I Saw A Film Today…The Other Guys

I already regret saying this (because of the numerous comments and e-mails I will receive from adults my age defending him) but I never have liked Will Farrell. Except for Anchorman, Stranger Than Fiction, and his underappreciated roles in Semi-Pro and Land of the Lost, his career has been lackluster for me at best. And after seeing the trailer for The Other Guys, I was pretty sure that it was not going to make it to the short list of his films I enjoyed. But in need of a night out at the cinema I decided to see this “comedy”.

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Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) are two detectives for the New York Police Department, which is a surprising statement. With their reckless ways of solving crimes, I’m surprised that these two still have a job, much less that they are considered  heroes at their department. But the main focus of this film is not on these guys, but on the “Other Guys”. First there is Allen (Will Farrell), a forensic accountant who is a clueless goofy-ball (SHOCKER! This sure is new territory for Farrell). His partner is Terry (Marky Mark Wahlberg), who has been stuck with Allen because he accidentally shot Derek Jeter at the 2003 World Series.

After Danson and Highsmith die in a stupid way, Terry and Allen begin investigating a millionaire businessman named David Ershon (Steve Coogan). This lead to the two detectives uncovering illegal activity in Ershon’s business and naturally leads to many gunfights and car chases.

The first forty minutes of this film are bearable and even has a couple of funny moments. But whatever hold this film had on bringing itself around to a good film is lost after the hour mark. Many gags are unnecessary, too long, and in the end not even funny. A good example of this is a scene where Ershon offers the guys tickets to a Knick’s game. Halfway through the game they realize that the tickets are bribes and confront Ershon about this. Naturally, he offers them tickets to see Jersey Boys and the guys accept them, only realizing halfway through the show that this also is a bribe. All I really wanted to do in the last half hour of this movie was leave (which some people did).

And the performances do not bring much to the table either. Farrell’s familiar role as a loveable simpleton falls flat and he is unbelievable as a former pimp-turned-cop. Eva Mendes’s performance is as mediocre as ever but it is ok…she so gorgeous that it doesn’t even matter. Surprisingly, Wahlberg bring the best performance in this movie as the hot-headed but funny detective. Another performance worth mentioning is Michael Keaton.

Weak plot. Weak comedy. Weak performances. Other than the two above mentioned performances, there really is not much good you can salvage from this film. Instead of seeing The Other Guys, I suggest you go see another movie.

Verdict: SKIP IT!

So what is your opinion of The Other Guys? Was I too harsh on this “comedy”? Leave your comments and opinions below.