The Other Guys

‘The Other Guys are the ones I would like to meet’

Let me begin by saying, I AM NOT A WILL FERREL FAN. In fact, I find the majority of his movies juvenile and ridiculous to a fault. Something about what he does doesn’t appear to me as comedy, but more as just one dimensional stupidity. However, his most watchable movies are always the ones directed by Adam McKay such as Talladega Nights and Anchorman. That and the amusing trailer with Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson driving into a bus and giving an awesome quote made me think that maybe this would be a good spoof of buddy cop movies. Thank God I was right.

I don’t know if it was the script or if the movie was just perfectly cast, but instead of being a Will Ferrel stupid comedy hour, it is an ensemble piece where everyone is just nuts enough to fit in and out of the storyline and take turns being the spotlight. Next to Will Ferrell, Michael Keaton and Mark Wahlberg shine like you haven’t seen in years. Who knew Marky Mark had such a gift for comedy? His casting was genius since Wahlberg’s best movie the Departed where he played a bad ass cop, now let’s have him play a slightly deranged angry cop with terrible animal metaphors. Also, his chemistry in this movie is legendary. Let’s have Michael Keaton play the captain of the police force and manager at Bath and Body Works who has a hard time with quoting the group TLC. Even Samuel Jackson and Dwayne Johnson are hilarious as the ultimate alpha duo of the police force where it is made clear early on that they are put up with because the city needs heroes. Everything and everyone in the movie works. The part that at times seems sketchy are the scenes involving Eva Mendes. True, she is HOT. But there is something about mistreating women and speaking badly to them that is a little off-putting. Thankfully, Will Ferrell’s absurdity has a point and is so out there that it actually balances the terrible treatment. One of my favorite things about this movie is that it is soo bizarre and absurd and yet all the actors commit to it. It is as if you looked through the looking glass and found a bizarre Ferrell world where his brain created it and it was real. The only underutilized person would probably be Steve Coogan. He wasn’t bad, but he could have been anyone else and probably would have fit in fine. Not only was the acting excellent, but the visual gags were spot-on and amazing as well. I loved Wahlberg’s shark screen.

I can honestly say that I haven’t laughed this hard at the movies in a while and I have never laughed so much at Will Ferrell. This movie solidifies the idea that Will Ferrell needs Adam McKay. My question is, does McKay need Ferrell? McKay manages to bring back the awesomeness of Michael Keaton and Mark Wahlberg in the same film and still make Will Ferrell look hilarious. I am not sure if it is his casting, but it is apparent that he is the only director that seems to know how to correctly use Will Ferrell in leading roles and balance the rest of the cast and script. In the future, count me down for Adam McKay movies, whether they have Will Ferrell or not.

8.5 out of 10
Wannabe