Earlier this year, the Kevin Smith directed Cop Out, a cop movie spoof, opened to poor reviews with proportionate box-office results. I didn’t see that one, but I did see The Other Guys, another cop movie spoof, and this one is quite worth it.
The Other Guys are Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), two NYPD detectives stuck at desk duty. Meanwhile, the city’s top cops are the wildly reckless Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Danson (Dwayne Johnson). The latter pair gets all the glory, while the former pair does not.
And then Highsmith and Danson get killed. Stupidly.
While the frontline cops try to fill the void, Gamble uncovers some financial scheming by investment banker David Ershon (Steve Coogan). With Hoitz as his unwilling partner, Gamble sets off to save the day. Somehow.
As with MacGruber, this film shows just how dumb action film clichés are. Up until they bite it, Highsmith and Danson are walking dumb action film clichés. And they work hilariously well.
As for the rest of the film, it’s also done well thanks to its stars. Ferrell is quite reliably silly, and Wahlberg makes for the perfect, would-be straight man of the duo. As their boss, the goofily deadpan Captain Mauch, Michael Keaton makes for the third-best character in the film. I could go on about the other actors here, but I'll stop here.
Its director, Adam McKay, worked with Will Ferrell before, beginning with Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy. The action comedic tone they establish early on makes up for a few unclear twists later on (I won’t spoil those). As long as you let yourself have fun with this one, you will.
About Me
- Jethrotcat
- This is the blog where I talk about the latest movies I've seen. These are my two Schnauzers, Rufus (left) and Marley (right, RIP). As of now, the Double Hollywood Strikes are officially over. May the next strikes not last as long as these ones did.
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