LET'S BE COPS (2014 - COMEDY / ACTION) ***1/2 out of ***** OR 7 out of 10
(Let's hope they're not wearing G-strings under
those outfits. I'm just saying...)
CAST:
Jake Johnson, Damon Wayans Jr., Nina Dobrev, Rob Riggle, Andy Garcia,
James D'Arcy, Joshua Ormond, Keegan Michael Key, Jonathan Lajole.
DIRECTOR:
Luke Greenfield
WARNING:
Some SPOILERS and some not very convincing faux cops - straight ahead
IT'S LIKE THIS:
Back in 2012 we reviewed 21 JUMP STREET (review # 444), the cinematic
adaptation of the 80's TV show wherein doofus cops Jenko (Channing Tatum) and
Schmidt (Jonah Hill) were recruited into their precinct's "Jump
Street" program. Apparently, this
involved posing as high school students to curb any drug problems in local
school hallways. This proved a little
too successful: let's just say a couple of developmentally-arrested douches
like these two going undercover as developmentally-arrested douches who are
still in school is kind of like Kim Kardashian going undercover at some
Bootylicious Festival Celebration of Big Asses.
Then, this summer, we saw the return of Jenko and
Schmidt as they were given another shot to fuck things up while undercover -
this time in college. 22 JUMP STREET
(review # 552) proved to be even more of a Nutball Extravaganza, as we watched
our two doofus heroes pitch headlong into the fray of classes, hangovers,
fraternity parties, football games, and walks-of-shame. Ahem.
Let's just say you haven't lived until you've seen nerdball Schmidt
trudge home across campus in the wee hours of the morning after having
discovered someone used his ass for just one night. Deal with it, tubby. It can be fun.
Now, in our latest review, we find out what
happens when the whole "cops-go-undercover-as-doofuses" gets inverted
into "doofuses-go-sort-of-undercover-as-cops." The flick is titled LET'S BE COPS and
everything you need to know about this film is essentially there in the "as-simple-as-it-sounds"
title. Our heroes are two slacker Los
Angelenos: Ryan (Jake Johnson) and Justin (Damon Wayans Jr.). And while I wouldn't go so far as to say they
make Jenko and Schmidt look like rocket scientists, our boys from 21 & 22
JUMP STREET have very little reason to feel insecure around these two
goobers.
Justin is the "Schmidt" of the two; you
know: the smart, shy, geeky, socially-inept one whose brains often get in the
way of his dick and thereby ruin what little game he has. Except Justin is black and in much better
shape than Schmidt, who is pasty and always looked like he was one jelly
doughnut away from being booted off the force.
Ryan, on the other hand, is the "Jenko" of the duo; you
know: the somewhat hot, thoroughly
libido-driven skeeze whose dick often is in control of the caboose, with his
(minimal) brains decidedly trussed up like a turkey in the trunk. Needless to say, we've seen these two
before.
While Justin has a thankless job in a
"pay-your-dues" position as some asshole executive's personal
assistant in a video game company, this does not stop him from having big
dreams. Specifically, he wants to pitch
and peddle a first-person shooter game called, ahem, "Patrolman L.A." Or something like that. Never mind that his demo material for the
game looks a lot like a cartoon version of that cheesy 70's show
C.H.I.P.S. Only somehow more lame. If that's even remotely possible.
But at least Justin has dreams. I'm not sure what the fuck Ryan has. When he's not pretending to be coaching touch
football for a bunch of snot-nosed kids who don't seem to know who the hell he
is, he basically macks on anything that doesn't have the common sense to zap
him with a tazer within the first few seconds.
Oh, and he once starred in a commercial for a genital herpes cream. Suffice it to say, neither of these two have
exactly conquered the world since leaving high school. Which makes it particularly awkward when they
get an invitation to their 10th Reunion.
Fortunately, according to the invite, it is a
masquerade-themed reunion. Meaning
Justin and Ryan could easily don some sophisticated eyemasks, elegant tuxedos,
and totally work that "mysterious-stranger-returns-from-10-years-overseas"
routine. Hell, wearing that kind of
outfit, these dunderheads could easily get away with saying they work for the,
um, government but, uh, cannot exactly disclose what they do. James Bond does it, and look how much pussy
and ass he gets.
Unfortunately, our Mensa candidate Ryan
interprets "masquerade" as "costume party" and utters those
three (four?) words that will change his and Justin's life forever. Hint: look at the title of this movie - and
think real hard.
Before you know it, our two idiots are dressed up
like Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena from END OF WATCH (but more laughable)
and are be-bopping their dumb asses down to the reunion. And before you know it, their former
classmates - dressed elegantly in proper masquerade attire - are looking at
them like a couple of jackholes who just saw END OF WATCH and got a little
carried away. In other words, not the
best of reunion experiences, folks.
Fortunately (or unfortunately), there are a lot
of stupid women in this world who are apparently easily-swayed by a
uniform. Sure enough, while our two
dejected faux cops are walking home from their train wreck of a high school
reunion, they notice that a lot of sexy honeys are... smiling and checking them
out, all lascivious-like. Apparently,
it's the police uniforms they have on.
