The Other Guys

The Other Guys is the latest comedy starring Will Ferrell and as a huge fan, it pains me to say that this is not a great movie. I think part of the problem is that we expect a lot more these days when we make the effort to go to the theater, and this was a film I would have been happy to see on my own couch, but not happy to pay $20 plus the same again for popcorn and a soda. It starts with one of the most amazing over the top car chases featuring Samuel L. Jackson and the Rock, which made me wonder if I had walked into the wrong theater. Turns out they are only around for a short time and the rest of the movie has a cast of idiots trying to replace their "super cop" exploits. I may be giving this film too much credit, but I think it's supposed to be a farce, in the vein of the Pink Panther movies. Everyone is way over the top and too stupid or too out of it to make sense. Will Ferrell's character is a total looser, but he is married to the "plain" Eva Mendes, could be funny, but it's not. Even worse is Mark Wahlberg, as the one dimensional partner to Farrell. He is playing a dumber, more over-the-top version of many of his other cop characters and it's sad.

Writer/director Adam McKay has written a lot of funny stuff for SNL and Funny or Die, but this full length feature does not live up to Anchorman or Talladega Nights. Just because you have Will Ferrell in a movie doesn't mean you can call it in.