Review: The Other Guys (2010) TH

Off-the-wall cops and financial frauders

At first glance, this looks to be another same-ol', same-ol' buddy cop movie after just getting over the sour taste of "Cop Out." Though this was one of the better comedies of 2010, as generic, stupid or pointless it may initially seem--it ain't. This also works as an action movie spoof that is less exaggerated than "Loaded Weapon" and "Hot Shots" and more closer to "Hot Fuzz," if still unlike. It's off in its own odd-ball world where everyday life is noteworthy and completely over-the-top silly in a way similar to the director's other works like "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights." The simplistic story has some relating points, though the scenarios and setups in between is what makes this an amusing ride that has capability of repeating and reliving.

Two NYPD detectives are begrudgingly assigned together and have to maintain the partner's code which entails getting each other's backs, except they have nothing in common to the point of being the absolute antithesis of one another. Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) is a man's man who's more street wise than book smart and also doesn't express himself through anything but anger and disapproval: a yell, a smirk, a cold stare at the slightest slip in his chauvinist view. Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) is a learned but gullible man who's the everybody-make-fun-of guy due to everything he does going strictly by the book, not to mention looking like a straight-edge accountant that he is who plays it safe behind his desk, outdated specs and the wheels of a Prius.

The super cops--more like "superstars"--of the department get first dibs on calls and are practically treated like royalty. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Danson (Dwayne Johnson) wear their shades, flashy clothing and drive their muscle cars, except until they unexpectedly check out early and someone else takes their place in front of the cameras and press stands. Hoitz wants him and his tight-end partner to step up after being stuck behind a desk--or as he puts it "I am a peacock, you gotta let me fly!"--by doing everyone else's paper work. Except first they have some competition with the wise crackin' partners Martin (Rob Riggle) and Fosse (Damon Wayans Jr.) who can't help to mess with Gamble, such as making him do a "desk pop" and fire his gun in the office as if it's just some supposed initiation. Gamble stumbles onto some evidence after making what seems to be a pointless arrest for a financial investor named David Ershon (Steve Coogan). After the Captain (Michael Keaton) tells them to repeatedly back off, they still urge ahead as they have a gut hunch and suspect something fishy's going with other people's money. That is only after they get bribed to sports games and concerts but are too stupid to realize, not to mention are being chased by a ruthless security team headed by an Australian named Wesley (Ray Stevenson) who keeps rolling a bolder in their path.

As dorky as Gamble is you realize there's another side to him, such as for some reason attracting all the fine ladies without even having to try. Hoitz is a straight shooter that you find out has something in him but is afraid to let it out, such as secretly knowing ballet, but only because he wanted to imitate how "queer" it was when younger. They have to prove themselves and reverse the decisions that landed them to desk jockey duty instead of being out there with the big boys. But first they have to dodge a couple of reprimands from the Captain who needs to keep his guys in line so he can put his bi-sexual son who wants to be a DJ through college. Now it's all about two cops going out on a limb by sifting through the politics and doing what's right. Yep, it's about as cliche as that but the story--still with some relating points about bailouts and Ponzi schemes--isn't the entire emphasis but also the inventive puns, jokes and comedic observations to go along with it about things in general, pop culture and cop movie fare.

Similar to "Cop Out," this has everything a bad movie usually has, except the difference is "The Other Guys" used its purposeful set-backs to its advantage with consistent timing and the chemistry of a team to pull that off with. Otherwise, it's such an overused convention that rides a fine line that can fall on its face when not pulling off the trick without a hitch. Where would this be without some shoot outs and car chases like a good ol' cop and bad guys story even if they are even more exaggerated than what they're emulating. This is often direct, unashamed, raunchy and mean-spirited, but at the same time hilarious in that it takes it all the way to the hilt without feeling guilty about it. They say some of the most ridiculous lines but while maintaining a completely stern-faced serious look. This has an abundance of I-can't-believe-they-just-went-there snappy jokes with a well-timed comedic side on all fronts that makes this such a thoroughly and highly entertaining and fun experience that should be fresh for some time.

Director: Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talledega Nights, Eastbound & Down)
Starring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton, Damon Wayans Jr., Rob Riggle, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes
Website: IMDB

Review: Date Night (2010) TH

A night of misadventures and misunderstandings

Phil (Carell) and Claire (Fey) Foster are an average couple from New Jersey who have harmless full time jobs, two highly active kids and most importantly no time to build on the romance and adventure they once started out with. They seem to have become a cross between best friends and brother and sister, as they're familiar enough to give out sarcastic and sometimes dry jokes with some comedic observations thrown in at what was them or could really be them. They're so busy and responsible that they hardly noticed the slump of doing the same ol' things in the same ol' order until their close friends the Sullivans (Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wiig) are getting a separation from lack of wind in their sails. Claire and Phil decide to turn a regular date night into one they'll remember, except it ends up being more than they bargained for.

