THE OTHER GUYS
US, 2010, 103 minutes, Colour.
Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Ray Stevenson, Samuel L.Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Derek Jeter.
Directed by Adam Mc Kay.
I had a smile on my face most of the time watching The Other Guys, but it is all rather silly, maybe too silly for some.
The real guys make an initial appearance, Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson, ace detectives for whom no feat is too difficult and who are police vanity personified. They depend on those who push pencils (or computer keys anyway) at desks, the other guys. Then they indulge in a derring-do stunt, leaping from a building – miscalculating, leaving two detective openings, a chance for the other guys to go out and confront the criminals.
This is a Will Ferrell film. Most of the time, I find him very funny, especially when he creates characters who are rather vain but become the butt of comedy (Ron Burgundy, Blades of Glory, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers). Sometimes he is not so funny at all and rather hard to take. His Allen Gamble here is, for me, one of his best. He is a buttoned up police accountant who loves his job and is meticulous, that is Meticulous with a capital M. He is paired in the office with Mark Wahlberg who has shot a star baseballer (Derek Jeter as himself) and is trigger happy at his desk. Michael Keaton is their boss. The others in the squad take every opportunity to mock.
You’ve guessed it. Out they go on a case and get into all kinds of scrapes (and get out of them as well) which gives the opportunity to both stage chases and shootouts as well as send them up. While you think Wahlberg is giving a one-note performance, he suddenly does some ballet pirouettes (though he had learnt them at school to mock the gay students). Then Allen Gimble is given a back-story so opposite to what he seems that you can’t believe it, but it has its funny moments. Wahlberg also discovers that Ferrell is married to a doctor – who turns out to be ultra-glamorous (Eva Mendes) but acts like a suburban housewife.
There are also lots of funny one-liners, especially in slinging off at the movies.
Steve Coogan appears as a dodgy financier pursued by Anne Heche and her former SAS assistant who tries to abduct him and keeps tangling with the ‘other guys’.
It is funny, immediately forgettable, but reminds us that when Will Ferrell is good, he can be very good.
1. An entertaining comedy, with a police action background? An enjoyable combination?
2. A star vehicle for Will Ferrell and his comic style, for Mark Wahlberg and his action style? Odd couple partners?
3. The New York City setting, police precincts, desk work, action in the streets? Business companies, and actions, threats? Stunt work? Musical score? The range of songs?
4. The opening, the star detectives, Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson and their careers and reputations? The envy of the other police? Seeing them in action, yet the fatal jump and the ironic humour of their deaths?
5. The contrast with the Allen Gamble? His desk work, his being satisfied with it, absolutely meticulous? No ambitions for action? Will Ferrell and his comic style for this kind of obsessive? The audience surprised, along with Hoitz, that Gamble had such a glamorous wife? Her career, at home, domestic?
6. The contrast with Hoitz, his wanting action, his action-oriented mentality? The irony of his working together with Gamble? The visit to his house, his amazement at Gamble’s wife?
7. Their boss, his character, dealing with them, the comic touches?
8. The issue of the building violation, the fund manager, his being criminal, debt obligations, the finance company? The couple arresting him? The irony of his being abducted by false security agents?
9. Troublesome ex-girlfriends, Gamble’s girl and the phone evidence? Hoitz and his girlfriend?
10. The activities of the odd couple, the security team targeting them, the store blown up, the Broadway tickets, being taken to Las Vegas? The reaction of the chief, taking them off the case?
11. The death of the company’s lawyer, the couple and their trying to intervene, demoted, split up? The irony of Hoitz on traffic duty, Gamble and his own investigations, the police pension fund, the connection with Ershon?
12. The humour and action at the board meeting, the couple intruding, saving Ershon, gunfire? The chase?
13. In hiding, Gamble and his communication with his wife, its seeming like the end?
14. The build-up to the finale, the bank clerk and the money transfers, thugs and the attack, the duo doing their best, the arrival of reinforcements?
15. Will Ferrell and his success of this type of role, his size, his voice, his ability to mimic types? The contrast with Wahlberg and his going into action style?
