The Other Guys: Movie Review

The Other Guys: Movie Review

The Other Guys
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan
Director: Adam McKay
Will Ferrell reteams with director Adam McKay (who made Ferrell famous in Anchorman, Talladega nights and Step Brothers) for this buddy cop comedy.
Ferrell plays Detective Allen Gamble, a mild mannered desk bound cop whose partner Terry Hoitz (Wahlberg) is an uptight ready for action, desperate to impress cop.
The pair suddenly find themselves thrust into the limelight and into a major job when their department hot shots (excellently played by Samuel L Jackson and Dwayne Johnson) are taken off an investigation (to say why would spoil one of the film's best gags).
But when these "other guys" are given the chance to step up and impress the department captain (played with great comic chops by Michael Keaton) by looking into the case of billionaire David Ershon (Coogan), not everything goes to plan&
It's another case of check your brain at the door and get ready for some silly chuckles with The Other Guys. If you do that, you'll be guaranteed a great time in the company of the hilariously deadpan Will Ferrell.
His at times caustic partnership with Wahlberg works well - even if Wahlberg spends most of the time shouting, it's a nice contrast with Ferrell's more laid back and annoying cop.
Where The Other Guys succeeds brilliantly is in its opening minutes - Jackson and Johnson have a great time deftly parodying every violent crime cop flick and the start of the film is guaranteed to leave you in stitches.
Some of that momentum is carried on - and once again Ferrell and Wahlberg's comments are destined for catchphrase status (eg "I'm going to climb over your anger wall one day - and it'll be glorious" and "Cap'n, I'm a peacock - you've got to let me fly" are just a selection of the many quotable lines) but sadly the plot just can't sustain itself to the end.
Thankfully though a smart ensemble cast - including a star turn by Michael Keaton as a TLC line quoting department head - manage to keep this film on the right side of hilarious parody.

If you want to just laugh stupidly for reasons that you don't always know why, then The Other Guys is another good solid addition to Ferrell's comic contribution - but he's yet to match his turn as Ron Burgundy in Anchorman.