After getting shot down for a reservation at a trendy, upscale restaurant called Claw over in New York, they pretend to be the Tripplehorns to snag a table. Quicker than you can say, "If you're looking for trouble, it's bound to find you," two guys who appear to be restaurant employees ask the now drunk couple to step outside. Soon enough things turn for the "North by Northwest" worst, as these are gun waving fellows are looking to get a flashdrive back for their boss Joe Miletto (Ray Liotta) and don't believe the two aren't really the Tripplehorns. Instead of getting filled with lead, Phil and Claire go with the flow and make up information in hopes that something will come up in the meantime. Opportunity strikes and they get away only to find themselves jumping back and forth to escape the two that look like henchmen but might be something else.

From one location to the next, they end up breaking every other law, get help from the continually shirtless private security guy named Holbrooke Grant (Mark Wahlberg), to meeting the real Tripplehorns called Whippit (Mila Kunis) and Taste (James Franco) that are just a couple of movie referencing Bonnie and Clydes who got in over their heads. This is an exaggerated cinematic world where regular people exceed and bad guys are really bad. Everyone is a caricature of their type from shady gangsters, perverted politicians to corrupt cops, which makes the experience purposely silly and far from ground-breaking but still a somewhat fun formula because it doesn't even take itself seriously. Some situations jump the ship of just being plain dumb, such as both attempting to pole dance and then like a miss episode of SNL it carries on far too long. There's a tad of action between the one-liners and sometimes inventive remarks, including an impossible but wild car chase and some guns waved and fired. Fey and Carell are both energetic and well-timed out with their back and forth banter in between their characters trying to figure out an exit strategy. This is about two regular folks attempting to save their own skin and simultaneously save the day. Been there, done that countless times, but it's still an easy and unchallenging ride to relax and loosen up with to pass the time even if it doesn't claim to be a first rate film.

Director: Shawn Levy (Just Married, Night at the Museum)
Starring: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Ray Liotta, Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wiig
Website: IMDB


Quotes:

Claire: "That's amazing, Jeremy, but I'm gonna go home now and fart into a shoe box."

Woman at book club meeting: "This part really spoke to me. I mean, to walk 20 miles for water, and then to suddenly discover that you're menstruating?"
Phil: "Quite sad."
Woman: "Sir, you have no idea what it is like to be a teenage girl having your first period under Taliban rule."

Taste: "This is about how I'm an asshole all the time, huh? How you have no trust that I can pull things through."
Whippit: "Yeah!"
Taste: "How I can't do anything right? I buy the wrong soda?"
Whippit: "Yeah."
Taste: "The wrong beer!"
Phil: "I hear you, man."
Taste: "The wrong nipple clamps."
Phil: "Well..."
Whippit: "Those clamps hurt me!"

Review: The Fighter (2010) TH

A tale of fists and family

This is a film dealing with having a dream about doing something for yourself and then having to make sacrifices with personal relationships in order to get there. An up and coming boxer named Micky Ward (Wahlberg) from the rough town of Lowell, Mass in the '90s has a community that stands by him as well as a large family to give a helping hand with training, promotion and attempting to secure fights to show off his magic. Everybody gives their unconditional love the best they can, but are stuck in a routine and he wants to break away without hurting those who've always been there.

Dicky (Bale) is training his younger brother Micky, who always looked up to him, to make it as a pro. Dicky knows the sport like the back of his hand and is likable and passionate but isn't always in control as he's not able to help himself when it comes to abusing substances. It's evident to everybody but himself that he's still living in a certain part of his past with his mind stuck in a loop. Dicky is being filmed for an HBO documentary on crack addiction but that doesn't stop him from scheming and getting into trouble with the law. He's unreliable and their protective mother, who is also Micky's manager, tries but doesn't know any better which makes matters worse.

Micky gets more and more involved with a straight-shooting woman named Charlene (Adams) that works as a bartender. She's as much a warrior as himself and he's got to win her over, but once the lioness is tamed she lends courage and support to see through the barriers. A new promoter and trainer offer better opportunity with the promise of consistency, but the rule is as long as that doesn't include the reckless brother and overbearing mother. This puts Micky between a rock and a hard place as his brother--who now went through detox and gained some perspective from the documentary--gave him sound advice in a fight.

Some sports movies don't always find a balance between the struggle and the glory, and can fall into a trap of being predictable and crutched on the finale. "The Fighter," however, made it worth it due to a journey that grows and expands in between and doesn't gamble everything it's got on the "big one." This isn't selling the audience a you-can-do-it-too sports dream but rather to show that if you want to make it in anything, that making sacrifices, even impossible ones, is all part of the process of committing to your goals and aspirations. Micky is just one character among many, including the town of Lowell itself. It shows the real life people in positive and negative light, which gives some breathing room to the viewer instead of playing it as sappy and sentimental. The tone isn't all a heavy hitting drama, with some classic radio songs from an earlier era, as well as a layer of dry humor with some situations being slightly exaggerated for effect.

