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Movie Review: Ferrell's 'dumb fun' shines in 'The Other Guys'

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“The Other Guys”
Directed by: Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Steve Coogan, Michael Keaton,
Rated: PG-13

It took me a long time to warm up to Will Ferrell. He came to “Saturday Night Live” at one of that show's lowest ebbs and I found him to be somewhat cloying and too overstated for my tastes.

I was in the minority. He managed to kick-start the dying “SNL” and revived the show for a whole new generation of fans.

Then, like many of his TV compatriots, he took the leap into film. The roster of truly awful movies featuring “Saturday Night Live” stars is too long to list here. A book could be written describing the cinematic horrors of  “Joe Dirt,” “A Night at the Roxbury,” “The Coneheads,” “The Ladies Man” and others.

Ferrell took any offers that came to the table and starred in some truly dreadful movies.

And then came “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.”

I finally got Ferrell's shtick and appreciated it.

“Anchorman” was directed by Adam McKay, and it remains the best film he and Ferrell have ever made, together or separately.

One has to give them a pass for their other collaboration, the ludicrous comedy “Step Brothers” and revel in their latest effort, “The Other Guys.”

It's a cop “buddy” film with Ferrell and his sidekick Mark Wahlberg in fine form.

And so is director McKay.

The opening 15 minutes feature Samuel L. Jackson and  Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a pair of  super cops who are the heroes of New York City. They meet an untimely (and hilarious) end via a huge wrecking ball and have to be replaced.  

Captain Gene Mauch, played with understated hilarity by Michael Keaton, has to come up with another dynamic duo and does so by drafting the oddest pair of cops in the house.

Accountant Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) and his partner, Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), are the chosen ones.

Allen is a bit of a milquetoast who doesn't have any desire to go into the field. Terry is a hothead with severe anger management issues who is champing at the bit to bust some heads. He's been bound to a desk since earning his nickname, “The Yankee Clipper,” after mistakenly shooting baseball star Derek Jeter before a World Series game.

Allen, who spends a lot of time on paperwork, notices that there's an outstanding ticket for one David Ershon (Steve Coogan.) Ershon is a rich, well-connected player, who has more to hide than the ticket for not acquiring the proper permits for erecting the scaffolding that Allen is worried about.

When Allen and Terry begin trying to serve Ershon a warrant for his misdemeanor, it becomes clear there's a lot more at stake than what initially meets the eye.

The police captain, played with the comic perfection we've come to expect from Michael Keaton, tries to reel in Allen and Terry, which leads - of course - to the duo going rogue. It's a staple of “cop buddy” movies and sets up the comedy in “The Other Guys.”

There's another great running gag concerning the decidedly nerdish Allen. He tells Terry he's married to a hag, a stereotypical ball-and-chain. So Terry's expecting the worst. When he visits Allen's house, he meets the wife, an absolutely total knockout played by Eve Mendes. She's not only drop-dead gorgeous, she's a successful physician and obviously way out of Allen's league. And it's not just her. Allen has major-league babes hitting on him at every turn, much to Terry's befuddlement.

Wahlberg plays his role well. The facial expressions conveying utter confusion are a trademark, and he's never done them better than here.

The back story of Allen being an unwitting pimp in his college days is another funny subplot.

Director Adam McKay has worked with Ferrell since their days on “SNL” and directed the films “Anchorman” and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” two of Ferrell's best vehicles.

“The Other Guys” combines comedy and action with great effect. It's a good, dumb-fun summer film.[[In-content Ad]]

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