(Um, maybe there's a reason they're not the stars of the police department...)
CAST: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton, Eva Mendes, Steve Coogan, Anne Heche, Dwayne Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Bobby Cannavale.
DIRECTOR: Adam McKay
WARNING: Minimal SPOILERS and some serious Mark-Wahlberg-Glares right up ahead...
I had intended to review THE EXPENDABLES as part of this week's theme (which might be next week by the time this is posted). Fortunately, we got the schedules mixed up and wound up in a cineplex that wasn't showing Sly Stallone's latest action extravaganza. I say "fortunately" because - truthfully - part of me was a bit queasy about sitting through THE EXPENDABLES. There's no logical reason for my apprehension, just this gut feeling of "Oh, God... I don't want to do this...." And the fact that there's not a single woman among THE EXPENDABLES (except for that damsel-in-distress chick that Stallone's character gets a hard-on for) was another turn-off. Given this convenient excuse to miss out on Sly's testosterone-fest, I jumped on the next closest thing to an Action-Team movie that was on the schedule. Ladies and gents, I present to you: THE OTHER GUYS.
The movie opens on your typical slam-bang-action-movie car chase through the streets of New York. Smack dab in the middle of it are the Mega-Studs of the NYPD: P.K. Highsmith (Samuel Jackson) and Chris Danson (Dwayne "Le Rock" Johnson). Hot in pursuit of some criminal, the macho duo level half of Manhattan in an effort to catch up to him. Even after succeeding in apprehending the perp, Highsmith and Danson are accused by the press of destruction of property not exactly proportionate to the threat posed by the criminal. The pair, obviously the strongest cops on the force but - even more obviously - not the smartest, react to this as it were a commendation to a pair of celebrities. Which is exactly how the rest of NYPD treats them, an organization obviously not as clear-eyed as the media in seeing these egotistical douchebags for the developmentally-arrested overgrown toddlers that they are. Oh, and one of the perks that these two schmucks enjoy is having their case paperwork handled by, ahem, "the other guys."
Those would be: (1) Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell), a milquetoast former police accountant who likes to hum at his desk above the accepted decibel level; and (2) Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), a former beat cop with anger issues whose dark past includes accidentally shooting Derek Jeter at a game, leading to a colossal loss for NYC - landing Hoitz squarely in between Elliott Spitzer and mid-town traffic in terms of popularity. Seriously Basically, you can predict how the future is going to be for these two: day after day of humdrum desk work for Highsmith and Danson, until the day some or all of them retire.
Fortunately, fate smiles on Gamble and Hoitz when: (1) a jewelry store is robbed via wrecking ball (yes, wrecking ball); (2) Highsmith and Danson leap into action and pursue the perps onto the roof of a building where (3) said perps gracefully escape via a cable leading down to the street that they (4) quickly cut to prevent the Super Cops from pursuing them. Not about to let something as trivial as a twenty-storey drop keep them from doing their jobs, Highsmith and Danson: (1) glance at each other, (2) shrug, (3) tell each other to aim for the bushes, (4) leap off the edge of the roof, and (5) smash into the pavement below like a couple of overripe cantaloupes in mid-summer. Turns out there weren't any bushes down their after all. Yes, folks, the heavens parted, and the angels singed, and the entire pantheon of divinities laughed their asses off and high-fived each other over the horrible deaths of these two dipshits. And not a moment too soon.
You'd think that this wondrous event would be enough to give Gamble and Hoitz the leg up that they need to get noticed in the police force. Unfortunately, it appears there is no shortage of Highsmith and Danson wannabes in the NYPD. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the jackasses had been grooming a pair to one day take their allegedly-enviable spots. And once again, our heroes get the short end of the stick. Fortunately, Hoitz decides that he's had enough and forces Gamble to assist him in chasing down the perps of the jewelry heist, which he thinks doesn't add up, considering only about $75 K or something was stolen. Hell, the rental for the wrecking ball alone was probably over half that.
So, in the tradition of the Buddy Cop Movie, Hoitz and Gamble team up to pursue this thread. Needless to say, the jewelry affair is just the tip of the iceberg of a mystery incriminating a British financier (Steve Coogan) and perhaps even certain folks within the Federal Government - which outranks the NYPD, so I don't need to tell you that's some serious shit. But, more importantly, our two intrepid C-list cops learn the following about each other: (1) Gamble has a smokin' hot doctor wife (Eva Mendes), and (2) paid his way through college by earning money in a decidedly illegal way, and (3) Hoitz secretly just wants to.... dance. For realz, people. I wonder if he used to listen to Marky Mark's music.
BUT,SERIOUSLY: One of the most surprisingly funny films I've seen this year, THE OTHER GUYS is a first-rate comedy. I say "surprisingly funny" because I am a bit ambivalent about Will Ferrell. When he's good, he's brilliant. When he's bad, he's BEWITCHED. Fortunately, in this movie he is not just good. He is great. As his uptight and slow-burning foil, Mark Wahlberg is equally hilarious, getting a lot of mileage out of his enraged expressions towards his partner. Wahlberg manages the neat trick of being funny even when he's trying not to be. Like in the recent DINNER WITH SCHMUCKS, Ferrell and Wahlberg make an odd couple that click tremendously. They own this film.
Also funny are Sam Jackson and Dwayne Johnson as the hotshot Alpha Cops who get their comeuppance in what has to be most satisfyingly hilarious death scene of the last few years: jumping off a roof and getting the not-exactly-unexpected result of being splattered all over the pavement. Michael Keaton is solid as the Captain of the unit that our heroes belong to, while Steve Coogan, Anne Heche, and Bobby Cannavale are all adequate in their supporting scenes. Special mention should go to Eva Mendes for further sharpening her comedienne skills as Gamble's utterly gorgeous wife.
All in all, THE OTHER GUYS is a very pleasant surprise. The movie falls squarely on Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg's shoulders, and they are more than equal to the task. This could have been a disaster with the wrong performers, but the pair prove that comedy is not just about timing - but also casting.
