Movie Review: The Other Guys

The Other Guys

Columbia Pictures, Gary Sanchez Productions, Mosaic, Wintergreen Productions, USA, 2010.

Danson (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson) and Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) are two tough New York City cops. They blow up half town to bust some petty criminals and the public loves them. However they are not the main characters of the film.

Highsmith and Danson

Awesome to the max.

Nerdy Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) and pugnacious Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) are two frustrated office workers. When Danson and Highsmith die in a way worthy of Darwin Awards, new heroes are needed. Terry wants to be a hero and he forces Allen to attend field police work. Captain Gene (Michael Keaton) is not impressed about the two goofsters going after the big fish. Even less impressed are their colleagues Martin (Rob Riggle) and Fosse (Damon Wayans Jr.).

Terry Hoitz and Allen Gamble

Captain Gene

Trivial permit violation case puts them on the track of corporate crime. Investing banker David Ershon (Steve Coogan) is kidnapped by mercenary Roger Wesley (Ray Stevenson) who claims to be his bodyguard. Ershon has just lost lots of money with bad investments so he needs to cover the losses somehow. The mismatched pair decides to solve the case.

David Ershon

This is fun buddy cop film with over the top action scenes with wacky dialogue and weird characters. It works well as parody of the genre, mopping the floor with cheap modern spoofs. The pair keeps switching the roles between the loony guy and the straight man. Although the crime story is basic cop movie stuff, the characters are pleasantly unpredictable. Amusingly the mousy Allen is the irresistible ladies' man. Eva Mendes appears as Allen's "cute but not hot" wife Sheila. Will Ferrell's character's past is full of surprises. Also Mark Walhberg's character has learned some artistic skills just to annoy his opponents. Some scenes seem to be improvised with deadpan characters telling surrealistically absurd stories. The soundtrack is hilariously offbeat with 70s-80s soft rock in the chase scenes. The chemistry of Ferrell and Wahlberg works well. As the story is focused on business crime, the end credits offer some infographics about costs of Madoff's Ponzi scheme and  bank bailouts.

Sheila

Hard night at the bar

Rating: Good

Starring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Larnell Stovall, Jalil Jay Lynch, Roy T. Anderson, Ray Stevenson, Samuel L. Jackson, Andrew Secunda, Sara Chase, Dwayne Johnson, David Gideon, Joshua Church, Rob Riggle, Damon Wayans Jr., Michael Delaney, Alison Becker, Steve Coogan, Warren Kelley, Bobby Cannavale, Zoe Lister-Jones, Sean Heilig, Matthew J. McCarthy, Adam Phillips, Tess Kartel, Rob Mars, C.C. Taylor, Zach Woods, Jake Quinn, Andy Buckley, Elizabeth Kaledin, Will Lyman, Rob Huebel, Peter R. Thewes, Robin Ng, Natalie Zea, Brett Gelman, Malachy McCourt, Barry Carl, Benjamin Magnuson, Thomas McDonnell, James O'Donnell, Kevin Osborne, Pierce Turner, James Archie Worley, Lindsay Sloane, Shakiem Evans, Danielle Cell, Brianne Moncrief, Patrick Ferrell, Adam McKay, Oliver Wood, James Mazzola, Patrick Crowley, Ben Schwartz, Tara Copeland, Eamon Speer, Patrick Reale, Zak Orth, Pete Antico, Viola Harris, Jamie Dugal, Chris Gethard, Michael Fawcett, Pilar Angelique

with cameos by Anne Heche, Ice-T, Horatio Sanz, Thomas Middleditch, Derek Jeter, Brooke Shields, Rosie Perez, Tracy Morgan, Josef Sommer

Director: Adam McKay