BEFORE: Back-to-back buddy cop films, and I put this one next for linking convenience, since Burt Reynolds from "City Heat" was also in "Boogie Nights" with Mark Wahlberg (last seen in "Date Night").
THE PLOT: Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city's top cops whom they idolize -- only things don't quite go as planned.
AFTER: I found this one to be quite inconsistent and all over the place, despite the presence of Will Ferrell (last seen in "Everything Must Go") the movie didn't seem to go far enough in a comedic direction, like "Anchorman" or "Semi-Pro". And I couldn't say that it could be taken seriously as an action film either - so it felt like the movie couldn't decide what it wanted to be.
There's a bit at the end where one of the characters can't tell a joke right, and in fact the whole movie seemed a little like a joke that wasn't being told right. You can't go, "oh, wait, I forgot to mention the guy was a pimp" when you tell a joke, it ruins the timing. It's a shame because the set-up is a good one, with a wanna-be tough cop partnered with a wimpy accountant - but then we find out that the tough guy's not so tough and the wimpy guy's actually not that wimpy. So, where's the contrast then? Why set things up just to tear them down?
I get the part where the movie spoofs off of films like "Lethal Weapon" - the "star cops" are seen here, and the movie's supposed to be about the type of cop you see in the background of those films, the cops that direct traffic or issue tickets - but then those cops are thrust into the types of car chases and shoot-outs that we expect from the Hollywood hero cops. So again, why set things up just to tear them down?
Also, I doubt that street-level detectives would be able to notice Wall Street fraud, let alone pursue it as one of their cases. It just didn't make sense - nor did the exact nature of the fraud. Couldn't you use the term "ponzi scheme" so we'd understand it? And if I don't understand it, it makes me feel like the cops didn't understand it either - so how do they know it's illegal?
Also starring Michael Keaton (last seen in "The Dream Team"), Eva Mendes (last seen in "Training Day"), Samuel L. Jackson (last seen in "A Time to Kill"), Dwayne Johnson (last heard in "Planet 51"), Rob Riggle (last seen in "The Hangover"), Steve Coogan (last seen in "Tropic Thunder"), with cameos from Bobby Cannavale (last seen in "The Station Agent"), Rob Huebel (last seen in "I Love You, Man"), Anne Heche (last seen in "John Q"), Zak Orth, Derek Jeter, Brooke Shields, Rosie Perez, and Tracy Morgan (last seen in "Head of State").
RATING: 5 out of 10
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