The Other Guys

I have to say, I did not expect this film to be as good as it was. Another great addition to the buddy cop genre, as well as a satire of it, this film has huge laughs, and good action sequences. I really can not for the life of me understand why this movie catches so much hate as I've seen in other reviews here. Yes, there are some weak points, as with any movie, but the good HEAVILY overshadows the bad.

Will Ferrel and Mark Wahlberg star as Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz, two under-achieving New York cops who, along with everyone else on the force, live in the shadow of the two super-cops, Christopher Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and P.K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson). When an unexpected turn of events puts Danson and Highsmith out of commission, Allen and Terry decide to step up and take on an investigation of their own, leading to a tangle with foreign operatives, and an arrogant billionaire.

The Other Guys knows what it wants to be, and it achieves its goal in spades. People should know what they're getting into with this, as it delivers exactly what it advertises; a spoof of the 'buddy cop' genre, and a fast-paced action comedy for anyone to enjoy.

I don't understand how a lot of people cannot find anything in this movie funny. From start to finish, I found it hilarious, and laughed out loud several times. There's just as much smart humor and witty interplay between characters as there is random, often weird humor that is present in many of Ferrel's films, and the writing manages to balance the smart humor and the random, sometimes dumb humor very well. There are definitely some loud, sometimes obnoxious moments, such as Ferrel's occasional outbursts, and his 'Gator' emotional episodes, especially the "Pimps Don't Cry" music number, but aside from those small instances, I really had a ball watching this.

The movie starts, and ends, with action, and in between are a bunch of great moments. There's an intense opening car chase, a parking lot fight scene, an office building shootout, and an intense-action-packed final car chase and standoff that I really enjoyed, especially considering the tone of the film. I think it's important to note that even though this film is, at heart, a comedy, the action remains serious, and it's never really slapstick or funny. The first and last car chases were especially entertaining, and they felt very "Bad Boys"-ish.

Ferrel and Wahlberg have great chemistry, and their constant bickering and clashing of personalities really is consistently funny. They both throw themselves into their roles, and their dedication made this movie that much more fun. Ferrell is hilarious, time and again proving himself as one of the best comedy actors out there (you can't help but laugh just by looking at him), and Wahlberg is one of my favorite actors, so it was a joy to watch them together. Michael Keaton also delivered a hilarious, underrated performance, so props to him.

Overall, I highly, highly recommend it, to both fans of the genre, and fans of the actors. 10/10.

I tend to have mixed feelings about Will Ferrell films. Ferrell is a likable guy and plays likable characters, but often his films feel a little too much like extended Saturday Night Live sketches; even if they're funny, they just don't have that much to them.

But I love The Other Guys. The premise is unexceptional, a mismatched buddy movie about two undistinguished cops who stumble into a big case, but the movie is wildly funny.

One of the things I love about this movie is how everyone plays it straight. Ferrell is almost as low key here as a cop-accountant as he was in Stranger Than Fiction, and while the movie is often extremely silly, no one in it ever gives a hint that they know it (although Ferrell has a few over-the-top moments that have that SNL cartoonish feel to them that I could have done without). Wahlberg doesn't act like he's making a cop movie parody, he acts like he's making a cop movie. There is a certain odd realism in moments where the heroes pull off something clever or dazzling and take a moment to be impressed with themselves.

Mainly though, this movie is just really, really funny. I could not stop laughing.

The Other Guys is a funny, but imperfect film. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg have fantastic comedic chemistry and the best scenes involve their endless riffing. Unfortunately, the film is also littered with painfully unfunny and raunchy material.

The main plot is fairly straightforward, but many of the scenes feel cut/pasted together awkwardly. It's a good film, but it's not one that I would recommend with so many other great cinematic options that produce laughs.

Additional thought: The aim for the bushes and tuna/lion scenes are hilarious comedy and the main reasons I rewatched this film.

P.K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Christopher Danson (Dwayne Johnson) are the best action hero rock star cops in the NYPD. They get into outlandish chases for nothing arrests. Everybody loves them. Martin (Rob Riggle) and Fosse (Damon Wayans Jr.) are the jokers. Captain Gene Mauch (Michael Keaton) is in charge. Then there are the Other Guys. Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) is a naive paper pusher. His partner Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) is still trying to make up for shooting Derek Jeter. Gamble is eager to do paperwork for the heroes and Hoitz hates him for it. Highsmith and Danson finally kill themselves stupidly in a chase. Everybody wants to be the next hero cops. Hoitz forces Gamble to take on a high profile case. David Ershon (Steve Coogan) is an investment banker who lost $32 billion of Pamela Boardman (Anne Heche)'s fund. She demands that he replace the losses and he tries to go on the run. Gamble arrests Ershon on a scaffolding permit violation but a professional team takes him. On the personal side, Hoitz can't believe that Gamble is married to Sheila (Eva Mendes).

I would have loved a buddy cop movie with Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson. This is just as good in a completely different way. Ferrell is hilarious and Wahlberg is the perfect angry foil. The fighting partners have great chemistry. The angrier Wahlberg gets, the funnier the movie gets. Adam McKay has a great sense of the ridiculous. The story is stupid. The setups are insane. The dialog is hilarious. There are some gut busting laughs.

I'm disappointed to see that this film still hasn't garnered the attnention it deserves. Even back when it came out it did so pretty quietly and was thus buried under other big budget flicks. Rarely though does a comedy keep you entertained and laughing throughout pretty much the entire film. Most comedies try and fail, or take breaks from the humor with someone else to preserve material. But Ferrell and Wahlberg play off of eachother perfectly in this film and have real chemistry to keep the film quality high. This is also one of the mostquotable films ever. 9 years later and my dad and I still shoot off a "I'm a peacock captain, you gotta let me fly", or a "if I were a lion and you were a tuna I'd swim out to the middle of the ocean and freakin eat you" every once in a short while. I definitely recommend this movie for fans of comedy