Movie Review - 'The Other Guys'

The Other Guys Starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, and Eva Mendes Directed by Adam McKay Rated PG-13

The least popular words ever uttered at a concert are "This one's from our new album." Well, that or "How 'bout another round of applause for our opening act, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band." But the reason people go grab an overpriced beer during the new stuff is because they pay to hear the hits. In The Other Guys, it's like Will Ferrell put out a double-disc concept album and decided to let that dominate most of his concert and all of the encore. In other words, there are plenty of chances to go hit the merchandise table or the port-o-john with this movie. Ferrell has perfected a rather imperfect brand of comedy. His signature characters are all fairly similar: They have post-ironic musical tastes, their rants are explosive and usually peppered with outdated phraseology, the fashion sense is an amalgam of things that were never fashionable, and they're oblivious to their own lack of appeal. That same characterization surfaces again in The Other Guys, but unfortunately, there isn't enough of it. Ferrell is deadly accurate with his newest weapon, Det. Allen Gamble, who is all of those things above and a little more. And in a better comedy, it would be a fantastic character. Unfortunately, this is a send-up of the buddy cop genre, which is blatantly unnecessary, because the buddy cop genre slipped into inescapable self-parody when Tom Hanks was partnered with a dog in Turner & Hooch. Det. Gamble's partner is Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), who was on the fast track in homicide until a case of mistaken identity planted him behind a desk. While Gamble is a fully-formed comic creation, Hoitz barely exists outside of a few bullet points, putting Wahlberg - not really a natural comedian in the first place - at a big disadvantage. Together, as you might expect, Gamble and Hoitz are the laughing stock of the squad room, until they decide to tackle a case that begins with absent construction permits and ends, well, a little higher up the totem pole. Getting there is less enjoyable than watching Hoitz' exasperation with Gamble and watching Will Ferrell find new notes to play with essentially the same character he's presented since Craig the cheerleader on Saturday Night Live almost 15 years ago. It really is kind of boring watching the story go toward its obvious end, and as is the case with lots of comedies gone awry, The Other Guys runs out of ideas before it runs out of time, so it works way too hard trying to manufacture laughs, which can be brutal business. The film is too long, by maybe 20 to 30 minutes, and there are plenty of painful scenes and subplots that could have been completely removed and there'd be a lot more to sing about. Addition by subtraction, they call it. The worst of the bunch involves Eva Mendes, also not the world's foremost comic talent. She plays Ferrell's wife, an in-joke, I think, about how schlubs in movies always seem to have hot wives (*cough* Adam Sandler), and that much actually works. One of the film's best scenes is Wahlberg meeting Mendes and not being able to figure out how in the hell she wound up with Ferrell. But one of the worst is a dinner scene with the Gambles that ends with a marital spat. In the flow of the movie, it looks like a poorly ad-libbed rehearsal, and since it's totally inconsequential, you have to wonder why director Adam McKay left it in the film at all. The Other Guys works best when it's a full-tilt comedy, along the lines of a Reno 911!, but as they ratchet up the actual investigation, the movie really loses its way. Michael Keaton, who plays the police captain, is really mailing it in, not that he can be blamed. But it is interesting how much better his performance is in Toy Story 3, in which he is not only a disembodied voice, but the voice of a plastic doll that is a much stronger human character than this police captain. But again, there's no blame to spread among the actors. They're all game for it; they just don't have anything to do. That's not true for Ferrell, who for the first time in a long time makes that oddball character of his seem like someone you've met and not just a holdover from a sketch comedy show.

Comments

[Honz Brix]

I read another review Colin that said the exact opposite. They said Ferrell was aweful and the rest of the cast was actually pretty good. I'm confused so i guess i must go and see it for myself lol. I was going to anyway but i still enjoy reading your reviews

[Jeffrey Van Camp]

Great review. Though I scored a bit higher, I agree with your statements. The film just peters out halfway through. I think Gamble is one of Ferrell's best characters. He seems a step above the usual SNL-ish stuff he comes up with, but I lose his motivations later in the film. The script seems to alternate between showing the real Allen Gamble and the real Terry Hoitz. Whoever it's not showing has to act like an idiot in the meantime.

[Amy]

Another great work of Mark. I must go and see it

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[Joanne]

This is one BAD, BAD, BAD, movie. I rented it last night, and did not even crack ONE smile the whole time. My husband smirked at some of the cruder stuff, but he didn't laugh out loud at any point during the movie. It doesn't work on any level; the plot did not make sense or flow at any point - perhaps there were just too many plots and sub-plots. Mark Wahlberg's character and acting were horrible (and he wasn't alone!). The chemistry between he and Ferrell was unconvincing at best. The crudity and crassness might be acceptable if it was genuinely funny, but it fails in that respect also. A great movie or story is characterized by the "suspension of disbelief"; this one accomplishes the opposite. The only thing you can't believe is just how awful it is!

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