Movies: The Other Guys Review

Score: *** 1/2 out of *****

Long Story Short: The Other Guys is a very good summer comedy, and ranks as one of Will Ferrell's better films. Ferrell is brilliant, and his performance not only carries much of the film but is also perhaps one of his finest yet. Although it has some very good supporting roles too, Will's co-star Wahlberg is out of his comfort zone. The first half of the film is fantastic, though the second half brings fewer laughs, along with an unspectacular finale. I recommend it.

The Other Guys is Will Ferrell's newest comedy film, directed by Adam McKay (who also directed Ferrell films Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and Step Brothers) and co-starring Mark Wahlberg. The style and structure of the film will be familiar to those who are Will Ferrell fans. This time, instead of tackling another sport (Will has already done basketball, ice skating, and race car driving), Ferrell and McKay bring their brand of comedy to the buddy cop genre. For this and other comedies, I'll only describe funny scenes/lines in the broadest of strokes, since I'd hate to ruin them for you.

As in most comedies, the plot really doesn't matter a whole lot, but I'll describe it anyway. The film starts by showing New York City's bad boy cops (played by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) in action. They proceed to, shall we say, deal with mole hills as if they were mountains, and thanks to their craziness they are soon out of the picture, leaving a void of heroes for NY. Detective Gamble (Ferrell) is a police accountant, who is most enthused by ensuring the accurate recording of legal forms, and in the police department he is stationed opposite Detective Hoitz (Wahlberg), who has an anger issue and hates being stuck at the desk due to an embarrassing accident (Mike, you will love this one).

Gamble, in the process of pursuing illegal scaffolding permits, stumbles across a much bigger problem, a Madoff-like conspiracy led by British billionaire Ershon (Coogan). Gamble convinces Hoitz to help him, but the higher-ups separate them in trying to hush it up. Eventually, Gamble decides to screw it, reconnects with Hoitz, and the two work together to bring Ershon to justice. Obviously, that's a brief overview, but again, the plot isn't all that important.

The actors and the characters that they portray are an interesting bunch. By far the best combo is Ferrell as Detective Gamble. Ferrell brings his trademark deadpan expressions into this film, and they are perfect for representing middle-aged, play-it-safe Gamble. Thus, when Gamble does erupt from time to time, it is as surprising as it is hilarious. Wahlberg, as Hoitz, on the other hand, is pretty much a failure. The only reason his fiery character works at all is the opposition to Ferrell's sedate Gamble. I'm not sure if Wahlberg just tried to ham it up too much, but he ends up relying almost completely on Ferrell to rescue his character. Keaton, who plays the two main character's boss, has a pretty small role but he is phenomenal. I actually didn't recognize him at first because - holy dentures, Batman! - he has not aged well. Samuel L. Jackson carries the "dialogue" early on, with Johnson along for the ride, and he does it just as well as you would expect. Coogan plays the villain very well also, especially his handling of the two main doofuses. Mendes didn't impress me at all, but her role, shall we say, didn't call for much acting, anyway.

Now, the important part: is it funny? Yes, it is. Especially the beginning. SLJ and The Rock's over the top antics at the beginning are a great set up, and when it immediately switches over to the mundane office setting, the contrast is amusing. Indeed, many of the early scenes with Gamble and Hoitz in the police department office are the funniest in the whole movie, especially one extended angry exchange between the two that had the entire theater that I was in brought to tears laughing. Other highlights include the detectives' interactions with other officers and their boss, as well as the villain. The problem is, the laughs come farther and farther apart in the second half of the movie. And while the ending is humorous, it needed either a huge final laugh (ie, Talladega Night's kiss) or at least an extended clever turn of events (ie, Anchorman's bear fight), neither of which occurred. Still, the first half is just about pure comedy gold, and the second half is at least interesting, even if it becomes more the buddy cop film and less the Will Ferrell film.

***

While I can't really compare it to much, The Other Guys is definitely the best comedy I've seen this year, far better than Get Him To The Greek. Of course, comedy is a very particular type of film: what one person finds hilarious, another finds completely stupid, and so on. Personally, I love Will Ferrell films (I even like lesser ones like Semi-Pro and Land of the Lost more than most), due to the actor's comic brilliance as well as the general style of the films. Be warned: even for a Will Ferrell movie, this one has fairly crude humor. A mother and her young teenage son sat right in front of me, and I can't imagine how awkward that must have been. These films are targeted at young males, so proceed accordingly. I'd say this is one of the better Ferrell films, and I'd definitely put it in my top three if they'd just come up with a brilliant comic ending for it (which would have bumped it to **** stars). Regardless, if you're looking for some laughs, find some buddies and go see it; I think you'll enjoy it.