According to this movie, LAPD outfits are kind of like the fashion
equivalent of beer goggles: with them on, anyone looks hot. Essentially, the moral of the story is
this: guys, if you're having a hard time
scoring with the fairer sex, slip on a police uniform and the females will be
lining up for your spermatozoas. Well,
you know what I mean.
Soon enough, our two Milli Vanilli cops are
milking their fake status as policemen, and have distorted the LAPD's
mantra of "To Serve and
Protect" into "To Cruise For Chicks and Generally Behave Like The
Kind of Policeman Who Eventually Gets Investigated By Internal
Affairs." Except these two
boneheads don't have to worry about that because, as we have painstakingly
found out, they're not really cops.
They, do, however, have to worry about being charged with impersonating
law officers and driving a fake cop car with even faker credentials. Oh, I forgot to mention that Justin and Ryan
bought a car on Ebay and souped it up to look like an LAPD vehicle? My bad.
They obviously felt they hadn't broken enough laws - and stepped up
their stupidity a level or two.
Soon, however, Justin and Ryan's pseudo-law
enforcement shenanigans land them into some hot water with a Russian criminal
figure named Mossi (James D'Arcy), who doesn't like cops mucking about in his
turf, let alone fake ones. It doesn't
help that Josie (Nina Dobrev), the girl Justin has a crush on, actually buys
Justin and Ryan's END OF WATCH routine and is counting on them to put Mossi
away and clean up her neighborhood.
Where did they find this dumb bitch?
I bet she thinks Santa and the Easter Bunny are real, too.
Now, our two "heroes" must make a hard
choice: (1) do the right thing and
finally start acting like real heroes and put a stop to Mossi's reign of
terror - or (2) continue to act like super-tools playing cop dress-up just to
net some L.A. poontang. Hmmmmmm... which
will they choose?
Men are not complex creatures, folks. Bet on the poontang.
BUT SERIOUSLY:
In past reviews, we've talked about what elevates a movie into the realm
of solidly-good films and above. A lot
of good films have premises that didn't sound like much, but were deployed in
such a way that the end result was a fairly engaging and entertaining
ride. Which leads to something we've
discussed a lot lately: execution.
Execution can make or break a film.
A great idea, ill-executed, can produce a weak film; conversely, a weak
idea, well-executed, can create a good or better film. LET'S BE COPS is a prime example of the
latter.
On the surface, you'd think that a film about two
underachievers posing as cops for fun wouldn't amount to much, but director
Luke Greenfield and co-writer Nicholas Thomas wring some pretty funny and
clever ideas and situations from this paper-thin scenario. It helps immeasurably that leads Jake Johnson
and Damon Wayans Jr. are ideally-cast (especially Johnson). These talented elements both in front of and
behind the camera keep the film coasting at a brisk, amusing pace that
constantly finds creatively funny detours.
However, the most vital characteristic that
differentiates a good and better film from all others is a solid emotional core
that allows you to care and root for its characters. The stronger the emotional core and the more
powerful the concern for the characters, the higher a film rates. Many movies are passable, even above average,
entertainment - but what often keeps them from being anything more than that is
lack of any real connection with the characters.
In LET'S BE COPS, the most surprising thing is
how our regard for Justin and Ryan deepens as we enter the third act of the
film. It becomes clear that Greenfield
and Thomas have been carefully planting some thematic seeds and setting up some
narrative threads that will pay off later on - but doing it in a way that
doesn't feel calculated and false. We
are so busy laughing at Justin and Ryan's raucous shenanigans that we aren't
aware of their overall character arcs until they've snuck up on us. There's a reason why this film has shown great
legs at the box-offuce after a decent opening: it's not just a funny movie -
it's a funny movie with relatable, likable, sympathetic characters.
Lending solid support to Johnson and Wayans is an
interesting, varied supporting cast. Rob
Riggle turns in a suprisingly stoic, straight-laced (for him) character as Sgt
Segars, a real LAPD cop who ends up partnering with our fake officers. Riggle has been so vivid and effective as
hilariously-loony wild cards in flicks like THE HANGOVER, 21 JUMP STREET, and
22 JUMP STREET, that its refreshing (and endearing) to see him play a
supportive, sensible brother figure to our heroes. Nina Dobrev is appropriately lovely and
fetching as Justin's love interest, Josie.
Unsurprisingly, the character of Josie spends a bit of time on the back
burner, but at least the script gives her some opportunities to contribute to
the plot.
As for the villains, James D'Arcy makes for a
suitably slimy and hissable baddie, but the real surprise is Andy Garcia's
appearance as a corrupt cop whom Justin and Ryan unwisely lock horns with. I've been a fan of Garcia's for years, and
he's been the strong points of movies like BLACK RAIN, JENNIFER 8, OCEAN'S
11-13, CITY ISLAND, THE GODFATHER 3, and WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN. However, we've liked him the most in his
darker roles that are either morally-ambiguous or downright villainous - and
he's in fine baddie form here.
Ultimately, LET'S BE COPS becomes much more than
your average comedy by taking a potentially flimsy premise - and making it work
by using creativity and humanity. While
it is not quite at the superb level of 21 & 22 JUMP STREET, it can still
sit comfortably just a rung or two below them.
For a movie that had not much fanfare at the beginning nor any claims to
greatness, that is no small praise.
