The Other Guys 2010
Will Ferrell movies can be hit or miss. While he was very good in Elf and Stranger Than Fiction, he tries too hard in some other movies. Some people really don’t like this movie, but for some reason I enjoyed it. I guess I like him as a good-hearted nerd more than the loud buffoon he usually plays. Mark Wahlberg is a good foil for him as an angry tough guy cop who has been partnered with Ferrell as punishment for one really bad mistake. It was great to see the return of Michael Keaton to comedy, reminding us why he was so big for a while. He steals just about every scene he is in. There are even some gratuitous Dwayne Johnson and Samuel Jackson action scenes thrown in at the beginning.
The movie isn’t a classic comedy or even anything like Beverly Hills Cop. Instead it is a comedy based on these two characters, so if you don’t like the characters or the actors playing them, there is no way you will like the movie. Wahlberg at times just yells and seems tired of yelling, but just as often he can hit exactly the right note of being angry or incredulous (when meeting Ferrell’s wife) to great effect. He is a stressed out angry straight man to a world gone crazy around him.
I can’t give the movie an A because of some obvious shortcomings, but it made me laugh out loud more than once and I will probably watch this movie again and laugh harder. B+
Written: 26 Apr 2011