film review: the other guys

Adam McKay, the director of Talladega Nights, Anchorman and Step Brothers brings us another collaborative work with funny man Will Ferrell – The Other Guys – that also stars Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes and Michael Keaton. The film follows the story of ‘the other guys’: Adam Gamble (Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Walhberg), newly formed partners in the NYPD who could not have less in common. Adam prefers to stay at his desk and complete paperwork, while Terry is desperate to work on the streets.  After the station’s most beloved cops (played by The Rock/Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson) meet an unnatural end towards the beginning of the film, an opening arises for a new ‘star’ cop duet.  But Adam and Tony unwittingly stumble upon a massive embezzlement case, and become mixed up in a series of events, which jeopardises their standing at work.

Steve Coogan (previously seen in 24 Hour Party People) plays David Ershon, a banker who is placed in the middle of this high stakes crime.  He interestingly bears many similarities to Bernie Madoff, the former American stockbroker and investment advisor – now incarcerated for fraud.  Coogan noted that his character is “the new bad guy in movies – the financial bad guy.” (Sony, 2010) The references to the GFC (specifically the criticism of the SEC and government bail outs) are effective, and the film certainly achieves quite a few laughs – most notably the brief flashback into Adam’s life in college where he chronicles his time as a pimp, and Adam’s lack of appreciation of his wife Sheila (played by Eva Mendes).  He notes at one point that her dress makes her look like a “hobo.”

All of the cast were very excited to work with Ferrell on this film: Mendes has said that “what people don’t know about me, is that I will do anything for a laugh” (Sony, 2010), and Wahlberg, who has achieved immense success in producing the (misogynistic) TV series Entourage, was very eager to work in the comedy genre. With this said, I was not a huge fan of his character, and I’m not sure that he has made the transition from serious roles into comedy very smoothly.

Like McKay’s previous films, this film is obviously not designed to be serious. There are a few jokes/gags that don’t quite stick and the various high-speed car chase scenes are very unrealistic, despite the supposed level of realism that McKay and Ferrell were trying to achieve. However, if you’re out for a laugh and are a fan of Will Ferrell, you should enjoy the film to some extent.