DVD Reviews

The Other Guys - Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll Dec 16, 2010, 12:27 GMT

Misfit NYPD detectives Gamble and Hoitz (Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg) are sentenced to life behind the desk. They hate each other and the monotony of their meaningless jobs, as they’re forced to live in the shadow of the two biggest and most badass cops on the force (Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson). But when those guys go down for the count, opportunity knocks for Gamble and Hoitz. Stumbling ...more

Cop buddy movies are given a send up in this Will Ferrell vehicle. However, the vehicle’s wheels are a little underinflated. There are some laughs and it is funnier than another film that covered the same ground. Still, it is a misfire.

There’s only room for two super-cops in Captain Gene Mauch’s (Michael Keaton) department. They’re Detectives Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Danson (Dwayne Johnson) who capture the bad guys, do multiple millions of dollars in damage doing it, but the city and precinct loves them for it. They’re idolized by one and all, but when tragedy strikes the duo; the “other guys” all want to step into their place.

Det. Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) had a run-in with a famous New Yorker, who he happened to shoot, and has been on the outs ever since. He thinks he should be up there where Highsmith and Danson were. Det. Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) is another story as he’s happier doing paperwork and his investigations lean towards the lack of permits instead of the action extravaganzas of the late super-cops.

The problem is that Gamble and Hoitz are partners as well as being opposites. Gamble does uncover that billionaire Sir David Ershon (Steve Coogan) is lacking scaffolding permits for several buildings, but in doing so accidentally uncovers a bigger embezzlement plot.

Director Adam McKay and Will Ferrell have quite the comedy pedigree, from the highs of Anchorman and Talladega Nights to the (IMHO) lows of Stepbrothers. The Other Guys falls somewhere in-between.

It plows similar grounds to Kevin Smith’s Cop Out, which was pretty dire except for some cool Blu-ray features. I found The Other Guys funnier than that one, but there were more misses than hits in this “other” film. For every joke that makes the mark in The Other Guys, three or four more wiz by the target completely.

Ferrell has been funnier, although the super-cops bit in the beginning is pretty amusing. Maybe his shtick is just getting old. Wahlberg is a bit too high-strung as the putout partner. It seemed like a good idea, had more laughs than Cop Out, but in the end it just didn’t work.

The Other Guys is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.35:1). You get both the theatrical cut and an unrated cut of the film, as well as a MovieIQ trivia track. All special features are presented in high definition.

First up is the gimmicky “mom”mentary, which features the mothers of writer/director McKay, co-writer Chris Henchy, and Ferrell. There are 30 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, a 6 minute gag reel, the 9 minute “Line-o-rama” shows some improvised lines, the 2 minute “Flash Forwards” are some scene extensions, and the 3 minute “Alternative Action” shows some more of Highsmith and Danson on the case.

The 15 minute “Wasn’t That” highlight some characters, the 10 minute “Crash and Burn” looks at the stunt work, the 6 minute “Why are there Brits in this Movie?” looks at Coogan, the 2 minute “Rob Riggle likes to Party” has the actor waxing about having a good time, the 1 minute “We Shouldn’t Kiss Chicken” is about an onset game, the 3 minute “Mark Wahlberg’s Eating Contest Entourage” features extreme eating, the 4 minute “Bed, Bath, and Way Beyond” looks at Keaton’s other job and its scene, the 5 minute “Extreme Close Up” is interviews done in that manner, the 4 minute “Everybody hates the DVD guy” is about the guy shooting the extras and the hate on set for him, the 1 minute “Lendl Global” commercial, and the 4 minute “Pimps Don’t Cry” music video. Disc two is a DVD/Digital copy.

The Other Guys is funnier, barely, than that other film, but it still has too many slow or unfunny moments to score highly. That buddy movie/super-cops hilarious parody film has yet to be made.