Pain & Gain 2013

The cinematic curtain opens on Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), a shrewd individual fresh out of prison, where he had served time for Medicare fraud. As we flash back in time, Lugo’s entrepreneurial spirit is piqued by his new employer, John Mese (Rob Corddry), the owner of Sun Gym. Tasked with revitalizing the struggling fitness center, Lugo brings an unprecedented level of enthusiasm and creativity to the table, quickly tripling the gym’s membership within a mere six weeks. During this period, he forges a strong bond with Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie), a talented bodybuilder who, despite his impressive physical stature, is struggling with impotency due to steroid use.

As Lugo becomes increasingly enamored with the luxuries and financial rewards enjoyed by Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub), a newcomer at Sun Gym whom he suspects of being a criminal, inspiration strikes. Motivated by the motivational speeches of Johnny Wu (Ken Jeong), Lugo decides to take a bold step and adopts the persona of a “doer,” hatching a plan to extort Kershaw’s assets through kidnapping and torture.

Lugo recruits his accomplices, Doorbal and Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson), a former cocaine addict who has found solace in Christianity. Initially hesitant to join forces with Lugo, Doyle eventually relents after a violent confrontation with his priest. This trio of misfits, now dubbed the “Sun Gym gang,” sets out to kidnap Kershaw at home but inadvertently incapacitates him using a taser outside his deli. The kidnappers attempt to disguise their voices, but Kershaw’s keen sense of smell alerts him to Lugo’s distinct cologne.

As the scheme unfolds, Kershaw is forced to make calls under duress, providing flimsy excuses for his disappearance, and relocates his family out of state. He also signs over his assets to Lugo, who subsequently bribes John Mese to notarize documents in Kershaw’s absence by presenting fake signatures and using Kershaw’s own money to sponsor the Sun Gym.

As the Sun Gym gang successfully seizes Kershaw’s wealth and assets, they soon realize that releasing him from their clutches would be a grave mistake. Faced with this predicament, Lugo devises a sinister plan to eliminate Kershaw by manipulating him into drinking liquor and deliberately crashing his BMW, orchestrating the scene to appear as a drunken accident gone wrong. When Kershaw astonishingly survives the crash, the gang resorts to extreme measures, setting ablaze the smoldering wreckage with Kershaw trapped inside. However, their calculated attempt at murder backfires when Kershaw miraculously manages to escape the inferno, prompting the gang to run over his lifeless body and abandon him for dead.

Unbeknownst to the Sun Gym gang, their heinous act of violence leaves Kershaw alive but gravely injured, resulting in a hospital stay. As they indulge in the spoils of Kershaw’s fortune, Lugo claims Kershaw’s luxury car and opulent Miami estate as his own; Doorbal weds his nurse, Robin (Rebel Wilson), and uses his share to fund dubious medical treatments claiming to enhance penile performance; while Doyle abandons his strict adherence to sobriety and religion, squandering his wealth on a cocaine-fueled lifestyle and a new stripper companion.

Kershaw ultimately reports the ordeal to the authorities, only to be met with skepticism due to his disagreeable demeanor and dubious blood alcohol level. Undeterred, Kershaw turns to Ed Du Bois, III (Ed Harris), a seasoned private investigator, who initially declines the case but warns Kershaw to flee the hospital before the gang returns to exact their revenge. Heeding this advice, Kershaw takes refuge in a motel, whereupon reflection, Du Bois reconsiders taking on Kershaw’s case and begins tracking down the Sun Gym gang. His investigation leads him to visit the gym itself, where he confronts Lugo, whose suspicious nature is piqued by the mention of Kershaw’s name.

As Kershaw reaches out to Mese about his pilfered cash, Lugo, Doyle, and Doorbal converge on the motel with sinister intentions in mind - but they arrive too late, as their target has already checked out of the motel and is laying low at a deserted baseball stadium. The trio discovers that Du Bois is footing the bill for Kershaw’s room using his own credit card, prompting them to hatch a plan to snatch him at his home. However, their scheme is foiled when the police drop by to deliver a package to Du Bois, forcing Lugo and Doorbal to make a hasty exit by leaping off the dock into the water to evade capture.

Meanwhile, Du Bois receives a cryptic message from Kershaw and heads to the stadium to extract him. Back at Du Bois’s residence, the gang’s earlier plans go awry when they find themselves dodging arrest after Doyle squanders his share of the loot on frivolous indulgences. With their finances in shambles, Lugo, Doyle, and Doorbal are left scrambling for a new cash cow.

Their next target is Frank Griga, the proprietor of a lucrative phone sex operation. After an initial meeting at Griga’s opulent mansion, the gang invites him and his wife Krisztina Furton (Keili Lefkowitz) to their home to propose a get-rich-quick scheme. However, Griga proves a shrewd businessman, questioning Lugo’s amateurish approach to entrepreneurship. This prompts Lugo to lash out at Griga, ultimately leading to the unsuspecting victim’s untimely demise.

As Krisztina discovers her husband’s lifeless body, she attempts to take matters into her own hands by reaching for a firearm. However, Doorbal intervenes, injecting her with a potent horse tranquilizer that renders her insensate. The gang then sets out to decipher codes obtained from the sedated Krisztina, hoping to crack open a safe at their target’s residence - but their efforts are thwarted when they realize the codes don’t match.

When Krisztina finally awakens and makes a desperate bid for freedom, Doorbal delivers a second dose of tranquilizer, inadvertently sealing her fate. As the body count continues to rise, the gang finds themselves in an increasingly precarious situation, with their motives and morals called into question by the spiraling chaos they’ve unleashed.

As the gruesome deeds of dismemberment and disposal unfold, Lugo (Daniel Lugo) and Doorbal conspire to conceal their handiwork, burying barrels containing the severed body parts in a lake. Meanwhile, Doyle’s (Paul Doyle) moral fabric begins to fray as he incinerates his own hands on a barbecue grill, desperate to rid himself of the physical evidence of their crimes. The psychological toll proves too great, and Doyle abandons the gang, seeking solace within the sanctuary of a priest’s church. However, the authorities are hot on their heels, driven by the disappearances of Griga and Krisztina, as well as the invaluable testimony of Ed Du Bois.

As the law closes in, Lugo, Doorbal, and Mese face arrest at various locations: Doyle at the church, Doorbal at home, and Mese at Sun Gym. Meanwhile, Lugo slips away unnoticed, fleeing into the night as the police close in. He finds refuge on Kershaw’s (Victor Kershaw) high-speed boat, bound for the Bahamas, where he hopes to escape his pursuers and claim Kershaw’s hidden fortune. Unbeknownst to him, Du Bois has deduced his plan and sets out with the authorities to capture Lugo.

As Lugo’s pursuit reaches its climax, he finds himself pursued by both the police and Kershaw, who has grown wary of the fugitive’s intentions. A desperate chase ensues, culminating in a confrontation that leaves Lugo wounded and at the mercy of his pursuers. The authorities apprehend him, and Lugo is subsequently brought to trial alongside Doyle, Doorbal, and Mese.

In a stunning revelation, Robin testifies against her estranged husband, Doorbal, having divorced him mere hours before taking the stand. As the jury delivers its verdict, Lugo, Doorbal, and Mese are met with sentences of varying severity: Lugo to death, plus an additional 30 days for his perceived insolence towards a guard; Doorbal receives a death sentence; Doyle is sentenced to 15 years, serving only 7 before gaining freedom and attempting to make amends; Mese is condemned to 15 years, ultimately meeting his demise within the confines of prison.