Comedic interpretations of Sherlock Holmes are not new. Gene Wilder gave us The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, and Billy Wilder directed The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. [Let's not forget Kingsley and Caine in Without a Clue. - Zach] Now, the ubiquitous Judd Apatow has teamed Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen for the next screen appearance by Doyle's cokehead crime-solver. Borat plays Holmes and Ferrell makes mincemeat of his loyal sidekick, Dr. Watson. I can see the Queen of England releasing a stern "We are NOT amused" statement to the press while Seth Rogen makes faces behind her at Buckingham Palace.

The last time Holmes made a major cinematic appearance, he had a lot in common with Harry Potter. He was young, interpreted by Chris Columbus, and co-starred with some violent CGI. The Steven Spielberg-produced Young Sherlock Holmes wasn't a major hit, so I question why they're dragging poor Sherlock out for a generation whose attention span is shorter than this sentence. Making Ferrell the entry point for the audience, as Watson usually is in the stories, is probably a stroke of genius for today's moviegoers. They'll pay attention if it's stupid or ironic. Variety quotes a Columbia rep as saying "Sacha and Will are two of the funniest and most talented guys on the planet, and having them take on these two iconic characters is frankly hilarious." Good grief! They're turning The Hound of the Baskervilles into The Pink Panther Strikes Again.

If this weren't enough to give Sir Conan Doyle's ghost agita, Ferrell's latest competes with a concurrent Holmes project directed by Mr. Madonna, Guy Ritchie. It's a bad day on Baker Street for sure; depending on which theater auditorium you're in, Sherlock Holmes will either be playing pranks on unsuspecting Midwesterners or solving crimes while face down in more yayo than Tony Montana. What next? Macbeth starring McLovin?