Movie review: The Other Guys ***

Our on-staff movie buff Leanne McGrath shares her latest candid movie review. Email feedback to her at [email protected].

The Other Guys  ***

Stars: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson
Director: Adam McKay
Rated: PG-13
Showing: Neptune Theatre week of Wednesday, August 25 - daily at 7pm
Runtime: 107 minutes
Comedy/action

Inexplicably popular ‘funnyman’ Will Ferrell once again teams up with Anchorman and Talledega Nights writer and director Adam McKay for this buddy cop action-comedy.

It follows detectives Allen Gamble (Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), mismatched detectives who live in the shadow of the department’s superstar officers Christopher Danson and P.K. Highsmith (Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson).

Frustrated Hoitz longs for action like his hotshot colleagues but has been demoted and paired with police accountant Gamble after shooting Yankees star Derek Jeter in the leg.

He resents the fact his new partner would rather push paper than pound the pavements — but when the duo uncover a Ponzi scheme, it becomes clear it is a major crime that could win them hero badges.

Ferrell and Wahlberg are an unlikely pairing but opposites attract — look at Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in Twins, Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson in Anger Management or Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Men In Black.

Ferrell is best know for over-the-top, wacky roles, while Oscar-nominated Wahlberg is renowned for dour, angry performances in serious films like The Departed, Lovely Bones and Boogie Nights.

He has tried his hand at comedy — I Heart Huckabees and Date Night — and he shows his untapped comic potential here, delivering witty lines and being a good straight man to Ferrell’s quirky character.

There is good banter between the pair and there are some fun lines from the supporting cast, which includes Jackson, Eva Mendes and Michael Keaton.

McKay blends comedy and action to parody the popular buddy cop genre — much like this year’s earlier effort, Cop Out — but the movie is overlong and would benefit from a tighter edit.

Fans of Ferrell will undoubtedly love it and while it’s better than his last big blockbuster, Land Of The Lost, it isn’t his best work.

Watch if you liked: Cop Out, Rush Hour.

For more information about film times, call 292-7296.