Reno 911!: Miami

I actually enjoy the show and was very unsure about how it could be translated into a movie, so my expectations were not terribly high initially. Then I read one of the reviews on here that said that the movie was much less funny than the show, and overall rather disappointing. After that, my expectations were even lower, so I was pretty much expecting a dud when I went in.

I see what people were saying about it being strange that they tried to shove a plot into what should essentially be series of skits, but contrary to the reviews I've read, I thought it worked just fine. If anything, the cliché terror-attack plot paired with the cliché drug-lord plot were just meant to be a throwaway satire of the kinds of awful plots some franchises have to create in order to be translated into a feature film format ("over-the-top" action "worthy" of the big screen). If anything it just provided for some completely ridiculous scenarios that this viewer found quite entertaining.

As far as the cameos, yeah, they remove you from what shred of "reality" was left in this reality TV parody, but I felt like they worked. For one thing, minus the Rock and Danny DeVito, most of the cameos were not necessarily people everyone is going to recognize. Half the theater was asking "who's that?" when members of Stella showed up, or when someone from Upright Citizen's Brigade was on the screen. But for people who've loved the work of these semi-famous comedians over the years, their presence was a bonus. Not to mention it made the film into an effort by the whole Comedy Central family, which was kind of endearing.

Anyway, going in with low expectations and trying not to take it seriously (it is a comedy, after all), you should have a good time viewing this.

Whenever I saw the regular series on television I definitely enjoyed it. "Reno 911!" is a highly creative and very funny show. However much to my dismay I've only caught bits and pieces of it so I went into this film not knowing nearly as much of the characters' backgrounds as many others in the theater on opening night. Fortunately, enough was explained that newcomers could quickly pick up on what went on despite some in-jokes definitely being present. Now even with bearing my limited level of "Reno 911!" expertise in mind I thought it was hilarious. The biggest problem this film will face is it was setup in a very similar style to last year's "Borat". Between the carefree male nudity and how sex was addressed, the resemblance was very much alike. Despite this approach being taken, this was very much its own movie and accomplished what it set out for.

The real-time mockumentary comedy that "Reno 911" represents has been prevalent on television for the past few years and recently it appears as if it's now being a preferred alternative on the big screen as well. This is with good reason because the characters seem more like actual everyday people than some ridiculous caricature that doesn't resemble anything close to a human being. Viewers can identify with these personalities more and thus stand a better chance of becoming sucked into the different situations no matter how over the top they are. I predict that humorous films will start adhering to this relatively new formula and will be the kick-start to a whole new generation of cinema.

Notwithstanding some of the downright hysterical moments, there were some pieces that didn't work. To start off with, the first half was much funnier then the latter part. As if the writers began running out of jokes and settled for any suitable finale. Also most of the dialog in the show is improvised where it appears that for the movie it was scripted the other way around and this certainly took away from the actors' spontaneity. Finally some of the scenarios are almost a little too far-fetched, even for a notorious farcical ensemble cast such as this.

All in all I found myself laughing out loud a lot and was very glad I caught this one. It appears it won't beat out the television show due to the advantage of getting to compress the running time, but it's still a very comical motion picture that'll guarantee to put just about anyone in stitches. I'd say there's a very good chance a sequel will be in the works and surely look forward to it. Law enforcement is no stranger to either parodies of itself or becoming a target for instances of goofiness that could never really happen, but this is a new take on big-hearted police officers that can't seem to get anything right that'll have you mimicking them for hours on end. Between the witty quotes, the oddball lawbreakers, and the refreshing celebrity guest list…Miami didn't know what hit it!

It's easy to tell that Reno 911: Miami is based on a TV series just by watching it. How can you tell? There's maybe 25 minutes or so of solid material, and an additional 60 worth of filler. In bringing the Comedy Central half hour "reality" cop show to the big screen, you get the sense that the filmmakers had a hard time trying to stretch the thing out. The show itself is often quite funny, and the movie works when it's remaining close in spirit to the TV series. But then they have to go and throw in a silly plot and a series of celebrity cameos that take us out of the movie.

