REVIEW: The Other Guys

But that's my tie.

There are people who like the Will Ferrell/Adam Mckay team much more then me. Even Anchorman, the film which is far and a way the best film they made together, and a film that a respectable percentage of the universe will see somewhere near fifty times in their lifetime, is something I like but don't love. It just seems to me that their films feel to much like skits, sustainable and funny perhaps for something like ten minutes, but stretched to movie length just feel aimless and repetitive. One thing Anchorman has going for it though, is that at least it was imaginative and fast paced, The Other Guys just dragged, and after a promising opening just meandered until it didn't, felt random in a bad way and was just plain boring.

I'm beginning to lose interest in the Will Ferrell comedic persona. Or at least the exaggerated moronic man-child thing he does in this kind of thing. It just feels like someone telling a once funny joke again and again until it just becomes irritating. If you don't change it up then people will just become bored of you. This is a lesson learned by Jim Carrey, Jack Black and every single comedian that ever lived that became successful on the draining of one specific, larger then life schtick. Carrey survived by branching out, Black has at least tried to do this, but Ferrell, with the glaring exception of Stranger Than Fiction, just rolls out the same old thing, and I don't care anymore. Every role he plays seems to be a paler imitation of the one before and he's becoming one of those actors that makes me instantly apprehensive about a movie now, and given how good he used to be that seems a little ridiculous. The movie's potential saving grace was the inspired casting of Mark Wahlberg, who doesn't get to do comedy that often but when he does tends to ace it, in an all-out comedic role. But then it turns out, much like this movie really, Wahlberg doesn't really get anything of note to do and a couple of solid moments aside its a wasted opportunity for the guy to show a wider audience that he can do more things then be awful in Max Payne.

Faring better are the supporting characters, Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne ' The Rock' Johnson make a strong impact in their very limited amount of screen time, with one particular moment of awesome lunacy springing to mind. Michael Keaton, whose had a bit of a comeback year what with this and Toy Story 3, probably steals the movie here as a police Captain with an oblivious TLC obsession. Steve Coogan is fine in a subjugated villain role, but its certainly not the funniest he's ever been, but its more the movie's fault then his because it treats his character as almost a necessary evil. Its good to see him consistently getting work in hollywood though. Ultimately, its just way too forgettable and bland for a comedy of its type. I kept willing it to be funnier but it just wasn't. Fine movie, be that way.

Rating: 5/10