Other Guys (2010)

RATING:	60%
FORMAT:	DVD

(Image: http://www.moviedayatthecourt.com)

Good fun, but an example of Hollywood eating itself by producing parodies of its own lame action material. This hybrid action-comedy tries to have it both ways by appealing to action fans or to those who hunger for laughs - or both. The problem with this strategy is that it can end up with the material falling between two stools and being not much of anything - and so it proves (albeit funny in spurts, with some good running gags) here.

Here, the action is well done, but implausible; while the casting of actors who would normally appear in the kind of films being parodied is actually funnier than the dialogue. Moreover, the rather labored, humor-about-humor humor is aimed squarely at an American audience; so much so that many of the jokes may fall on deaf British ears.

Overall, the lack of a compelling theme and the limited character development makes for mildly-amusing hamburger as opposed to the steak we really crave from comedy. After all, the best comedy comes more from characters and not so much from situations.

This movie is not as good as the also somewhat weak Tropic Thunder or the much better The Hard Way (& certainly cannot compare with the brilliant Naked Gun - From the Files of Police Squad!) as a send-up of run-of-the-mill policiers.

The only real revelation here is that Eva MENDES can do comedy - rather well.

Copyright © 2011 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.