Pay Attention to The Other Guys
We’ve seen buddy cop movies before. They are a staple of the movie going experience. You know, these are the ones that feature the cops that are the rock stars of the department. They crash cars, hog the glory and enjoy the women at every turn. Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson are THOSE guys.
But this movie only spends a short span with those guys; this movie is about the other guys. Allen (Will Ferrell) is a hard working desk jockey. He’s more comfortable sitting behind a desk and filling out paperwork that no one wants to worry about. His partner, Terry (Mark Wahlberg) has been off the regular beat for some time. He had an incident that sent him to the sidelines and made him a hated member of the New York police department.
Now, Allen and Terry see their chance to take over the beloved role of leaders in the department and get back involved in their police work. The two are becoming comfortable with each other and their lives outside of work. Terry is shocked at Allen’s wife (the lovely Eva Mendes) and Allen’s ability to make virtually every woman become enamored with him.
The two must work together to get to the bottom of a mysterious case as the other guys become THE GUYS.
Will Ferrell tends to be a take him or leave him kind of guy in most circles. I generally have chosen to take him, and laughed my way to the exit at most films. The Other Guys is no exception. Ferrell works in the role as the uptight desk jockey with some secrets. He works best when he is keeping it a bit cool on screen.
Wahlberg shines in the comedic realm. The sheer look on his face on many of the occasions when he is pondering what Eva Mendes sees in Ferrell will have the chuckles emanating from even the toughest individuals to crack.
The wasted thing seemed to be Jackson and Johnson. Those two could have had a whole buddy cop movie to themselves and it would have been extremely fun.
While much of the humor in the film works, the plot line with Allen and Terry working to solve the crime felt like it fell flat. Thankfully that was a smaller section of the film and the laughs kept coming throughout the remainder of this film.
Since I sometimes feel like, “the other guy” in the film critic community, I definitely relate to these guys. Better yet, I laughed along with these guys and that is an accomplishment. Despite some small dead zones, The Other Guys is fun, funny and a good time at the movies. At least in this case, it’s worth it to pay attention to The Other Guys.
B/B-
The Other Guys
Columbia Pictures
Director: Adam McKay
Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Keaton
Rating: PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language, violence and some drug material.
Runtime: 107 minutes.
We’ve seen buddy cop movies before. They are a staple of the movie going experience. You know, these are the ones that feature the cops that are the rock stars of the department. They crash cars, hog the glory and enjoy the women at every turn. Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson are THOSE guys.
But this movie only spends a short span with those guys; this movie is about the other guys. Allen (Will Ferrell) is a hard working desk jockey. He’s more comfortable sitting behind a desk and filling out paperwork that no one wants to worry about. His partner, Terry (Mark Wahlberg) has been off the regular beat for some time. He had an incident that sent him to the sidelines and made him a hated member of the New York police department.
Now, Allen and Terry see their chance to take over the beloved role of leaders in the department and get back involved in their police work. The two are becoming comfortable with each other and their lives outside of work. Terry is shocked at Allen’s wife (the lovely Eva Mendes) and Allen’s ability to make virtually every woman become enamored with him.
The two must work together to get to the bottom of a mysterious case as the other guys become THE GUYS.
Will Ferrell tends to be a take him or leave him kind of guy in most circles. I generally have chosen to take him, and laughed my way to the exit at most films. The Other Guys is no exception. Ferrell works in the role as the uptight desk jockey with some secrets. He works best when he is keeping it a bit cool on screen.
Wahlberg shines in the comedic realm. The sheer look on his face on many of the occasions when he is pondering what Eva Mendes sees in Ferrell will have the chuckles emanating from even the toughest individuals to crack.
The wasted thing seemed to be Jackson and Johnson. Those two could have had a whole buddy cop movie to themselves and it would have been extremely fun.
While much of the humor in the film works, the plot line with Allen and Terry working to solve the crime felt like it fell flat. Thankfully that was a smaller section of the film and the laughs kept coming throughout the remainder of this film.
Since I sometimes feel like, “the other guy” in the film critic community, I definitely relate to these guys. Better yet, I laughed along with these guys and that is an accomplishment. Despite some small dead zones, The Other Guys is fun, funny and a good time at the movies. At least in this case, it’s worth it to pay attention to The Other Guys.
B/B-
The Other Guys
Columbia Pictures
Director: Adam McKay
Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Keaton
Rating: PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language, violence and some drug material.
Runtime: 107 minutes.
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