The Other Guys

It's another sloppy impromptu mash-up from Adam McKay and Will Ferrell!  Guess where this review is going?

"The Other Guys" stars Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell as cops, one with an embarrassing mark on his jacket, the other with a dark past.  That sound like an interesting set-up...and it is, with some funny twists.  The two cops are at the bottom of the barrel and when supercops The Rock and Samuel L. Jackson buy it, the two of them embark on a case that could move them up to the big time.  And various jokes ensue.

This is not a good cop movie.  Nor is it a great comedy.  It has a number of funny parts, but the humor isn't at all plot-based, which might be a good thing since few scenes are ruined by bad concepts...though few are saved by humor as well.  Some jokes hit hard and some jokes fall hard.  Your enjoyment or disappointment in one scene will probably veer back and forth  This is a much better movie than their previous collaboration, "Step Brothers" in that the plot does make sense and does go somewhere, though it's a bit of a sloppy journey.  Are these two good cops in need of a break? Are they consummate screw-ups? Should I care since this is just a stupid comedy?

The jokes come fast and furious, which is good since they only hit about 50-60% of the time.  The best ones involve Wahlberg (who is pretty funny in this) and Ferrell yelling at each other, including an amazing comeback involving devious tuna and lions.  Michael Keaton deserves some recognition as the hard-nosed captain moonlighting as a Bed, Bath, and Beyond manager with a penchant for TLC.  While the hit-miss ratio is a bit too even, when the jokes were funny, I laughed out loud.  When they didn't, I wasn't annoyed...just not moved to be amused.

"Say hi to your mother for me"

If McKay and Ferrell want to up their game, they might need to take a page from Apatow comedies (or even some of their older films like "Talladega Nights" or "Anchorman") in either tightening the narrative or upping the absurdity factor of the film's characters.  "The Other Guys" would have worked so much better with an anchorman showdown! As it, it was OK.