Bon Cop, Bad Cop

Bon Cop Bad Cop had me in tears. The laughs are continuous, the suspense is consistent, the imagery is beautiful, the action is impressive... the chemistry is incredible. It's almost like Boondock Saints. fast paced and modern, while staying true to Canada and the abrasive feelings between Québec and Ontario, while centering around, what else, Hockey! Being bilingual, I can say I may have laughed twice as hard as anyone else in the theater; However, this half-English half-french movie is sure to please anyone regardless of maternal language thanks to perfect subtitles which only add to the amazingness of the film.

Highly recommended.

When the body of the executive of hockey Benoir Brisset is found on the billboard of the border of Quebec and Ontario, the jurisdiction of the crime is shared between the two police forces and detectives David Bouchard (Patrick Huard) from Montreal and Martin Ward (Colm Feore) from Toronto are assigned to work together. With totally different styles, attitudes and languages, the reckless David and the ethical Martin join force to disclose the identity of the Tattoo Killer, a deranged serial-killer that is killing managers of hockey.

"Bon Cop Bad Cop" is a sort of parody to "Lethal Weapon", exploring the rivalry in Canada between Quebec and Ontario and the passion of Canadians for hockey. The film is a hilarious police story, using the common clichés of two different cops that become partners but in very funny situations. In the deleted scenes there is one particular showing the two families together that should have been used in the final edition. I liked this film a lot, but I believe it is funnier for Canadians and fans of hockey. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Bon Cop Bad Cop"

Bon Cop, Bad Cop is probably the best movie I've seen in awhile. What struck me to most was that the chemistry between Patick Huard (Bouchard)and Colm Feore (Ward) was very believable, and the dialogue was very human. The characters were never "exposition-y" and spoke like real people. I also liked that both characters are bilingual, not going for the cheap/insulting digs of "stupid English doesn't understand french" or vice versa. Viewers, of course, do not need to understand french to know exactly what's going on or being said. In fact, there is an entire tutorial on swearing in french given by Bouchard fairly early on in the film which some might find educational.

There are some hilarious digs at hockey culture: the entire character of Harry Buttman being the most obvious; but it never descends into forced jokes or "strategic" set-ups a la Will Ferrell.

Though it is a very Quebec film, it deserves a wide audience.

The chemistry between Huard and Feore is fantastic. I had thought the subtitles would be annoying but they are such an integral part of the humour that I didn't mind them at all.

There are moments in the movie that are shocking enough to make you squeeze your eyes shut, but the humour is retained all the way through.

Warning - I was part of a test audience. There were a lot of complaints about language and violence. I thought it was brilliantly done, however if you're sensitive to either, this movie may not be for you. I hope the film doesn't get changed because of the complaints. It is perfectly balanced as it is.

I saw this with my wife on opening day, and we both loved it! Great action and great humour. We saw the French version, ie: the English dialogue is subtitled. I imagine that in the English version it's the other way around. If you are bilingual you have an advantage as we found a few times we were the only ones laughing. Some of the jokes didn't get translated quite right from English to French, and I'm sure there are a few French jokes that are funnier if you are from or are familiar with Québec. The direction was superbly done, with some great juxtaposition in one of the scene. The language wasn't that bad (unless you are French, there's more French swearing than English) and there were a couple of graphic scenes, so don't take young kids. Also a good spoof of some prominent hockey figures. Rick Mercer and Louis-Jose Houde provide their typical comedy excellently.

Overall a great movie and I strongly recommend it!