The Other Guys

I tend to have mixed feelings about Will Ferrell films. Ferrell is a likable guy and plays likable characters, but often his films feel a little too much like extended Saturday Night Live sketches; even if they're funny, they just don't have that much to them.

But I love The Other Guys. The premise is unexceptional, a mismatched buddy movie about two undistinguished cops who stumble into a big case, but the movie is wildly funny.

One of the things I love about this movie is how everyone plays it straight. Ferrell is almost as low key here as a cop-accountant as he was in Stranger Than Fiction, and while the movie is often extremely silly, no one in it ever gives a hint that they know it (although Ferrell has a few over-the-top moments that have that SNL cartoonish feel to them that I could have done without). Wahlberg doesn't act like he's making a cop movie parody, he acts like he's making a cop movie. There is a certain odd realism in moments where the heroes pull off something clever or dazzling and take a moment to be impressed with themselves.

Mainly though, this movie is just really, really funny. I could not stop laughing.

I have to say, I did not expect this film to be as good as it was. Another great addition to the buddy cop genre, as well as a satire of it, this film has huge laughs, and good action sequences. I really can not for the life of me understand why this movie catches so much hate as I've seen in other reviews here. Yes, there are some weak points, as with any movie, but the good HEAVILY overshadows the bad.

Will Ferrel and Mark Wahlberg star as Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz, two under-achieving New York cops who, along with everyone else on the force, live in the shadow of the two super-cops, Christopher Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and P.K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson). When an unexpected turn of events puts Danson and Highsmith out of commission, Allen and Terry decide to step up and take on an investigation of their own, leading to a tangle with foreign operatives, and an arrogant billionaire.

The Other Guys knows what it wants to be, and it achieves its goal in spades. People should know what they're getting into with this, as it delivers exactly what it advertises; a spoof of the 'buddy cop' genre, and a fast-paced action comedy for anyone to enjoy.

I don't understand how a lot of people cannot find anything in this movie funny. From start to finish, I found it hilarious, and laughed out loud several times. There's just as much smart humor and witty interplay between characters as there is random, often weird humor that is present in many of Ferrel's films, and the writing manages to balance the smart humor and the random, sometimes dumb humor very well. There are definitely some loud, sometimes obnoxious moments, such as Ferrel's occasional outbursts, and his 'Gator' emotional episodes, especially the "Pimps Don't Cry" music number, but aside from those small instances, I really had a ball watching this.

The movie starts, and ends, with action, and in between are a bunch of great moments. There's an intense opening car chase, a parking lot fight scene, an office building shootout, and an intense-action-packed final car chase and standoff that I really enjoyed, especially considering the tone of the film. I think it's important to note that even though this film is, at heart, a comedy, the action remains serious, and it's never really slapstick or funny. The first and last car chases were especially entertaining, and they felt very "Bad Boys"-ish.

Ferrel and Wahlberg have great chemistry, and their constant bickering and clashing of personalities really is consistently funny. They both throw themselves into their roles, and their dedication made this movie that much more fun. Ferrell is hilarious, time and again proving himself as one of the best comedy actors out there (you can't help but laugh just by looking at him), and Wahlberg is one of my favorite actors, so it was a joy to watch them together. Michael Keaton also delivered a hilarious, underrated performance, so props to him.

Overall, I highly, highly recommend it, to both fans of the genre, and fans of the actors. 10/10.

The movie is funny to start and rolls along nicely but quickly loses all steam and finishes quite weak. Having every single character be an off center borderline nutjob loses something without any straight men to set them up or play off of. Mark Wahlberg played the straight man part well for the first half of the movie but turns as loony as everyone else before it's over. A few laugh out loud moments save the entire experience but it really could've and should've been a better film in general and certainly funnier across the board.

Not nearly as bad as Step Brothers but not half as good as Anchorman. Probably Semi-Pro and Jackie Moon levels here.

Really good watch, will watch again, and can recommend.

This is weird proof that Will Ferrell can do (some level) of action, and (as always) he's hilarious alongside Mark Wahlberg (see also "Daddy's Home").

To me, this is a testament of how good Will Ferrell is, not only can he elevate a bad premise (it just wasn't that strong), but he can elevate another actor (not saying Mark Wahlberg is bad, he's just not Will Ferrell).

With the on screen chemistry, a slew of supporting actors, including Michael Keaton, and some actually good action scenes, the onslaught of comedy sugar definitely helps any of the weaker jokes go down.

While I think the weak point is the villains: its a very bland "greedy millionaire business" trope, but even they get some good jokes in.

I don't normally write reviews but after reading some of the awful reviews some people wrote about this film I had to come to its defence.

This film had me laughing from start to finish. If you like the silliness of Will Ferrell films or the humour in Ted then you will love this film. The comedy can be played very deadpan despite the surrealness (is that a word) of the situation. The comic timing is great and the chemistry between all the main characters is excellent. When I saw this film only had a 6.7 IMDb rating I was a little reluctant to watch it but I saw the trailer and that drew me in. I didn't regret it.

If you want some great laughs, watch this film.