The Other Guys

A lot of comedies start out strong, but lose momentum. Some comedies take a while to find the right tone. The Other Guys is that rare kind of comedy where I found myself laughing just as much toward the end as I was at the beginning. It's funny all the way through, and the best thing to come from Will Ferrell in years.

Over the years, Ferrell has been one of the most frustratingly inconsistent comic talents in the movies. When he's on his game, he can absolutely kill like few comedians can in movies. But, all too often, his performances end up coming off the wrong way with me. He's often loud, over the top, and comes across like he's constantly winking at his audience. He's much more restrained here in his role as Allen Gamble, and that's what makes him so hilarious. He's allowed to focus on his character and dialogue. It's what he says that's funny, not Ferrell overacting to the point he resembles a live action cartoon. Allen is an accountant who works at the NYPD. He's content at his desk job, due to a secret past I dare not reveal. Allen is hopelessly outdated, shows it on a regular basis, and is openly mocked by the officers at the station. He doesn't care, though. He's happy in his place in life. In a way, he reminded me of Steve Carell's character in last weekend's Dinner for Schmucks. He's not as oblivious to what other people think of him, but he doesn't seem to care, none the less.

Allen's partner is Terry Holtz (Mark Wahlberg). They are not a good match, professionally. Terry is very angry at where he is in life. He was once a cop in the field, until an unfortunate incident concerning baseball player Derek Jeter at the World Series had him demoted to desk work. Now he suffers on a daily basis, as his former peers ridicule him, and he's forced to listen to Allen's rambling explanations as to why a tuna fish could beat a lion in a fight. (A scene that not only contains huge laughs, but also some eerie logic, until it goes off the rails with hilarious results.) Terry would like nothing more than to go back on the beat, but it doesn't look good, since the city is protected by a pair of supercops played with over the top perfection by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson. The film's opening 15 minutes actually focus on Jackson and Johnson, as we follow their adventures, which usually end up in massive property damage. I would say these scenes are a parody of action films, but if you compare the opening moments of this movie to the trailers for Sylvester Stallone's upcoming The Expendables, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

The supercops depart the story, and someone needs to step in and fill their place. Terry coaxes Allen out onto the street, wanting to prove he still has what it takes. They quickly become ensnared in a financial fraud case surrounding a man named David Ershon (Steve Coogan). There are a lot of people who seem to want to see David kidnapped, and Terry and Allen dead when they start getting too close to the truth. The Other Guys is a movie that forces you to talk about it in broad strokes, so as not to spoil any of the fun or the laughs. In a rare move for a big budget, star-packed action comedy, the movie is all about dialogue and punchlines of a wide variety. Most are verbal, some are visual, but a large number of them hit hard. Even the jokes that don't work (a running gag concerning some dirty-minded homeless people) you admire for their effort. The jokes that don't work aren't bad, they just aren't as good as the big gags, such as the scenes concerning Allen's wife (Eva Mendes), and Terry's reaction to her.

The pairing of Ferrell and Wahlberg may sound like a strange one, but it works here. They're both understated in their performances, with Ferrell being reigned in, but still delivering his comic lines with expert timing, while Wahlberg goes for a more slow-burn approach. We can see the anger bubbling just below the surface in a lot of his scenes, both at the situations he finds himself in, and with his partner. Their exchanges are sly, witty, and full of little sideways glances that make you laugh. (Seeing Wahlberg's reaction to Ferrell's choice in car chase music is priceless.) Unlike a lot of recent comedies, the movie does not work in broad strokes. With its corporate villains, the movie is grounded somewhat in reality, but skewered just enough to work as a sharp satire.

Just last week, I mentioned that my rule of thumb when reviewing a comedy is did I laugh, and how much did I laugh? Well, reader, I am proud to report that The Other Guys is my favorite comedy of the year so far. Director Adam McKay (a regular of Ferrell's comedies) strikes the perfect tone, and hardly falters in delivering strong laughs. This is his strongest collaboration with Ferrell, and the best time I've had at the cinema in a while.

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