|
|
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
|
|
HOLLYWOOD THE OTHER GUYS
EDITOR'S PICK
Rating:***
Cinema, as life, is full of cliches. However, what makes both of them
interesting is the creative and interesting way in which it is used. "The
Other Guys" is full of cliche, but handled in a way that makes them funny.
Allen (Ferrell) and Terry (Wahlberg) are two cops in New York Police department,
who are the laughing stock of their department. Allen is nerdy, while Terry has
anger management issues. After the `funny` demise of two star cops there`s
competition about who will fill their gaps.
After many false starts where they further become the butt of jokes, they
finally discover their groove as individual cops and as a team. What their
pointless investigation seems to be leading is into the mouth of a big corporate
scandal.
The strength of the film is not its originality. Two nerdy cops proving heroes
despite the odds have been done to death in both the comedy and the action
genre, and in the action-comedy genre which this one is. Its strength is in
three things -- a well- written screenplay, expert direction by Adam McKay (also
its writer) and the comic timing of Ferrell and Wahlberg, which raises many
chuckles and quite a few laughs.
Some scenes are outright hilarious -- the lion and tuna fight between the
partners, the wooden gun, the villains taking away their shoes everytime they
catch them and the third party exchange of sexual communication with an old
woman as the messenger. A much older looking Michael Keaton as their captain who
also moonlights as a sales executive adds to the fun.
Cameos by Samuel Jackson and Dwayne Johnson add to the zing. Eva Mendes has a
small role and adds to Terry`s amazement about his nerdy cop getting all the hot
chicks.
"The Other Guys" proves that you don`t necessarily have to be original
to be funny. All you got to do is be creative with cliches. That is a lesson
many filmmakers, both in Hollywood and Bollywood, would do well to remember.
NYPD Detectives Christopher Danson and P.K. Highsmith (Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson) are the baddest and most beloved cops in New York City. They don’t get tattoos – other men get tattoos of them. Two desks over and one back, sit Detectives Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg). You’ve seen them in the background of photos of Danson and Highsmith, out of focus and eyes closed. They’re not heroes – they’re the Other Guys.
But every cop has his or her day and soon Gamble and Hoitz stumble into a seemingly innocuous case no other detective wants to touch that could turn into New York City’s biggest crime. It’s the opportunity of their lives, but do these guys have the right stuff?
Columbia Pictures’ ensemble action comedy The Other Guys stars Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Ray Stevenson, with Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson. Directed by Adam McKay and written by Adam McKay & Chris Henchy, the producers are Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Jimmy Miller, and Patrick Crowley.
