I should admit something immediately: I'm not a big Will Ferrell fan. Sure, he was really funny on SNL and for some reason I loved Talladega Nights, but Anchorman and Step Brothers were both very mediocre in my eyes. As such, fans can simply ignore everything I say from here on in, because while they will certainly enjoy it, The Other Guys was a huge disappointment in my eyes.
The film would have worked great if it had ended twenty minutes in, for the first act was indeed hilarious. Featuring Samuel L Jackson and Dwayne Johnson (who really needs to do a real action movie soon) as hotshot cops with Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell stuck at their desks, laughs come quite fast at the start. Conversations about land tuna do well to contrast the ludicrous action sequences.
However, once Wahlberg and Ferrell hit the streets, the movie loses all momentum. Various one-note jokes are stretched far too thin, such as Ferrell being irresistible to women or Wahlberg being blamed for shooting Derek Jeter, and most of the other laughs are in the trailer. A revelation about Ferrell's past is random enough to get some laughs, but is quickly overused.
The actors do little to lift the material. Jackson and Johnson are great, but limited in screen time. Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr also manage to get the lions share of the second half's laughs despite their small roles. Ferrell's role is too inconsistent, playing up the Ferrell-esquire idiot role to be believable as the functioning member of society the rest of the film expects him to be. Wahlberg starts out as a great straight man, but as he joins the lunacy any barometer of sanity is lost. Michael Keaton never sinks low, but the TLC-oriented jokes around his character grow weak.
I really can't say much more than that I didn't find The Other Guys that funny. It was a mostly laughless experience with a good opening, loose plot and ludicrous ending, but fans of Ferrell-McKay movies will likely enjoy it. I just can't claim to be part of that group.
The film would have worked great if it had ended twenty minutes in, for the first act was indeed hilarious. Featuring Samuel L Jackson and Dwayne Johnson (who really needs to do a real action movie soon) as hotshot cops with Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell stuck at their desks, laughs come quite fast at the start. Conversations about land tuna do well to contrast the ludicrous action sequences.
However, once Wahlberg and Ferrell hit the streets, the movie loses all momentum. Various one-note jokes are stretched far too thin, such as Ferrell being irresistible to women or Wahlberg being blamed for shooting Derek Jeter, and most of the other laughs are in the trailer. A revelation about Ferrell's past is random enough to get some laughs, but is quickly overused.
The actors do little to lift the material. Jackson and Johnson are great, but limited in screen time. Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr also manage to get the lions share of the second half's laughs despite their small roles. Ferrell's role is too inconsistent, playing up the Ferrell-esquire idiot role to be believable as the functioning member of society the rest of the film expects him to be. Wahlberg starts out as a great straight man, but as he joins the lunacy any barometer of sanity is lost. Michael Keaton never sinks low, but the TLC-oriented jokes around his character grow weak.
I really can't say much more than that I didn't find The Other Guys that funny. It was a mostly laughless experience with a good opening, loose plot and ludicrous ending, but fans of Ferrell-McKay movies will likely enjoy it. I just can't claim to be part of that group.