{ { Infobox film
| name = Pain & Gain
| image = Pain & Gain film poster.jpg
| alt = Three musclebound men standing in front of a large American Flag | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Michael Bay | screenplay = Christopher MarkusStephen McFeely | based_on = | producer = | starring = | cinematography = Ben Seresin | editing = | music = Steve Jablonsky | studio = | distributor = Paramount Pictures | released = | runtime = 129 minutes<ref name=BBFC>{ { cite web|title=Pain & Gain' (15)|url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/pain-gain|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130504222320/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/pain-gain|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 4, 2013|work=British Board of Film Classification|date=April 30, 2013|access-date=April 30, 2013}}</ref> | country = United States | language = English | budget = $26 million | gross = $86.2 million }}Pain & Gain is a 2013 American action comedy film directed by Michael Bay and starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, and Anthony Mackie. It is based on the activities of the Sun Gym gang, a group of ex-convicts and bodybuilders convicted of kidnapping, extortion, torture, and murder in Miami in the mid-1990s. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's screenplay is adapted from a 1999 series of Miami New Times articles by Pete Collins, which were compiled in the book Pain & Gain: This Is a True Story, released concurrently with the film. The film's title is a play on a common adage frequently used in fitness: "No pain, no gain".
Released on April 11, 2013, Pain & Gain received mixed reviews, praised for its script but criticized for the violence, directing, and historical inaccuracies. Against a $26 million budget, the film grossed $86 million worldwide. Sun Gym gang victim Marc Schiller (depicted in the film as 'Victor Kershaw') sued the production company over his portrayal.
Plot
In 1994, ex-con and bodybuilder Daniel Lugo is hired by Sun Gym owner John Mese as a manager. Lugo befriends trainer and bodybuilder Adrian Doorbal, who was recently rendered impotent from steroids. He envies the earnings and lifestyle of Victor Kershaw, a member he begins to train. Inspired to be a "doer" by motivational speaker Jonny Wu, Lugo plans to extort Kershaw for his assets. He recruits Doorbal and manipulates Paul Doyle, another ex-con and born again Christian struggling with drug use, into blindly playing along.
The "Sun Gym gang" kidnaps Kershaw, taking him to a small warehouse. Although Kershaw identifies Lugo, the scheme proceeds as planned. Under duress, Kershaw makes calls to provide explanations for his disappearance and transfers his assets to Lugo. Mese is bribed to notarize documents in Kershaw's absence. After collecting Kershaw's money and assets, the gang attempts to kill Kershaw. They stage a drunk driving crash, burn his car, then run him over.
The gang members spoil themselves with Kershaw's riches. Lugo takes over Kershaw's car and home and begins forcing himself on the local community; Doorbal marries Robin, the nurse treating his impotence; Doyle, after assaulting a priest for making homoerotic advances on him, abandons his restraints, blowing his money on cocaine and Sorina, his new stripper girlfriend who believes he and Lugo work for the CIA.
Unbeknownst to the gang, Kershaw survived and is hospitalized. He informs the police, who dismiss his story because of Kershaw's manner, blood alcohol level and him being from a South American country known for drug trafficking. Kershaw contacts Ed Du Bois, III, a retired private investigator, who warns Kershaw to leave the hospital. Kershaw takes his advice just as the gang arrives and hides in a cheap motel. Du Bois tails them and meets Lugo, who becomes suspicious at the mention of Kershaw.
After Kershaw furiously calls Mese about his stolen money, the gang identifies the motel he stays at. They go to kill him, but discover that he has already checked out. They learn of Du Bois' link to Kershaw and plan to kidnap him, but the plan falls through.
Doyle and Doorbal, having gone broke after excessive spending, plan another kidnapping with Lugo. They target Frank Griga, owner of a phone sex operation. They lure Griga and his wife Krisztina Furton to Doorbal's to propose an investment scheme. The discussion breaks down when Griga points out that he doesn't trust Lugo and his friends due to their obvious lack of knowledge on running a business. During the ensuing fistfight, one of Doorbal's weights falls on Griga's head, killing him; Doorbal accidentally kills Krisztina by overdosing her with horse tranquilizer in the chaos.