Review: The Other Guys

Mark Wahlberg is Terry Hoitz, an ill-tempered disgraced cop for shooting a beloved ballplayer. Will Ferrell is Allen Gamble, a mild-mannered transfer from forensic accounting. When not at each other's throats, the two are desperately clawing their way out of the shadow of the city's two hero cops. These two loser cops must put aside their differences to take on a high profile case involving shady business dealings and financial fraud.

I am not a fan of Will Ferrell. His zany voice pattern and overly animated body language has never been funny despite being accepted by the general audience. That said, I loved this movie. Ferrell is hilarious in his subtley playing straight man to Wahlberg's overly animated comedic lead. Ferrell should be more restrained more often. His poor man's Jim Carey impression has been spread even for the once very friendly general audience. Wahlberg deconstructs his tough guy image into a brilliant parody of it. Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson both have memorable turns. Steve Coogan plays dim witted to a "T." Eva Mendes chews some of the scenery, but she seems comfortable in her surroundings. Between this and Toy Story 3, Michael Keaton proves that he has not lost a step despite an unfortunate turn in his career. Keaton is in desperate need of a comeback.

Adam McKay surprises here with his very competent action-oriented direction. The Other Guys is one of his more coherent and straight-forward stories to date. With help from the keen performances, the movie rises above its use of buddy cop cliches. The interesting and topical master crime pushes the story in compelling and seemingly fresh directions. The most interesting scene of all involves the mismatched duo finally finding common ground and going out for a few drinks in a beautifully shot 360 stop-motion technique. When the credit roll, it may very well be the most terrifying cinematic experience this year, but it is not what you think.

Where the movie really fails is between the jokes where Ferrell and Wahlberg awkwardly stumble through the material despite already proving they can handle drama at least in the simplest form. These moments of weakness cause the movie to occasionally sag, but when the jokes and action hit, they leave an impression. A positive one.

The actors and director all perform well. The story wants to say something relevant, but cannot wade through its cliches and simplicity enough to make a lasting intellectual impression. Nevertheless, it is a funny and entertaining broad comedy.

7/10