Holmes & Watson (2018)

As a big fan of both Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, especially when they team up, I had higher hopes for Holmes & Watson (2018), but sadly, the film itself is a stinker. As Steve Coogan, who has a cameo as one of the antagonists, put it, “I think in 20 years time when the dust has settled and people are able to look at Holmes and Watson objectively, I think people will say ‘It’s still rubbish.'”

That said, the costumes (designed by Beatrix Aruna Pasztor) are really very good, and since that’s all we are really interested in talking about when it comes down to it, at least I have a lot of positive things to say about them. Ok, ok, so the actual timeline of the film is a total nightmare, but at least there’s a consistent historical era throughout the bulk of the film. While not explicitly stated, the fashions are firmly within the height of the bustle era, so round about the 1880s — you know, the classic Holmesian period.

Let’s get the fellas out of the way first before we talk about the ladies’ costumes. While I generally don’t have much to say about menswear in this era other than I love me a good cravat, the men’s costumes are about as interesting as you can make them without veering too far away from historical accuracy.

And now onto the women’s costumes:

If you want eye candy without having to seriously tax your braincells and are willing to risk walking away feeling dumber for having sat through the entire film just to see some nice costumes, then Holmes & Watson will not disappoint. If you’re expecting comedy … not even particularly good comedy … you’re probably going to be let down.

Have you seen Holmes & Watson (2018)? Tell us about it in the comments!