole affair that feels somehow tempered), but if it feels a little elementary compared to the best of Will Ferrell and John C.

Maybe it’s just the holiday spirit, but I can’t find it in myself to be particularly frustrated by Holmes and Watson.

Holmes and watson