The Other Guys

I feel like we have been waiting all summer long for a good comedy, and, no, the M. Night Shyamalan movie doesn't count. Can you believe this could be Will Ferrell's comeback movie?

Ferrell and Mark "Don't Call Me Marky Mark" Wahlberg star as Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz - two low level detectives partnered together in a squad where the big superstars, Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Danson (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), get all of the glory as Allen does their paperwork, and everyone mocks Terry for an unfortunate incident that led to his ignominy.

Allen is happy with the arrangement, but Terry pushes him to be a real cop when a case presents itself and could lead to them being the new heroes.

Will Terry and Allen have what it takes to crack the case?

Does the plot really matter?

The Other Guys is more about the laughs than any plot as it skewers, barbecues, incinerates and cremates every cop movie cliché you can imagine. Thanks to the script from director Adam McKay and co-writer Chris Henchy, Ferrell and Wahlberg have a chance to entertain us without becoming to ridiculous.

In his last few movies, Ferrell has been forced to act like a juvenile delinquent 5-year old on a sugar high to make up for bad material, but here he gets to tone it down ... most of the time. You still get a couple cringe inducing moments, but Ferrell lets the material speak for itself as he delivers a silly performance that has its moments of restraint.

Meanwhile, Wahlberg continues to show us he has great comedy chops by playing it deadpan with the goofiest of material. He gets us to laugh by showing Terry's intensity and desire to break out of the police purgatory he has been sentenced to. Wahlberg almost is like a sexy Andy Sipowicz, but no one sees his naked derriere.

The supporting cast is what makes The Other Guys better than most comedies. Michael Keaton as the hardboiled captain has his most memorable and funny role since Beetlejuice (Hopefully, he doesn't have to wait 20 years for the next one), while Jackson and Johnson camp it up with glee as the superstar cops who destroy millions of dollars in property, while delivering all sorts of ironic and smart aleck one-liners.

The film has a plot that doesn't matter, and slows down a bit towards the end, but it's the movie to see this weekend.

The Other Guys is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language, violence and some drug material.