Opening Day: 30 September 2010

Synopsis:

Set in New York City, "The Other Guys" follows Detective Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell), a forensic accountant who's more interested in paperwork than hitting the streets, and Detective Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), a tough guy who has been stuck with Allen as his partner ever since an unfortunate run-in with Derek Jeter. Allen and Terry idolize the city's top cops, Danson and Highsmith (Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson), but when an opportunity arises for the Other Guys to step up, things don't quite go as planned.

Movie Review:

What happens when you skew a typical actioner by putting two bumbling losers as the heroic cop duo? The Other Guys takes this premise and coaxes many laughs from it. All thanks to the inexhaustible comic energy and chemistry of the gamely male leads, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg (What? Wahlberg? Yes, I'll explain later). Much of the fun also comes from the movie's skewering of the genre's numerous tiresome clichés.

But of course, it wouldn't be comedy gold without rubberface Will Ferrell taking on the lead role of Detective Allen Gamble. Gamble is the slightly sissified and old-fashioned aphorism-spouter you shun in your office; he annoys you with gazillions of quirky antics and leaves you thinking if he could be a closet serial killer or homosexual. And Ferrell plays Gamble to the hilt. In fact, you'd be hardpressed not to find whatever he farts from his mouth of the laugh-out-loud, sore belly ilk.

But the real surprise here is Mark Wahlberg. With his string of past roles as a straitlaced macho guy who always proves his weight by revealing his buff torso, you wouldn't expect him to blaze a trail in comedy. And with his hunky deportment and good looks, you wouldn't immediately classify him as a loser. But surprise, surprise! Here, Wahlberg displays fine comic timing and plays against type with gusto. As Detective Terry Hoitz, he eschews his stereotypical cool guy grimace, keeps his pecs and abs under wraps, and slips with ease into comedy (and his oversized detective clothes).

Harbouring a dark past involving a mistaken shootout, Hoitz has been banished to the lower echelons of the NYPD, relegating him to a role likened to a desk clerk. While he's certainly no New Kid On The NYPD Block, his quick-tempered tough guy demeanour offends his mean colleagues, who're constantly working hard to deflate his ego by reminding him of his past misstep.

But with the sudden demise of hotshots Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson (in a head-scratching suicide subplot), Hoitz and Gamble step up from their passive detective roles to take on tough cop personas. In a bid to prove their mettle, they end up messing up crime scenes and looking like total idiots.

In terms of action, The Other Guys is run-of-the-mill and tone-deaf. It plays more for laughs than thrills. The crime at the heart of the story is weak and predictable; the duplicitous villains bring a, ahem, bad name to villainy. Steve Coogan and Anne Heche, who thankfully don't have a lot of screen time, are absolutely disposable and play second fiddle to topliners Ferrell and Wahlberg. Hell, even Eva Mendes' boobs have more personality and they are fully milked (figuratively-speaking) for laughs.

But these are minor flaws in this mostly insane laugh-a-minute comedy that delivers a barrage of terrific one-liners. What set this apart from other action comedies are the rapid-fire witty exchanges between mopy Gamble and no-nonsense Hoitz, who could not be any more different. The tension and character differences are well explored and the partners' constant bickering like immature schoolgirls are a hoot.

Admittedly, some scenes go way over-the-top by straining situations to absurdism. That said, this movie is still a lot of fun. Heck, just throw logic out of the theatre and enjoy its free-wheeling comedic energy.

Look out for the 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' gag, Michael Keaton's turn as Gamble's boss cum closet TLC fan and Gamble's hapless mother-in-law.

Movie Rating:



(So hilarious your jaw will drop on your popcorn)

Review by Adrian Sim