Movie Review: The Other Guys (2010), a Good Comedy but Far from Stellar

Police detectives Christopher Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and P. K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) are famous for their bravado and flashy style that always gets the attention of the cameras and usually causes a lot of damage in the process. In contrast to them are two detectives who are their complete opposites -- Detective Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell), a forensics accountant, and Detective Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), who now sits at a desk because he accidentally shot the famous baseball player, Derek Jeter. Hoitz wants to get back onto the streets for a chance to be a hero and make up for his mistake. His partner, Gamble, played by Will Ferrell, just wants a calm desk job and maybe a chance to do something big with accounting. Hoitz and Gamble couldn't be more different from each other and don't really want to be partners. Hoitz thinks Gamble is a big nerd but Gamble wants to be friends with Hoitz.

Everything changes when Gamble happens across some discrepancies concerning billionaire David Ershon's building contracts with the city. At first, Hoitz wants no part of an un-heroic case but changes his mind when it becomes a high-profile investigation. However, they are met with opposition from high up in the city and even their own Captain Gene Mauch (Michael Keaton). Will these haphazard partners be able to work together and overcome all the obstacles in order to break one of the city's biggest cases in decades?

I know that this movie is getting a lot of good reviews but I have also been reading quite a bit of negative things from people who have seen this movie. Some movies just get a little bit more hype than others but I never go by the opinions of critics or even my friends because I usually disagree.

I did enjoy The Other Guys much more than I thought I would have. I am not a big fan of Will Ferrell but, this is probably one of my favorite Will Ferrell movies to date (I despise Elf! and Land of the Lost was tolerable). I think that part of the reason why I found Will Ferrell to be less annoying than usual is because of his interaction with Mark Wahlberg. Some critics are panning Wahlberg's performance but, for me at least, Ferrell and Wahlberg complement each other's performance well in this movie.

I knew very little about this movie before I watched it, so I was surprised by a few of the supporting cast. First off, I was very surprised to see Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson (the Rock) in this movie -- even if they are only supporting cast members on screen for only a few minutes, they had great chemistry together as tough, hard-as-nails cops. In fact, I think they could pull off a good serious cop movie if they wanted to. The narrator is Ice-T surprised me because I thought it was Samuel L. Jackson.

The biggest surprise is Michael Keaton playing Captain Gene Mauch. I haven't seen Keaton in anything worth mentioning in recent years and definitely not much in the way of comedy. Maybe this is his big chance for a comeback as an actor and, hopefully, as a comedian. I'm sure many of us miss the days of Dream Team, Beetlejuice and Batman. It was great to see him again. His role is funny as a captain by day that moonlights at Bath and Beyond.

The entire cast puts out an adequate performance but no one really stands out, which is a good thing when I think of Will Ferrell and his weird, dry humor. Damon Wayans Jr. and Rob Riggle are especially hilarious as the cop duo, Fosse and Martin, who are trying to fill the shoes of Danson (Johnson) and Highsmith (Jackson).

The humor in The Other Guys isn't something that made me laugh continuously but there were a few very funny scenes. No comedian or actor can make everyone laugh hysterically every time but this movie made me laugh more than I thought it would and that is all I care about. Some of Will Ferrell's scenes are still a little annoying for me but much less than usual and I even liked some of his scenes. For the most part, I enjoyed the humor stemming from the interaction of Ferrell and Wahlberg and the situations they were in, much more so than if Ferrell had taken a more singular role with the humor. Some of the other actors in more humorous scenes did well on their part.

The story does get a little bit more complicated and slower than it could have otherwise been. With a running time of 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes), I think this movie would have run at a better pace if about 20 or so minutes were cut and some scenes were streamlined. The first half is okay but then the next quarter crawls at a snail's pace and the ending was a little bit better. Some scenes were just drawn out a little too long so as to make them feel a bit tedious.

The Other Guys Is rated PG-13 "for crude and sexual content, language, violence and some drug material." There is a bit of bad language but nothing too bad -- still, parents should use some discretion before deciding to take their children to see this movie.

Will Ferrell fans will probably like The Other Guys automatically but, if you are not one of his fans, give The Other Guys a try and you might just enjoy it more than you think. Remember, there are several actors/characters in this movie that make up for any of Will Ferrell's weaker scenes.

Overall, The Other Guys is a good comedy but far from stellar. It's a simple comedy movie, so what do you expect? All I know is that it entertained me enough to not feel like a total waste of time and I didn't want to strangle Will Ferrell.

Rating: 3/5 (I know, lately I have been giving a lot of 3s, call it fate?)

Quotes

Fosse: Hope you like prison food... and penis.

Captain Gene Mauch: You know what, I'm going to hang onto the wooden gun.
Allen Gamble: To give me back my real gun?
Captain Gene Mauch: No. I'm going to give you this... It's a rape whistle. You blow that if you're in any trouble, and someone with an actual gun will come and help you .
Allen Gamble: [Quietly blows the whistle]

Allen Gamble: At age 11, I audited my parents.

Terry Hoitz: I'm like a peacock, you gotta let me fly!

Fosse: And remember, always try your hardest not to be black or Hispanic.