Balls Up (2026) Review: Is Prime Video’s Latest Film a Flop?

Prime Video’s range of direct-to-streaming films has been a bit hit or miss lately. Some manage to provide enough entertainment to overlook weak writing, while others struggle, even with a star-studded cast. “Balls Up,” directed by Peter Farrelly and written by Paul Wernick & Rhett Reese, unfortunately falls into the latter category.

Featuring Mark Wahlberg, Paul Walter Hauser, Benjamin Bratt, Eva De Dominici, Daniela Melchior, Molly Shannon, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Eric André, “Balls Up” is a film that tries to mask its flaws with over-the-top comedy, ultimately falling short.

In the movie, marketing executives Brad (Mark Wahlberg) and Elijah (Paul Walter Hauser) dive headfirst into a questionable pitch for a bold condom sponsorship deal with the World Cup. This leads to a series of comedic mishaps involving a drunken celebration that spirals out of control, resulting in an international incident and the pair being fired. Despite their misadventures, they end up at the World Cup, where chaos ensues, leading them to inadvertently impact the outcome of the final game.

“Balls Up” predominantly relies on lowbrow humor and exaggerated situations to elicit laughter, often resorting to crass jokes about genitalia and stereotypical portrayals of soccer culture, sometimes hitting the mark and other times missing it by a mile.

While the chemistry between Wahlberg and Hauser shines in some comical moments, the film as a whole lacks cohesion and feels more like a disjointed series of sketches strung together than a coherent narrative. The fast-paced progression of random story beats fails to engage viewers, leaving them bewildered by the lack of a cohesive storyline.

Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser’s comedic interactions provide fleeting moments of amusement, but they are not enough to salvage the film from its convoluted plot and inconsistent character development. Clocking in at one hour and 44 minutes, “Balls Up” feels like a never-ending string of nonsensical twists that fail to contribute to the overall storyline in a meaningful way.

The film’s portrayal of Brazil and its culture borderlines on being racially insensitive, with Sacha Baron Cohen’s character, Pavio Curto, as a drug lord, further exacerbating the issue. While attempting to tap into the Latin American narco stereotype for comedic effect, the film frequently misses the mark, leaving viewers uncertain about its intentions.

Overall, “Balls Up” struggles to find its footing amid a sea of chaotic plotlines and ill-timed jokes, failing to deliver a cohesive and engaging viewing experience.