Sherlock Holmes, I Presume

Yesterday’s discussion on the lack of excitement at the World Juniors (which continued last night, with Canada’s 8-2 drubbing of the Slovaks) led Thy Drunken Rookie to weigh in on the feeling of “not having a chance” when competing in various arenas.

He said that he has never “encountered such queasy uneasiness in the sexual arena—best compliment of all time: ‘you could get any girl you want.’”

Thy Drunken Rookie only has the capacity to spout off such egotistical ramblings because I taught him everything he knows about seducing women (that was a short lesson). He was a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed teenager with no discernible game when we first met. In fact, he lacked the courage to even approach girls at the bar. It was quite pathetic.

However, through intense instruction, he learned and developed the necessary skills to become a full-fledged lady killer. And I give credit where credit’s due: guy’s a pimp. But he must not forget where he came from. Hubris is not a good colour on him.

I saw Sherlock Holmes last night.

I had no pre-conceived notions of the characters or the legend of Sherlock Holmes (evidenced by my misuse of a famous quote in the column title), as I’ve never read one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books.

I went in fresh. That being said, I was thoroughly entertained during the entire movie. The chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law was excellent. They played off each other very well and were completely believable in their roles.

Throughout the movie, I couldn’t help feel like I was watching a 1800s British version of an episode of House. The resemblances between Holmes and House (Hugh Laurie) are uncanny.

They are both geniuses with the ability to ‘see’ things an average person cannot. They both derive tremendous deductions from seemingly mundane circumstances. Plus, Holmes and House have wicked senses of humour, terrible bedside manner and enjoy recreational drugs.

I’m convinced that House was inspired by Sherlock Holmes in some way.

Also, Watson and Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) are strikingly similar. They are the long-suffering best, and only friends, of Holmes and House respectively. They are the only people who can stand H and H’s presence for more than a few minutes.

The scene where Watson returns from injury and Holmes asks how he’s feeling is tremendous. Everything about their relationship and their obvious admiration for each other is said in fifteen seconds of silence.

(Actually, I just checked IMDB and apparently House is, in fact, a tribute to Sherlock Holmes. Right down to having the same apartment number. The lesson: I’m an idiot)

Back to the movie:

The action scenes were very well done and the story had just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. However, at the end, the plot got way too convoluted and nonsensical for my liking (it was like watching Law Abiding Citizen all over again).

Also, Rachel McAdams was woefully underused. She is fantastic and her role in this film was completely useless. She didn’t need to be in it at all. However, you get to see her naked back which was more than worth the price of admission for me.

I understand and look forward to the inevitable sequel, but I like my movies to be a little more subtle when setting up for a future film. I mean, Robert Downey Junior pretty much turned to the camera and said “Stay tuned for Sherlock Holmes 2”.

We get it. You have a very profitable film franchise on your hands.

Verdict: 4 Rachel McAdams Naked Backs out of 5