When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell together was something I had never imagined, so it struck me as very odd. With Adam McKay at the helm I was definitely hoping for the best, but with this summer not having given me anything to be excited about, I wasn’t sure if this could deliver. I came into this movie thinking it would probably be just another run of the mill comedy with a few jokes here and there. I was very mistaken. The Other Guys is a great film.
The movie kicks off right where the trailers leave you, with the NYPD parading two of their biggest performers, P.K. Highsmith [Samuel L. Jackson] and Christopher Danson [Dwayne Johnson] all over the media following a minor drug bust. Although they are notorious for the over use of their power to uphold the law, even in the instances of the smallest crimes, these two are spun to be the big heroes in the city. That is until the other guys, namely Allen Gamble [Will Ferrell] and Terry Hoitz [Mark Wahlberg], step up and try to take on a case of their own. It is here where the relationship between these two really begins to stand out.
The Top Cops: P.K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Christopher Danson (Dwayne Johnson)
Ferrell plays a police detective that is complacent in crunching numbers in the background as the precinct’s financial accountant, while Wahlberg plays a bitter cop that has been reduced to office work by a mistake he made early in his career. One wants to keep his life simple and calm by avoiding field work, while the other is looking for his next big chance to explode back on the scene. The juxtaposition of these two cops’ characters is what really makes this film work. At times they will argue over the smallest things and with Ferrell’s typical wacky, off the wall comedy (think Anchorman) and Wahlberg’s dry humor, these two seem to have a great on screen chemistry. Be it from Wahlberg’s love for Ferrell’s spouse, Dr. Sheila Gamble [Eva Mendes] and inability to understand why she married him, to Ferrell’s inability to understand why Wahlberg incessantly wants to take unnecessary risks, there wasn’t a moment that passed when I wasn’t completely enjoying the antics of these two.
Really, who is that!? Will Ferrell and his on-screen wife, Eva Mendes.
Along with these inter-group struggles, the two are also met with outside conflict from a competing duo of cops and from their precinct captain. The two fellow officers, whose intentions are to ridicule the two and ultimately seal the deal on their perpetual assignment to desk duty, always seem to have a one up on the pair yet somehow are always thwarted by some coincidence or unsuspected slapstick occurrence at the very last moment. Their captain, Captain Gene Mauch [Michael Keaton], manages to balance his time in the film, working a hilarious side job, raising a family, and keeping these two in check, using familiar pop culture references, whenever they get out of line. The cast comes together really well and gives a realistic, yet hilarious take on how their precinct manages to keep the city streets safe.
The pacing of the movie is remarkable, as it manages to time and balance it’s action and drama in with the comedy, usually just long enough to set up a really hilarious tension break. It is essentially a large parody of the over dramatic cop dramas of the early 90s. Slow motion gun fights, over the top explosions, good cop/bad cop scenarios and even narration by Ice-T, its all here. The music takes the cue as well, offsetting the heavy action driven scenes with milder sultry saxophone blues, similar to the ones used in the olden days. At times, nostalgia briefly sets in, taking me back to the days when shows like NY Undercover and Law & Order were all the rave, yet in a matter of minutes, the movie returns to it’s humor, reminding you that this isn’t your typical police fare.
The Other Guys: Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell
All in all, I really enjoyed this movie. It really had me captivated from the beginning and it is a movie I’d recommend it to anybody who enjoys police dramas or a good comedy. This summer’s fare of movies has been lacking in the laugh department and finally, I think I’ve found a movie that can deliver the goods for a while to come. Definitely go check out The Other Guys. It’ll be worth your efforts.
Tags: Damon Wayans Jr., Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, The Other Guys, Will Ferrell
Marcus Thomas is an aspiring video editor, who has yet to be realized. His favorite genres of movies are horror flicks, romantic comedies, and the occasional Disney "made for TV" melodrama. He enjoys sports & video games just as much as the next guy, but is deathly afraid of frogs, midgets, clowns, paintballs and potpourri.
