The comedy “Balls Up” isn’t messing around. Yes, the title is a dick joke. The plot is a dick joke. And yes, the script is packed with dick jokes. It’s as immature and as dumb as they come, and yet, it oddly works because it just commits so hard and earnestly to the bit. Directed by Peter Farrelly—who knows a thing or two about immature, purile comedies with lots of dick jokes like “Dumb and Dumber,” “There’s Something About Mary,” etc. — “Balls Up” does not ease you into its insanity. It sprints straight at you with it and keeps building, stacking absurdity on top of absurdity, until it becomes this weirdly impressive feat of endurance. And thanks to the sure hands of its director and stars, it somehow works.
The film follows two condom marketing executives/salespeople, Brad (Mark Wahlberg) and Elijah (Paul Walter Hauser), who pitch a bold full‑coverage condom sponsorship with the World Cup. After their drunken antics in Brazil spark a global scandal, they must outrun furious fans, criminals, and power-hungry officials to salvage their careers and make it home alive.
On this episode of The Discourse, Mike DeAngelo is joined by Mark Wahlberg, Paul Walter Hauser, and director Peter Farrelly (“Green Book”) to break down how you even begin to make a movie like this, why commitment is everything in comedy, and how something this dumb can actually be smart.
From the jump, Wahlberg understood the assignment, and more importantly, how to sell the movie to normal humans. He also didn’t find it to be the craziest idea he’s ever pitched to a studio.
“Well, people think [‘Balls Up’] is pretty crazy and outrageous,” he said. “It’s a little bit easier to pitch than me and my talking teddy bear or even a movie like ‘Boogie Nights.’ But I think if you start with the fact that we’ve created this condom that covers your penis and your testicles, that’s a pretty good way to sell it.”
That’s the tone. That’s the movie. No easing in. Just straight in, no kissing, and that honesty is what makes it land. And yet, underneath all of that chaos, there’s a very specific approach to making it work. Wahlberg plays it like it’s deadly serious, which is exactly why it’s funny.
“You gotta believe. I mean, for me, it’s always trying to be as realistic as possible, playing it like it’s really happening, even though the situations are pretty absurd. And then having a great partner,” he explained.
That partner, of course, is Hauser, who slides into the movie like a chaos co-pilot, constantly shifting gears between being the punchline and the one throwing the punchline. There’s no straight man here, no safety net. And that’s his favorite kind of buddy comedy.
“It’s fun when they’re both funny. And I think if you watch classic buddy comedies like ‘Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,’ which we were referencing, like, Steve Martin and John Candy are both hilarious.”
That kind of energy does not happen by accident. It comes from a director who knows exactly how far to push things, and Peter Farrelly has been here before with comedies like “Kingpin,” “Me, Myself, and Irene,” and “Dumb and Dumber.” Even so, “Balls Up” still stood out for its comedic voice.
“I think it’s like the funniest first page I’ve ever read. I swear, I almost called back on page 10 and said, I’ll do it.”
For Farrelly, this wasn’t about reinventing the wheel. It was about grabbing that old-school, R-rated chaos and letting it rip again.
“It’s relatively easy. I think it’s like in my sweet spot.”
But “Balls Up” isn’t just a throwback. It’s bigger. Louder. Somehow more ambitious in its stupidity. There are jungle chases. There are boats. There are things exploding that probably should not be exploding.
“It’s my first kind of action movie. I mean, none of my movies, there’s really no action, there’s plot. But there’s not a lot of action here. These guys are being chased through jungles and across rivers in South America. It was a learning experience.”
And yet, even with all of that scale, Farrelly keeps coming back to the same rule.
“The number one rule is we love the movie, that we think it’s great. I would never make a movie, change it for a studio because they think it’s better that way,y if we didn’t. Number one is make the movie you love.”
That philosophy extends beyond this film and into his entire career, including the question that always comes up when you’ve made something like “There’s Something About Mary.” After that film exploded, the pressure for a sequel was immediate. The idea Farrelly pitched back was not what the studio expected.
