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Is it worth $10? No
Traditional cop movies are fun. They provide thrills, laughs, sex, danger and intrigue. There are muscle cars, sexy women, tough guys and lots of guns. The audience is invited to go on a journey as the cops solve a big case, and along the way is entertained by shootouts, car chases, foot chases and, if they’re lucky, a steamy sex scene.
The audience is treated to a taste of this in "The Other Guys," but the movie really isn't fun. As it opens, we ride along as hero cops Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Danson (Dwayne Johnson) chase down a group of drug dealers. But this movie isn’t about them. As the title suggests, this movie is about the other guys—the people back in the station who push the paper while Highsmith and Danson take all the credit.
The other guys in this film are Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg). Their nicknames are “Paper Bitch” and “Yankee Clipper,” respectively. Gamble’s nickname is obvious, and how Hoitz got his nickname is one of the few funny surprises the film has to offer.
Early on, Highsmith and Danson meet a tragic end, giving some of the other guys a chance to shine. In competition with Gamble and Hoitz to take over for Highsmith and Danson as New York City hero cops is another duo named Martin and Fosse, played by Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans, Jr. They have an easier partnership than the mismatched Gamble and Hoitz, and are always there to give them a hard time.
The plot has to do with a wealthy broker named David Ershon (Steve Coogan), who lost a lot of money for a major investor. He hatches a scam to hide the losses and steal from other investors to pay it back. This leads the accounting-oriented Gamble to become suspicious when he notices some omissions and discrepancies in Ershon’s business, and before long they’re onto Ershon and his plan.
Ferrell plays Gamble with his usual mild-mannered demeanor and hint of uncontrollable rage bubbling just below the surface. At least in this case, writers Adam McKay (who also directed) and Chris Henchy provide the character with a backstory that explains why he is that way. In contrast, Wahlberg’s Hoitz is all on the surface. He’s not afraid to tell anyone exactly how he feels.
While this set up may be promising, the film fails to deliver. One problem is that it’s much too talky. Gamble in particular spends a lot of time explaining why something is funny or ridiculous, instead of getting to a punchline. Hoitz is at least given some zingers, and while some of them are amusing, most of them were lame and fell flat.
There are also several scenes in the movie that could be funny but don’t play that way. It’s as if the writers had the spark of a good idea—a funny character or situation or bit of dialogue—but failed to really work at it and shape it to where it needed to be. As a result, there are changes in a character’s mood, or things that are said and done, that are inexplicable and confusing. They’re also not funny. The script overall felt like a first draft in need of some serious revision. To their credit, Ferrell and Wahlberg do what they can, but most times they look like they’re trying too hard and they can’t make it work.
This is Ferrell’s fourth collaboration with McKay. They’ve been successful in making funny movies in the past ("Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights" in particular), and no doubt they will again. Until then, they should leave the cop movies to directors like Walter Hill ("48 Hours") and Richard Donner ("Lethal Weapon"), who know how to make them. In other words, leave making these films to the main guys--not the other guys.
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