Press-Republican

A&E

Related Photos

  • Steve Ouellette

    ouellette.jpg

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.
comments powered by Disqus
August 12, 2010

'Other Guys' funnier than expected

By STEVE OUELLETTE Movie Critic

There are few Hollywood ideas more tired than the comically mismatched buddy cops.

Anyone want to see "Rush Hour 17"?

Somehow, however, "The Other Guys" comes out feeling fresh … and just as surprisingly, so does funnyman Will Ferrell.

The film starts with an outstanding, and outrageous, action scene featuring two flamboyant supercops -- played with appealing arrogance by Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson -- thwarting a crime in New York City.

They are the toast of the town, but when they are unexpectedly sidelined by a mishap, someone will have to pick up the crime-fighting slack. Could it possibly be the nobodies sitting behind a nearby desk -- Ferrell's nerdy pencil-pushing Allen Gamble and his intense but disgraced partner, Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg)?

Ferrell has been stuck in a rut of mediocre sameness in recent years ("Land of the Lost," "Step Brothers," "Semi-Pro," "Blades of Glory"), always playing the same self-obsessed doofus man-child character.

Here his character is still a little out of touch, but he's more likable and slightly less oafish. Sure he's goofy, but he's grounded. The result is sharper and funnier comedy.

It also helps that he has a true straight man in Wahlberg, who takes his intense, humorless cop from "The Departed" and plays him strictly for laughs. Wahlberg is still a comedy neophyte but he performs well as the hotheaded cop doing penance for one bizarre misstep. Some of the biggest guffaws belong to him.

The plot doesn't matter much -- the ridiculed partners have to solve a complex financial scam -- but Ferrell and Wahlberg get some more than capable support. Eva Mendes sparkles as Ferrell's too-good-for-him wife. Steve Coogan is the crooked financial guy, and Michael Keaton has some moments as a quirky police captain.

Directed by longtime Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay (who has a cameo as Dirty Mike), "The Other Guys" sheds much of what hasn't worked in recent Ferrell flicks and builds on what has worked. It's consistently funny from the opening scene on, and it's got several pleasant little surprises.

There's an unwritten law that if a movie can't make me laugh in previews -- when the best bits are usually shown -- then it's sure to be a dud.

I didn't laugh at the trailers for "The Other Guys" … but in this case, the law turns out to have been dead wrong.

Rental Recommendation: Adam McKay and Will Ferrell still haven't made anything funnier than "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy." Grade: A.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Steve Ouellette's Movie Reviews

Parade
Magazine
Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
Entertainment Videos
ShowBiz Minute: Houston, Grammys, BAFTAs 'The Artist' Triumphs at the BAFTAs Stars Share Heartfelt Whitney Houston Memories 'Rumor Has It' Adele's Rolling in the Grammys Grohl, Grammy Nominees Cut Up on the Red Carpet Whitney Houston's Church Mourns Her Passing Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party Raw Video: Whitney Houston's Last Performance Fans 'Speechless' Over Houston's Death Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room Latest Jason Wu Collection Shows Chinese Roots ShowBiz Minute: Madonna, Beresford-Redman, Pawsc Stars Show Support at AMFAR Charity Gala BCBG Kicks Off NY Fashion Week The Muppets Are Oscars Bound! ShowBiz Minute: House, Perry/Brand, Grammys Hearts Are Pumping for the Ladies in Red Androgynous Model Walks Runway As Man and Woman ShowBiz Minute: Super Bowl, Taylor, Adele Dench: 'I'm Not Going to Retire.'