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Thursday 16 September 2010
The Other Guys (2010) Dir. Adam McKay
The film begins following super cops Highsmith and Danson (Samuel L Jackson and Dwayne Johnson) on a ludicrous high speed chase through Manhattan.
The opening action scene differs from most comedies due to the special effects, these are great to witness but somewhat unfitting for the genre. Highsmith and Danson are the ultimate cops, real life heroes, in awe with their star status.
There is something extremely endearing seeing Samuel L Jackson play a comical cop role like this, it’s almost a homage to his role in Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and at the same token, pokes fun at it.
They are also as one may have guessed from the title, not central to the film. When Danson and Highsmith meet an unfortunate end in the film, odd couple partnership of Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) and Alan Gamble (Will Ferrell) step in to replace them. The relationship between the two cops is meant to be the engine that drives this particular train. Hoitz is a typical alpha-male with anger issues, his career collapsed after accidentally shooting Derek Jeter in the foot. Gamble is a mild tempered forensic accountant transferred from the fraud division to the major crime detective squad for reasons unknown. Gamble is content within his position, loves to stay in the comforts of the office, doing paperwork.
The Other Guys is never unfunny for long. Once we’ve established our two protagonists through a bizarre and amusing lion and tuna metaphor, it is generally fun just to watch them blunder their way through the rest of the movie. Wahlberg’s character is the short-fused catalyst for his first big trip out of the office. Their dynamic warmly satirizes the eighties buddy cop cliche, but more often is simply a vehicle for short-form character sketches.
Ferrell and Wahlberg have never confessed to be pioneers of comedy but their performance in The Other Guys worked well. Don’t expect much for plot, the real talent lies within the central characters. Eva Mendes also gives a great yet short performance as Gambles beautiful wife. The Other Guys is never unfunny for long but it’s not the most sophisticated comedy I have seen this year but it certainly isn’t the worst.
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