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Comedic writer/director Adam McKay has managed to direct some of Will Ferrell’s funniest performances—in movies like Anchorman and Talladega Nights. So whenever the two decide to team up again, low-brow comedy buffs like me stop and take notice. It’s no big surprise, then, that in their latest comedy, The Other Guys, Ferrell’s the funniest he’s been in years. The real surprise is that he gets some serious comedic competition from tough guy Mark Wahlberg.
Ferrell and Wahlberg play Allen and Terry, a couple of NYPD desk jockeys who fill out paperwork while superstar cops like the legendary Danson and Highsmith (Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson) are out chasing bad guys and picking up chicks. Disgraced by an honest on-the-job accident, Terry wants nothing more than to get back on the streets. Unfortunately, he’s stuck with a worthless partner like Allen—a nerdy pencil-pusher who prefers paperwork to real police work.
When Allen decides to bust billionaire banker Sir David Ershon (Steve Coogan) for a number of scaffolding permit violations, the two of them suddenly find themselves in the middle of a much bigger case—one that could make their careers. Though their captain (Michael Keaton) warns them to back off, Allen and Terry aren’t about to let their big break pass them by.
If you want to catch each and every one of the hilarious lines in The Other Guys, you’ll just have to make arrangements for a private showing. If, on the other hand, you choose to see it in a packed theater, be prepared for the howls of your fellow moviegoers to drown out half of the dialogue.
Still, the low-brow script wouldn’t get as many laughs without the film’s brilliantly hilarious stars. Ferrell and Wahlberg definitely make an unlikely pair—and so do their characters. But their comedic chemistry couldn’t be better. Ferrell hasn’t been this funny in ages—yet Wahlberg still manages to upstage him as the high-strung detective with anger issues. Together, they turn the old Good Cop, Bad Cop routine into Funny Cop, Funnier Cop.
Unfortunately, though, The Other Guys suffers from a common comedy conundrum: it just doesn’t know when to quit. As the film nears its conclusion, the already weak story begins to crumble—yet it just keeps going. It seems that McKay wanted to make some kind of statement about financial corruption—and as he starts taking the story way too seriously, the humor simply fizzles out.
While it may end on a low point, though, The Other Guys is an arresting cop comedy. Like any other outrageous comedy, it has its share of awkward moments and jokes that just don’t work—but, loaded with exaggerated cop movie clichés and other comedic surprises, it’s still one of the summer’s funniest.
Blu-ray Review:
When you put Will Ferrell and director Adam McKay together, you know what you’ll get: a whole bunch of random silliness. And that’s exactly what you can expect from the Blu-ray release of The Other Guys, too.
If you’re looking for more cop craziness, look no further. This Blu-ray release comes complete with two versions of the film—the theatrical and unrated versions—along with tons of wacky extras. To see some of the random improv and other scenes that didn’t make the cut, you can check out Line-o-Rama, Michael Keaton’s Bed Bath & Way Beyond, the 18 deleted/extended scenes, or—for a little extra action—the aptly-named Alternate Action. For making-of features, you can check out Crash & Burn! (a feature exploring the film’s stunts and action scenes) or Wasn’t That??? (which discusses the film’s cast and cameos).
For the most part, though, the disc is loaded with all kinds of pointless wackiness. Click your way through the special features menu, and you can meet Mark Wahlberg’s extreme-eating childhood friend. You can see extreme close-ups of Dwayne Johnson’s big, gleaming grin. And you can watch writer/producer Chris Henchy play a game he calls “We Shouldn’t Kiss Chicken.”
And, of course, there’s the Mom-mentary, in which the mothers of Will Ferrell, Chris Henchy, and Adam McKay sit around and talk about how great the movie is—and how much they love The Rock. Of course, you probably won’t learn a heck of a lot about the movie by listening, but it sure is entertaining.
You probably won’t be able to handle all of the extras in one sitting (at least I couldn’t), but if you do decide to check them out, feel free to do so at random. Unless you happen to choose Rob Riggle Likes to Party (which is just plain annoying), you’re pretty much guaranteed to find something that’s either mildly interesting or oddly entertaining.
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