2010 Review #39: The Other Guys

The Other Guys

Rated PG-13
1 hour 47 minutes

Storyline:
Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city's top cops whom they idolize -- only things don't quite go as planned.

Written and Directed by Adam McKay

Starring:
Will Ferrell
Mark Wahlberg
Michael Keaton
Steve Coogan
Eva Mendes

Critics Grade:
77%
(Consensus: While not the best collaboration between Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, The Other Guys delivers bursts of comedy during a summer largely devoid of laughs)

My Grade:
B

There haven't been many good live action comedies so far this year. So far for me, only one I can remember is Get Him to the Greek...which was a solid, really funny film. I feel like slowly but surely the comedy genre is dying...but I hope it's just a phase. A lot of recent comedies lately suffer from trying to hard for the big laugh but end up being more awkward than anything...and just plain not funny. At least for me. Usually comedies aren't original in story, characters or jokes. Sometimes the sense of comedy can be kind of new, but not very often. Will Ferrell (Anchorman, Stranger Than Fiction) has type cast himself as the bumbling idiot funny guy character who talks in a weird dialect. But people still love him, and I'm still a fan. He has grown kind of tired though, I would like to see him do some new form of comedy.

Here we have a story that is way beyond insane and ridiculous. There's not a single character in this film who shares any remote realistic comparison to a real human being, let alone a real cop. But that's the point of movies like this. You have to take things we all know as typical and everyday and exaggerate those things beyond all realism. That's what makes them funny. It's funny to see things or people that are normal be flipped upside down into craziness. Here we have two laughed at desk cops who are trying to solve a big crime to get back in the game. The crime is rather mundane for movies like this and it tries to be to smart at times. But we aren't really here for the crime, we are here for the guys investigating the crimes.

Will Ferrell and Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg (The Departed, Shooter) are a tandem I thought I would never see together, but here they are. They are odd ball match made in heaven. They worked really well together. Both were off the wall, INSANE characters that balanced each other out so perfectly. Wahlberg plays the wannabe tough guy cop who has serious anger issues. He shot Derek Jeter after all (hehe). Sometimes his anger get's a little annoying but overall it's a riot to watch. Will Ferrell plays his typical character that has become very hit and miss lately. Here it is definitely a hit. He benefits from some hilarious writing and his quirky "Ron Burgundy" performance works really well with the writing. He says some things in this movie that are just damn funny. I loved the scene after the explosion and he says stuff like "how do people just get up from this in movies?!?". Great funny man performance this time around! The two are a perfect pair!

The rest of the movie is full of nothing but over the top antics and nonsense. The great cameos by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson are proof of how crazy this movie is. The opening scene is classic, especially after you find out what the big explosive chase was all about. Michael Keaton plays the Captain and he is so damn weird but man it's great to see him back in movies. He plays a police Captain and a manager at Bed Bath and Beyond by night. Ha! So random! This whole movie is random. This movie is ridiculous. But this movie is freaking nothing but entertaining and nothing but hilarious! I was not expecting to really enjoy this movie...but I did. I thought it was consistently funny and a great comedy for you all to check out!