Much like its two lead characters, The Other Guys features two very different styles that should be discordant but somehow combine into a harmonious success. Director Adam McKay has managed to take the absurd comedy he’s applied to his past films (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and Step Brothers) and team it with a parody of the buddy-cop flick. The result is unmistakably an Adam McKay-Will Ferrell picture, and while the chemistry between the leads could be strong and the comedy can be uneven at times (particularly in the third act), The Other Guys is an discordant success.
Action-hero detectives P.K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Dwayne Johnson (Christopher Danson) are the hot-shots of the NYPD. When they’re put out of commission (in one of the movie’s best scenes), it leaves a space open for a new pair of crime-fighting super-cops. Detective Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) thinks he’d have that action-hero glory by now if it weren’t for two major snags 1) he’s became one of the biggest jokes/hated-figures in the department after he accidentally shot Derek Jeter; and 2) he’s saddled with the world’s happiest desk jockey, Forensic Accountant Alan Gamble (Ferrell). However, when a suspect (Steve Coogan) in one of Gamble’s files leads to a more exciting case, Hoitz pushes his reluctant partner into adrenaline-fueled property damage, accidental destruction of evidence and (in a true sign that you’ve really made it as a buddy-cop team that play by their own rules) scolding by their captain (Michael Keaton).
Like all of McKay’s movies, The Other Guys isn’t really about the plot. The plot is simply the tree to hang as many jokes on as possible. There’s a lot of Ferrell’s “screaming/stating-the-obvious” humor that’s become that actor’s trademark, but somehow it still manages to work. In my review of last year’s Land of the Lost, I lamented the predictability of that humor, but The Other Guys shows that utilization of that delivery is essential in making Ferrell’s humor work. McKay knows how to integrate that style into of the movie rather than use it as a crutch. So when you have Ferrell screaming about the loudness of explosions, it works.
That in-the-moment observational humor works well when set inside with the movie’s buddy-cop parody. Taken on its own, the parody of The Other Guys would feel like a lesser version of Hot Fuzz as Gamble takes to the mundane rigors of police work set against the backdrop of an action movie. But when you pair this genre-parody with something as silly as a character observing how good water tastes when served with a slice of cucumber, The Other Guys feels like its own movie with its own cucumber-flavor.
Of course, the chemistry in any buddy cop movie, whether it’s comic or straight, is essential. The chemistry between Ferrell and Wahlberg is serviceable, but throughout the film I kept thinking, “Who’s another action star that could play Wahlberg’s role better?” It’s not that Wahlberg is bad. It simply feels like the casting was better on paper and than in the final film. Don’t get me wrong: Wahlberg’s good and delivers as an action-hero-who-wasn’t. McKay has more success melding his absurd humor with parody than Ferrell and Wahlberg do in synching their performances.
But the entire movie is a tough balancing act and The Other Guys has trouble getting the mixture to work to its full effect. Because the funny parts are so good, you’ll notice when there’s a stretch of jokes that just aren’t working. That being said, The Other Guys is almost as quotable as Anchorman and I have the feeling it will be just as rewarding repeat viewings (you’ll never hear the term “soup kitchen” the same way again). You’ll also get the feeling that there’s an unrated cut just waiting to be unleashed on DVD.
The Other Guys is a funny movie that’s either repeat viewings or a hard-R cut away from being a classic. But judged on a single viewing, I was impressed at how McKay not only managed to bring his comic style into another comic genre, but even managed to kick in a little satire for good measure (the movie features the most education closing credits of the year). Despite a fragile comic chemistry between Ferrell and Wahlberg and some lost energy in the third act, The Other Guys is a solid hybrid comedy that only Adam McKay and Will Ferrell could deliver.
Rating: B
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I'm sold on the poster alone! And that pic of hot coffee on Ferrel. Oh, and the teaser trailer on wires, and the other trailers. Guess not so alone huh!
Cant wait to see this film!
If its as good as Blades of Glory/Elf I'm happy. I liked Anchorman for Ferrel, but it was a bit too drawn out and some of the other characters werent that great in it.