What truly made this picture stand out were the performances. Christian Bale did a fantastic job portraying the typical addict syndrome: it's never their fault, give them another chance, that person screwed them--it's all a conspiracy. It's uncanny if you've ever met or had contact with someone of the sort. The character makes promises he knows he can't keep, acts selfish, is a showboat for attention. Bale truly loses himself to the role as he got every single mannerism down to a T, and even with all negativity said didn't make you want to completely hate him--which makes sitting through this dramatic but not overbearing. Amy Adams went from making it big on "Catch Me If You Can" as the nice and innocent young girl, to here a hardened, street-tough woman who doesn't take any nonsense or just act as a feminine shoulder to cry on. It's refreshing to see a female role that isn't just pretty decoration for the background or if she's confident act like a one-note b with an itch. The mother and sisters--while slightly over-the-top to make an impression--came together as if they were just a close-knit family of locals that lean on each other. The performers ultimately made the story captivating and gave out a level of care for their trials and tribulations from this unheard of town to most in New England that made them what they were.

Director: David O. Russell (Flirting with Disaster, Three Kings)
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
Website: IMDB

The Other Guys (2010)

Staring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes

Directed by Adam McKay

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1386588/

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Other_Guys

"The Other Guys" is a pretty funny movie. It reunites Will Ferrell with director Adam McKay, and Mark Wahlberg is also along for the ride to deliver some laughs. Granted, there are some problems with it, but overall it is a good flick.

It starts off with Samuel L. Jackson proving that he is one of the greatest people who ever lived. He is in high-speed pursuit of a bunch of bad guys along with Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson, who I guess would be also awesome if he had not just stared in "The Tooth Fairy". Anyway, Jackson's car gets stuck in a bus, he frees it and he goes flying at the bad guys, shouting a bunch of stuff I could not understand, blows up a bunch of stuff, and somehow survives. YEAH! Unfortunately, both of them are killed in a separate incident shortly afterward (the poster above is a bit deceiving; they have a total of about five minutes of screen time). This occurs when, in order to stop another bunch of bad guys, they jump off of a building that is about 10-20 stories high in order to land in a bunch of bushes that were not there, and even if they were, they would not have prevented them from dying or at least critically injured them.

Ummm...okay.

Anyway, with both of them out of the picture, who will take their place as the big shot of the department? That's right, the Other Guys! We have Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), who plays a jerk cop who is haunted by a tragedy from his past: he shot Derek Jeter in the leg during the 2003 World Series, costing the Yankees the championship. This a bit ironic since in real life Wahlberg is from Boston, so I suspect a Red Sox conspiracy. Anyway, he gets stuck with Allen Gamble (Ferrell) who is basically Bob Saget's character Danny Tanner from "Full House". He is just incredibly bland and lame, though in this instance the character is actually funny (yes, we all loved “Full House” when we were 5, but it’s time to move on). The two of them come across a suspected financial cover-up involving a famous investor named David Ershon (Steve Coogan), which leads them on a wild goose chase that leads them to meet some interesting characters, and includes a number of gags such as Allen having some unfortunate things happen to his Prius, and both of them having their shoes stolen...twice. There are a number of good quotes involving peacocks and other things throughout the feature. Oh yeah, and Michael Keaton plays their boss who, among other things, keeps quoting TLC songs, though he insists that he is not... Well, its not "Batman", but at least Keaton is still working, right?

I guess he biggest problem that this film has is that it gets extremely distracted. True, when Ferrell and McKay did "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights" each had random scenes that did not really progress the story but were still funny. In this movie, the same thing happens, but they take way too many detours, and it gets to the point where its 1 hour, 47 minute running time feels like 2 and a half hours. Do not get me wrong, the stuff they put in there was usually funny, but they could have condensed the material a little more so that it felt more it had a more cohesive story arch.

There is also this weird part during the closing credits that shows the differences in the income between American employees and their super-rich bosses, as well as making references to TARP and other aspects of the recent financial meltdown. Admittedly, some of the stuff they mention is kind of interesting, but they play off of a part of the plot which is ultimately insignificant; the information would feel better served if it were shown at the end of the upcoming "Wall Street" sequel. If Ferrell and McKay want to get political, they can save it for their "Funny or Die" website, not try to shove it into a film where it does not belong.

Despite its flaws, "The Other Guys" is a feature that made me laugh more often than not. While it is not as funny as "Anchorman" or "Talladega", it is the best movie Will Ferrell has done in years, which is good news for him given the sub-par quality of his recent work. Either way, it is worthwhile, and I recommend it.

P.S. If you stay until the end of the closing credits (and the populist rant), as Ferrell/McKay fans may expect, there is an extra scene with Ferrell and Wahlberg. It is nothing much, but you can check it out if you want.