The Other Guys is the latest collaboration between director Adam McKay and star Will Ferrell, whose track record includes Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.  Having already attacked the world of news anchors and NASCAR drivers, the pair now turn their attention to the world of cops; or cop movies, anyway.  It’s similar to what director Kevin Smith tried to do with Cop Out earlier this year starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan (who cameos here), only funnier, more entertaining, and far more worth your hard-earned buck.

The movie starts out with a bang as supercops Highsmith and Danson are locked in a high-speed pursuit with some thugs in possession of hundreds of dollars worth of marijuana.  In their pursuit, Danson and Highsmith do thousands of dollars worth of damage to the city on their way to becoming heroes.  But this movie is not about the heroes.  As the title suggests, it’s about the other guys: the guys stuck behind a desk doing the busy work.  Partners Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz couldn’t be more different.  Terry wants to be the big cop, working cases and putting the bad guys behind bars.  Allen, on the other hand, is content to sit at his desk, humming away while doing Highsmith and Danson’s unwanted paperwork.

When the two supercops exit the movie as quickly as they entered, there is a void to fill and Terry wants to jump at the opportunity.  Allen, however, is more interested in arresting some guy who failed to get the proper permits for his scaffolding.  It works out great for both when it turns out that same guy is a major financier whose bad dealings have caused some ill will from violent parties and he’s about to pull off an illegal deal to save his bacon.  Allen and Terry are on the case, but they don’t quite have the knack for it that their predecessors had; not even close.

The Other Guys is never better than its first ten minutes or so when Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson mug for the camera as Highsmith and Danson, but there is still enough comedy happening that the rest of the movie is worth watching even if its uneven plot does tend to ramble.  As Allen, Will Ferrell is on the top of his comic game.  I had grown a bit tired of Ferrell’s over-the-top shtick in recent movies like Step Brothers and Land of the Lost, but although there is still plenty of that here, he seems to pull it back a level or two.  His best moments come when he is quieter, such as a calm delivery of his backstory as a college pimp or when explaining to Mark Wahlberg’s Terry how an ocean-bound tuna could take out a land-roving lion.

Wahlberg is not as effective and is very overmatched by his costar.  His comic timing and delivery are lacking and he could have used a few more tough guy moments to balance that out.  Still, he does deliver a few funny moments and effectively sets up Ferrell for some of his best moments.  He’s also a fun guy to go drinking with, as evidenced by a clever still photo shot.

Like most modern comedies, The Other Guys could have definitely used some tightening up as it feels much longer than its 107 minute running time.  This is especially obvious in the film’s final act when the movie slams on the brakes after appearing to begin its dash towards the finish line.  It’s one of a number of scenes that could have easily been left on the cutting room floor as they add nothing to the story and supply limited comedy.

Despite its flaws, however, The Other Guys does a fine job to satisfy the funny bone.  Not for a moment was I disappointed, for even when I wasn’t laughing, I was usually smiling.

The Other Guys are rated PG-13 for “crude and sexual content, language, violence and some drug material.”  There’s some dirty language and a few people get shot, but it’s far from the worst Ferrell and McKay have offered us.

Courtesy of a local publicist, Jeff attended a promotional screening of The Other Guys.