Whenever I saw the regular series on television I definitely enjoyed it. "Reno 911!" is a highly creative and very funny show. However much to my dismay I've only caught bits and pieces of it so I went into this film not knowing nearly as much of the characters' backgrounds as many others in the theater on opening night. Fortunately, enough was explained that newcomers could quickly pick up on what went on despite some in-jokes definitely being present. Now even with bearing my limited level of "Reno 911!" expertise in mind I thought it was hilarious. The biggest problem this film will face is it was setup in a very similar style to last year's "Borat". Between the carefree male nudity and how sex was addressed, the resemblance was very much alike. Despite this approach being taken, this was very much its own movie and accomplished what it set out for.
The real-time mockumentary comedy that "Reno 911" represents has been prevalent on television for the past few years and recently it appears as if it's now being a preferred alternative on the big screen as well. This is with good reason because the characters seem more like actual everyday people than some ridiculous caricature that doesn't resemble anything close to a human being. Viewers can identify with these personalities more and thus stand a better chance of becoming sucked into the different situations no matter how over the top they are. I predict that humorous films will start adhering to this relatively new formula and will be the kick-start to a whole new generation of cinema.
Notwithstanding some of the downright hysterical moments, there were some pieces that didn't work. To start off with, the first half was much funnier then the latter part. As if the writers began running out of jokes and settled for any suitable finale. Also most of the dialog in the show is improvised where it appears that for the movie it was scripted the other way around and this certainly took away from the actors' spontaneity. Finally some of the scenarios are almost a little too far-fetched, even for a notorious farcical ensemble cast such as this.
All in all I found myself laughing out loud a lot and was very glad I caught this one. It appears it won't beat out the television show due to the advantage of getting to compress the running time, but it's still a very comical motion picture that'll guarantee to put just about anyone in stitches. I'd say there's a very good chance a sequel will be in the works and surely look forward to it. Law enforcement is no stranger to either parodies of itself or becoming a target for instances of goofiness that could never really happen, but this is a new take on big-hearted police officers that can't seem to get anything right that'll have you mimicking them for hours on end. Between the witty quotes, the oddball lawbreakers, and the refreshing celebrity guest list
Miami didn't know what hit it!