“So our idea was, ‘There’s Something Else About Mary.’ And it turned out that Mary had balls. And he marries her, and finds out that Mary is trans, and they were like, no f**king way. And I was like, ‘Okay, we’re not doing it.’ It’s a love story. It shouldn’t matter. And that was our thing. If we’re gonna go there, let’s go there.”
Which tells you everything you need to know about how he approaches comedy. Go all the way or don’t go at all.
The conversation also drifted into the cinematic multiverse of Wahlberg, where franchises and possibilities are always floating around, even if he’s not chasing them. Since Michael Bay has recently teased a return to the world of “Transformers,” one might be curious if Cade Yeager himself might come back. Don’t get your hopes up.
“The odds are pretty slim, but you never know. I don’t have the action chops I used to have. I’m getting a little old. I’m about to hit the speed limit here. 55 is right around the corner.”
That said, he is open to a slightly less physically demanding version.
“If I could be in a helicopter yelling orders, never say never.”
Meanwhile, Hauser is dipping his toes deeper into blockbuster territory, including a recent brush with Marvel as he played Mole Man in “Fantastic Four: First Steps.”
“I’m ussparinglyely throughout the film. It’s not a huge role, but getting to work in the Marvel universe is a big deal. I would definitely be down to reprise that character because I had fun with the voice and the goggles and the whole getup.”
And then there’s Wahlberg returning to one of his most beloved comedy worlds with “Ted: The Animated Series.” Wahlberg was happy to share that it might be coming sooner than we think.
“We already finished recording the first season. It’s so funny. Ted has two kids. It’s bad. We’re like the worst parents in the history of the world. Very unapologetic. It’s hardcore. You need hard funny.”
Hauser also teased another wild tonal swing in his career, diving headfirst into the horror world with Zach Cregger’s upcoming “Resident Evil” reboot.
“With Cregger, I was familiar with him from the sketch comedy world. He did this thing called ‘Whitest Kids You Know,’ which was pretty funny back in the day,” he said. “And then I didn’t know he had horror aspirations, kind of like Jordan Peele. And I saw ‘Barbarian,’ thought it was awesome. Saw ‘Weapons,’ and liked it even more. And then when they came to me with this ‘Resident Evil’ thing, I was like, is it gonna be like the prior ones? They felt kind of like gothic nerd porn. It wasn’t really my vibe.”
He made it clear that this version is something very different.
“Zach was very much like, I’m making a Zack Cregger movie,” he continued. “It’s ‘Resident Evil,’ but it’s gonna be more videogame-based. And the stuff I saw him doing… I think it’s gonna be another banger from Cregger. And kudos to Sony for giving him a long leash and letting him do his thing.”
On the directing side, Farrelly also touched on his upcoming film “I Play Rocky,” clearing up some of the noise around Sylvester Stallone’s involvement. Even though Stallone has said in multiple interviews that he was not consulted or involved in the film, Farrelly objected to what’s been said.
“I’ve read this a couple of times, and that’s not accurate.” Farrelly protested. “I don’t know what that’s about, but the first thing we did was reach out [to Sly]. First of all, that was another script that a guy named Peter Gamble wrote. And it came to me, and I was like, ‘incredible script!’ So they said, ‘Do you wanna make it? I said, ‘If Sly’s okay with it.’ And so they sent it to Stallone. He read it. And then I met with him at the Beverly Hills Hotel in LA. I said, ‘Hey, what do you think? I’m not gonna make it if you don’t give me the thumbs up.’ And he goes, ‘Great. Do it. So we did it.’”
“But I guess along the way, he must have forgotten,” he continued. “The only misunderstanding I can imagine is that he was working on his memoirs. And I guess he was working on it while we were making the movie. And once we were done, I heard that. And by the way, he’s gonna be very, very happy because it’s a great story and he comes across fantastically.”
“BALLS UP” drops on Prime Video on April 15th. You can watch the YouTube video of the interview with Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser below or listen to both conversations via The Playlist Podcast Network.
The Discourse is part of The Playlist Podcast Network, which includes Deep Focus, Bingeworthy, and more. We can be heard on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and most places where podcasts are found. You can stream the podcast via the embed within the article. Be sure to subscribe and drop us a comment or a rating, as we greatly appreciate it. Thank you for listening.
