Review: The Good Guys

Mustache, check. Gun fights aplenty, check. A bad ass muscle car, check. Sweet music, check. (Final action scene plays out over AC/DC's Thunderstruck, 'nuff said) If that's enough to sell you I won't begrudge anyone who doesn't read the rest of my review. It would certainly do the trick for me. But just to keep up appearances I will rattle off three more paragraphs of nonsense anyway.

The Good Guys is brought to us by Matt Nix who also created Burn Notice. (You know, the one getting great ratings even though I am the only person I know who watches it) As far as similarities go it's got a great mix of action and comedy just like Burn Notice. But where Burn Notice has a very polished, bright aesthetic that really pops (reminiscent of another Miami based show) The Good Guys looks old and dirty like an authentic '70s cop show.

Dan Stark (Bradley Whitford) and Jack Bailey (Colin Hanks) are paired in your typical oil and water scenario. Bradley Whitford is in great form as the hard-drinking, mustachioed womanizer Dan Stark. Stark is a loose cannon (WHAT?!) who would have been fired long ago if he hadn't saved the Governor's son in 1985. Jack Bailey plays his Felix Unger as the uptight, by the book partner who has been teamed with Stark as a punishment for being a know-it-all dick. I mean it as a compliment when I say that Colin Hanks does a superb impersonation of his father in the premiere episode to enjoyable effect.

Cliche or not, I am a sucker for a good buddy cop show. It's a genre that can go horribly wrong, but when it goes right it doesn't get much better. Some shows are clever, some shows are gripping, and some shows, like The Good Guys, are just good fun.

Catch The Good Guys on Fox Mondays at 9 PM starting June 7!