Matt i think the Wallberg replacement you were looking for would be Keanu reeves, aka the more kick ass less funny paul rudd. in saying that i am loving the movie the way it is
The movie sucked!!! Haven't been robbed like that since they got me with Eddie Murphy in “Best Defense”. Jewish people just got to get better material and stop using Blacks to bait people. The movie sucked!!! What these people will do to get the number one box office. Stick to Holo…
I agree! I saw that crap yesterday and it was total garbage. Who wrote that junk? A 5 year old.
Whalberg sucked, Ferrel did ok but there was no chemistry between them. It was a typical, thrown together, stereotype, hot mess. One of the worst move so far this year. A mom and her son walked out.
Damn funny :: http://j.mp/9SQOjd
Saw the movie yesterday and loved it. Laughed a lot at all the insane jokes and back and forth humor between Ferrell and Wahlberg……..especially liked the way Wahlberg kept asking Ferrell, when being introduced to his wife, “who is this woman?” I listened to the narrator for the film, and was sure it was Ice-T (from Law and Order, SVU), and just read that it was Bill Kurtis? How could that be? It sounded just like Ice-T, who sounds nothing like Bill Kurtis.
Worst movie ever made. Didn’t laugh once. All the jokes were bad, the acting was bad, and they pushed the jokes to long. Take your who is this woman line. Its ok to say it once or twice, maybe even three times to get the joke across that he didn’t believe ferell could get a wife that hot. But they said it like 8 times. Totally stupid.
this movie was horrible….i agree with runsey, the acting was horrible and the jokes werent good. I usually love will farrell but this was the worst of his movies and his sidekick was a bad actor and didnt fit in. I think i laughed once during the whole movie..it was very corny and boring and even irritating.
We walked out on this crazy movie. It was too silly for us; story was not good nor was the acting ability of the two stars. It put me to sleep. We liked Anchorman, but I am afraid that this one will be our last Will Ferrell movie. Senior Citizens
the movie was awesome, dont dis it!
Hey man, I really think you should get another dealer, because the thing you’re smoking makes you speak and mostly write crap. How much are they paying you to write that amount of manure? Is this a comedy? it absolutely makes no sense!!! I think you Hollywood people should stop robbing people who want to see a decent movie and should stop paying guys like you to write reviews to sell the unsellable.
No plot, irrational, no sense, bad acting and worst of all, I can’t understand how some reasonably good actors lend themselves to such movies. I think they really need the money to pay for their Ferraris…
Don’t waste your time nor your money on this.
This is the worst movie I have ever seen! I have been drinking when I watched it and it is still not even remotely funny! what a waste of an hour and a half! No story line or no humor either! Total waste of the actors talent!
I couldn’t have said it better myself…I watched it on demand the other night & started to get nauseous.It got so bad that I kept hitting the ffw on the dvr in little bursts to end the misery,the only thing that kept me from shutting it down completely was my stubborness of wasting the $4.99 spent on this movie made directly by SATAN himself!I’m only thankful that I at least had the intuition not to take the family to see it at the theater & not to be out a $100.00 on that crapfest they tricked the studio & the public into buying.Ferrel & Wahlberg should have to do community service at movie theaters across the country cleaning up the garbage people threw at the screens after viewing their version of ISHTAR…
Sucked it was slow bad acting slow and boring nothing happend and I can not believe they put there names on this garbage. it was will worst movie to date
One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. Completely sexist and the most pathetic jokes. I literally walked away to re-read a book I’d finished a few hours before just so I wouldn’t have to watch the rest of it, and when I came back in my fiance had fallen asleep.
The problem with The Other Guys is that is was too funny for its modern public, all of its most subtle and hilarious points are never mentioned because their never recognized. People are idiots and have no capacity for quality. goes clean over their tiny heads.
had it come out in the 90s or early millennium it probably would have been revered as one of the greatest comedies of all time. (for its one-liners ALONE)
“A soup kitchen”…really? you people aren’t ready.
Great