Why So Blu?

I Want To Be Just Like ‘The Other Guys’

Stop!  I want to play a game.  No, not like Jigsaw does in the Saw movies, but I want to play good cop, bad cop.  What?  You want to be the bad cop too?  How will that ever work out?  Well if you are talking about the Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg action-comedy film The Other Guys, I have a hunch that’s it’s going to work out to be a pretty ball-busting hilarious good ole’ time.    But that’s just me.  I don’t mind giving this film a shameless plug or two right off the bat.

The Columbia Pictures film co-stars Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Michael Keaton, Eva Mendes, Ray Stevenson, Steve Coogan, Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr.  That’s a pretty decent cast, huh?   Heck, even Brooke Shields and Derek Jeter make a cameo in this one.  What more can a guy ask for?  Don’t answer that.  And for once, I pretty much went into this film with absolutely zero expectations and I admittedly laughed my a$$ off, despite the films PG-13 rating.  Not too shabby!  Nope, not too shabby at all.

Can I ask everybody a question?  This one is for the guys and the girls.  How does Eva Mendes seem to look more beautiful with every passing day?  I mean, usually stars start to show their age eventually, but Eva’s biology seems to be working in reverse.  I remember reading an article just recently about a reporter interviewing the cast of The Other Guys at this year’s Comic-Con and how he could not take his eyes or thoughts off of Eva.  I can see why.  Maybe it’s a good thing I did not attend that press panel and that I sent my photographer instead.  Thanks Scott!  But fear not, there is a reason why I bring up her name here, again and again.  Other than her worldly beauty, she does play a pivotal role as Will Ferrell’s onscreen wife in the film.  The interaction between her, Ferrell and Wahlberg is gut busting.  I can’t tell you how funny all three of made the simple line of “Good night Gloria” sound.  You will just have to see it to believe.

So what’s it all about?  Well I’m not going to ruin any surprises, but it should come as no surprise (I hate using that word twice in one sentence, but what you going to do) that this is a buddy action-comedy film, much like Cop Out was earlier on this year.  Ferrell and Wahlberg play two dead beat cops, but when no one else will believe them or for that matter, even take them seriously, they have to put it all on the line to prove that there’s more than meets the eye about them and their ability to fight crime and corruption.  And in doing so, the comedic lines just flowed like the ketchup you can stop from oozing out of the Heinz 57 bottle even though it says it is a no drip spout.  Don’t you hate when that happens?  I would have to say that the brilliant comedic tone started off for me with one line in particular.  It was when Wahlberg expresses his anger towards Ferrell’s character.  I’m adlibbing here so bear with me.  Wahlberg says that if Ferrell’s character was a sea lion and that he was a lion, he would swim out into the middle of the ocean and eat him.  It’s Ferrell’s response that I was not ready for.  How the guy ever remembered all his lines is beyond me.  It was from this point on that I had near tears in my eyes over the slapstick comedy I was subjected to for the rest of the film’s runtime.

The Other Guys is not a perfect movie by any means.  It follows your typical Hollywood buddy cliché screenplay, but it’s the humor that saves it from being an utter dismal disappointment.  It’s certainly not the best film I have seen so far this year, but I truly do think it’s one of the funniest  (keep in mind I have yet to see Hot Tub Time Machine or Get Him To The Greek).  I’m not hesitant in recommending you go check this one out over the weekend.  Maybe skip the lines Friday night and treat yourself to a relaxing Saturday or Sunday afternoon matinee at your favorite cinemaplex.  If it were not for the minor swear words, I would even recommend this one as a family outing everyone can enjoy.  After all, if I laughed this hard at a rated PG-13 film and I’m 35 years old, imagine how much your teenagers will love it.  Oh wait, does this just mean that I’m getting old?  Oh no!