Will Ferrell is one of the funniest men in movies today. A known fact. In fact i would go so far as to say in the history of film. Bold you say? No way. The man has been prominent in films for the past decade, and before that smaller scene stealing moments, not to mention one of the best cast members of Saturday Night Live in the history of the long running show. Why i adore Ferrell is purely because he knows his comedy, he has a refined technique, and, like many funny-men in film, remains consistantly funny with the ongoing years, something many of cinemas funniest figures have failed through venturing too far into the serious-acting zone, having kids and reverting to childfriendly fare, or just loosing touch and/or just mellowing with age.
Will Ferrell is truly a rare breed, and here, with his fourth collaboration with director Adam McKay (the previous being three hilarious/endlessly quotable films, 2004s Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgandy, 2006s Talledaga Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby and 2008s Step Brothers), he proves he’s still as funny as he ever was.
The Other Guys follows two New York City detectives, the uptight forensic accountant Detective Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Detective Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), the latter to whom is stuck with Gamble due to accidently shooting baseballer Derek Jeter (himself) during the World Series. They are literally the other guys, and not the hero cops that we know from every police action movie in existence. But when the actual hero cops are taken out of action (played by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson), its up to the other guys to step up to investigate a probable scam surrounding the shifty in-debt businessman David Ershon (Steve Coogan), although this proves insanely difficult.
Unlike the earlier conventional cop comedy effort from Kevin Smith, Cop Out, (starring Bruce Willis and Tracey Morgan) the Other Guys is a charming, satirical and almost constantly funny film, and really its no surprise due to the Ferrell/McKay track record.
Will Ferrell again proves he’s the funniest man in movies today, and why? Because he sticks to his humour, yet brings to live yet another great comedic character to his filmography in the form of Allen Gamble, uptight, irresistible to almost ALL beautiful women, and ex-pimp aptly named Gator. It truly is unpredictable what he will do in each scene, even scenes you would not expect him to appear, and suddenly does, such as imposing on the already awkward confrontation Hoitz has with his ballet dancer ex. Its like he has mastered a great mix of silly, randomness and absolute immaturity. Sure, this could be seen as comedy thats not so highbrow, but its truly an art in itself engulfed in rich ridiculousness! Amazing.
Ferrell, whilst in my opinion always shines comedically, never does he shine brighter than within the films of Adam McKay, and this can be accounted for McKays excellent ability to surround Ferrell with an excellent cast who all have their share of funnies. In the past he’s had such talent as Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, John C. Reilly, Adam Scott, Rob Riggle etc. all of whom managed to keep the comedy levels high, allowing Ferrell to not overdo himself.
In The Other Guys, we are presented with a large and comedically talented cast, from the surprisingly inspired pairing of Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson as super cops, the legendary Michael Keaton (finally returns to a major comedy) as the kooky captain at the head of the greatest TLC joke in cinema history, Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr. as two bully cops, Steve Coogan who is deliciously pompous as Ershon and Eva Mendes as Ferrells insanely good looking, under-appreciated yet devoted wife of Gamble. The list is grand, but each have their moments of gold.
And of course there’s Mark Wahlberg as Terry Hoitz, who works marvelously as the second lead, the straighter in the partnership yet still has moments of pure insanity (a peacock really!). Sure, he has had somewhat of a slump in recent years, and his last foray into comedy, M. Night Shyamalan’s masterpiece The Happening *cough* was of course just too much for audiences to bear. But here in a real comedy, he shines and has excellent chemestry with Ferrell, an formidable replacement for John C. Reilly, as yet another man who has already proved himself as a serious actor and also a man who can have fun and be silly. Its interesting to compare this to his Oscar nominated turn in Martin Scorsese’s Best Picture winner The Departed in 2007. Very interesting indeed.
It makes you wonder how much of McKays films are actually scripted. Here i believe that, out of all his films, that this to be the most scripted of them all, purely due to the complex detective plot. The actual plot within the comedy is actually quite complex and can actually become confusing, so much infact that during the credits instead of bloopers, McKay employed a detailed animation to help bring better understanding to the plot of the film, which of course is not a good thing, and definitely brings down the film from being the best of the McKay bunch.
However the comedy is all there, and it has been excellently thought out, making a great mix of random humour and satire on the cop genre. (Prius anyone?)
I am a firm believer now, from watching this film that actually, funnily enough, is that the less complexity to a McKay/Ferrell film, the funnier/greater it will be. Just look at Step Brothers, a film about two 40 year old children, and due to the simple plot allowed the greater density of comedy.
I guess its good for McKay to try something more challenging, which is good for a director wanting to stretch their talents, such as a denser lot and excellent action sequences (i believe his next film will be a big departure), and its good he’s not repeating himself also. So it will be very interesting to see where he goes.
As for The Other Guys, it is a wonderful experience at the cinema, and will have you quoting endlessly like McKays other films. Its hilarious and the best kind of comedy you will find in movies today.
4/5