The film takes the incompetent cops from the TV series out of Nevada and into Florida, where they have been invited to attend a police convention in Miami. (They only got invited because every police force got in.) They arrive for some fun in the sun, only to discover a bioterrorist act unfolding at the convention center itself, which has trapped every single police officer inside. Since the cops of Reno are the only available officers not inside the building when the situation kicks in, these eight dim-witted enforcers of the law must literally become the entire Miami Police Force, keeping peace in the city while trying to find out who is behind the chemical attack at the convention center. Other subplots include the Reno officers trying to deal with an evil Scarface-like drug lord (Paul Rudd) who keeps on threatening them, and discovering the truth behind a mysterious tattoo of a man's face that has appeared on the breast of one of the female officer's after a night of sex and binge drinking.

When Reno 911: Miami is following the Cops-style reality show format, the movie can be a lot of good fun. The opening scenes where the eight individual officers are introduced, and the scenes where we get to see them on the job and dealing with situations such as a chicken that got loose made me smile and laugh quite a bit. The actors are at ease during these moments, and they're obviously having a lot of fun. Then the whole plot has to kick in, and the movie just doesn't seem as much fun as it did before. Reno 911 has never exactly been about plot, it's always been a series of mostly improvised skits skewering reality cop shows. While the movie does try to hold onto this format, giving us some various misadventures around Florida that have nothing to do with the biochemical plot, they don't seem as fresh or as funny as the Reno scenes early on. A lot of this has to do with the fact that a lot of the gags are either anti-climactic or have no real pay off. That's not to say that there are not some gags that work. A scene where the cops have to remove a beached whale from a topless beach had me laughing quite a bit, and the pay off involving an explosive device is one of the few that actually lives up to its set up and earns its laugh. More often than not, we either find ourselves smiling politely at the effort the actors are making, or simply staring at the screen with casual indifference to what we are seeing.

The movie seems to suffer from an identity crisis, as it doesn't know if it wants to be a series of skits and gross out gags, or if it wants to attempt to try to tell an actual story and parody action movies. It never finds a central tone or target for satire, and seems to change its mind every five minutes. This gives the film an annoyingly disjointed tone from which it never recovers. The celebrity cameos sprinkled throughout also don't work the way that they should, as they take us out of the movie. We're no longer watching a comic "mockumentary" making fun of cop shows, but we're watching a highly paid actor taking a cut on his paycheck for the sake of getting a quick laugh from the audience. I liked the scenes where the Reno cops took center stage, and were being their usual incompetent selves the best. It's fun watching these improvisational comics (many of whom have worked together for years on other TV shows) play off of each other and just be goofy. But Reno 911 wants to keep on reminding us that we're watching a movie, and the good stuff keeps on getting drowned out by uninspired gags or unnecessary plot.

I certainly don't regret seeing Reno 911, and I think fans of the show probably won't either. However, the inconsistent tone and the uneven ratio of hit and miss gags don't leave a positive impression overall. Maybe this would have worked better as a regular half hour episode with all the filler, celebrity cameos and silly plot removed. The cast certainly seems more comfortable with a shorter amount of time to work in. That way, they don't have to compete with a bunch of stuff that shouldn't even be there in the first place.

Having not seen the TV series, this was my first exposure to the characters of the "Reno 911!" world. As such, the movie was really amusing to watch. There are some really funny bits (mostly coming from the dialog) along with the insane wackiness of the characters. As a first-time viewer, it was just plain fun to watch.

The movie is basically about a group of Reno police officers who travel to Miami for a police convention. When a quarantine restricts the Miami police force (and all the other officers in the city), the Reno crew must defend the city.

The dumb innocence of the characters coupled with the serious tone that goes along with being police officers is well done. Each character is also well-defined with particular quirks, hangups and issues with the other characters. As a result, the things they say are often nutty and hilarious.

If you've never seen the series, everything in the movie will be fresh and amusing. There are some good laughs here and there and the bizarre, kooky characters will keep you fascinated. For new viewers, it's worth checking out.

I haven't laughed this hard in a theater since I saw Something About Mary. That said, I'm a fan of the TV series, and I thought the movie lived up to its expectations. My only complaint is it could have been longer. Nevertheless, I think the writers and actors were on their game. Take in mind this is dumb slapstick humor, with flatulence and vomit jokes, but its still very clever, unique, and definitely funny! There really wasn't much of a storyline, or I should say it had very simple plot. However, that's not what makes Reno 911 funny (a complex plot might even be distracting). What makes Reno 911 funny is the string of endless "skits" and scenarios these incompetent cops put themselves in. This is a great cast of actor/comedians.