THE OTHER GUYS 
Starring:
Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, Steve Coogan, Ray Stevenson and Samuel L. Jackson
Director:
Adam McKay
Running Time:
107 mins
Out to buy on Blu-Ray/DVD 24/01/11
"She's your wife?!?!?!"
Detectives Highsmith (Jackson) and Danson (Johnson) are the stars of the NYPD but when they unexpectedly killed in the line of duty, their position as the top cops in New York is up for grabs. Detective Terry Hoitz (Wahlberg) thinks that he is the one to step into those empty shoes but his partner Allen (Ferrell) is just a forensic accountant for the police force and he hasn’t even fired his gun. When Allen discovers a discrepancy in a billionaire’s building permit, he convinces Terry that something bigger maybe going on but Captain Gene Mauch (Keaton) isn’t convinced. Sick of been just the other guys in the squad, Terry and Allen decide to dig further and blow the case wide open.
When director Adam McKay and Hollywood star Will Farrell make a movie together comedy gold usually ensues but can ‘The Other Guys’ keep up that stella run?
In 2004 two men who had worked so closely together on American’s prime comedy show ‘Saturday Night Live (SNL)’ broke out onto the big screen to bring us one of THE cult comedy films of the 00s, ‘Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy’. The film started a new wave of slightly surreal, over the top comedies and pushed stars Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd and Will Farrell into the comedy big leagues. Two years later in 2006, McKay and Farrell collaborated again for ‘Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby’, the more American centric NASCAR movie which was most notable for turning the then dramatic actor John C. Reilly into one of comedy’s new shining lights. Returning again in 2008 for ‘Step Brothers’, McKay and Farrell brought John C. Reilly back into the fold for an hilarious look at two forty year old stepbrothers trying to get along as their parents planned to marry. With all three McKay/Farrell collaborations providing real, genuine laugh out loud moments and some of the most quotable lines in comedy over the last few years, expectations for their latest movie is higher that ever but unfortunately it does not quite live up to the high standards that they have set before.
In ‘The Other Guys’, McKay and Farrell have kept their trademark wacky, slightly surreal humour that draws fans to their movies but unfortunately they have not really moved on with this concept. Each of the films previous has allowed their relationship to grow pushing high concept comedy with their trademark style. Transposing this into a cop drama to add some action seems to have dispelled some of the comedy for the need to put in more police action you would expect from a cop buddy movie. Audiences have already seen this so many times and done really well that you feel that McKay and Farrell did not really need to move into this well-trodden genre. The good news is however that their trademark homour has still got some legs.
With Will Farrell you either love him or hate him, there seems to be in between but for fans of the former SNL legend it is his collaborations with Adam McKay that they most look forward to. For ‘The Other Guys’ Farrell plays a more everyman character in Allen Gamble, the financial detective who has never had cause to leave the station never mind draw his gun, but in the McKay/Farrell trademark style he is not exactly what he seems. A gifted singer and incredibly attractive to women, something that his partner Terry Hoitz, played by Mark Wahlberg can’t get to grips with especially when he meets his doting and absolutely stunning wife Sheila, play by the gorgeous Eva Mendes, Farrell underplays the character and does not go as over the top or larger than life as he did in previous collaborations with McKay. As ever, the supporting cast is also very good. Brief but funny cameos by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson set the tone of the film, Michael Keaton makes a welcome return to comedy as Captain Gene Mauch, Britain’s Steve Coogan makes a fun figure for the detectives to investigate and Eva Mendas shows that she can also do comedy.
As they did with John C. Reilly, McKay and Farrell have cast an actor known more for his dramatic roles in films like ‘Three Kings’, ‘Boogie Nights’ ‘The Lovely Bones’ and ‘The Departed’ and given him to chance to show his comedic potential but for Mark Wahlberg that could be a step too far. While he does his best to bounce off Farrell and play the straight man of the piece, whether it’s the writing or the strength of the actor for this genre, you cannot help but this that Wahlberg does not look as comfortable as be could have done.
‘The Other Guys’ might be a concept too far for Adam McKay and Will Farrell but there is still plenty to enjoy here. With some genuine laugh-out-loud moments and some excellent support from a good ensemble, ‘The Other Guys’ is a very funny movie but rated against the previous McKay/Ferrell collaborations, it just is not as funny or original. This aside, this is Will Farrell on cracking form and one that his fans will revel in.
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