Starring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg and Michael Keaton
Directed by: Adam McKay
Rated: PG 13
Running time: 1 hour and 47 mins
Columbia Pictures
Our Score: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars
NEW YORK CITY! As the film opens a voice (I’m thinking it’s an uncredited Ice-T) informs us of that great town. Of course with a great town come great criminals. And great cops. We quickly join up with Highsmith and Danson (Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson in a hilarious cameo) as they pursue the bad guys through the streets of the Big Apple. These two are Super Cops. Now let me tell you about “The Other Guys.”
A hilarious take on the standard cop “buddy” film, “The Other Guys” is one part “Lethal Weapon,” one part “48 Hours” and all parts hilarious. The film centers on two of the city’s least unknown detectives. Allen Gamble (Ferrell) has just moved over to the squad from accounting. Terry Hoitz (Wahlberg) is in the squad because…well, let’s just say his nickname around the squad room is “the Yankee Clipper.” Terry is anxious to get into the everyday action of police work while Allen is happy issuing citations to landlords who don’t have construction licenses. Terry likes to listen to heavy metal. Allen is a big Little River Band fan. They seem to go together like oil and water. However, when what looks like a simple case takes a nasty turn, the two detectives find themselves’ fighting for the truth…and each other.
After last summer’s less then successful “Land of the Lost,” it’s nice to see Ferrell back at the top of his comedy game. His Allen Gamble is possibly his best fleshed out character since Ron Burgundy. Wahlberg shows a surprising knack for being funny, especially when he’s trying to understand how Allen ended up married to a dazzling woman (Eva Mendes) that he considers plain and unexciting. He’s like “Lethal Weapon’s” Martin Riggs without the racist and anti-Semitic back story. Director McKay once again proves himself a master of comedy, with an added bonus of successfully staging some great action set pieces. McKay has directed some of Ferrell’s best films (“Anchorman,” “Step Brothers”) and the combination of those two always seem to add up to funny. It’s always great to see Michael Keaton (who is already having one heck of a summer courtesy of “Toy Story 3”) on screen. And the supporting cast makes sure that the laughs keep coming, from embattled businessman Steve Coogan to a pair of co-workers who do their best to keep Allen and Terry on the sidelines hilariously played by Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans, Jr.
