August 6, 2010, - 7:02 pm
Weekend Box Office: “The Other Guys”
If you liked “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” you’ll definitely like “The Other Guys,” starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. But it is far more raunchy, and I’m more than shocked by the PG-13 rating, given a lot of the explicit sex references and language.
While I could have done without that stuff, I enjoyed the many laughs. At times, it’s simply hilarious. At other times, the jokes are corny, too vulgar, and/or go on too long like a “Saturday Night Live” skit. But it’s got everything: comedy, lots of great lines, lots of action, a crime story, cops, guns, shooting, and a hot chick (Eva Mendes as Ferrell’s wife).
I could have done without the movie’s anti-capitalist message, as the chief villain is a Bernie Madoff figure (Steve Coogan), whom we first see when he’s speaking at the “Center for American Capitalism.” And there’s the fact that attempted murderer and thug Mark Wahlberg is one of the movie’s stars. But I loved the non-stop rips on the Prius driven by Ferrell’s character, including this, after the Prius was stolen:
We found the Red Prius. It’s trying to vote for Ralph Nader.
And this exchange:
Mark Wahlberg [riding shotgun in the Prius]: What is this?
Will Ferrell: It’s my car. It’s a Prius.
Wahlberg: I feel like we’re literally driving around in a vagina.
The story: two hotshot cops (Duane Johnson a/k/a “The Rock” and Samuel L. Jackson) are always the heroes in the NYPD precinct. They always get the action and the girls. And the kudos. But then they die. Two other cops, sentenced for desk duty, are “the other guys.” Ferrell is stuck there because he’s a forensic accountant, who doesn’t need the action. Wahlberg is stuck there because, as a rising star detective, he accidentally mistook New York Yankee Derek Jeter for a criminal and shot him in the knee. So all of New York hates him. But when the two hotshots die, Ferrell and Wahlberg long to fill their shoes, and they get their chance when they arrest the Madoff-like character for “awning violations” on his building.
Not a great movie, but much better than I expected. Like I said, a lot of funny, but a lot of unnecessary raunch, too. NOT for kids or the prudish.
ONE REAGAN
Watch the Trailer . . .
Tags: anti-capitalism, anti-capitalist, Bernie Madoff, Duane Johnson, Eva Mendes, Mark Wahlberg, movie, Movie Reviews, Prius, Prius Jokes, Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Coogan, The Other Guys, The Rock, Will Ferrell
Dear Debbie: You may want to go back over this review. You made a reference to an actor named Jackie Coogan (line 9). Just to let you know, the actor Jackie Coogan died back in 1984 & IMDB does not list anyone even close to that name in the cast list. Just thought you might want to know.
M: I meant Steve Coogan. Fixed. Thanks. DS
Mark on August 6, 2010 at 11:04 pm