Mikeflix- "The Other Guys"

***Review in brief, with lite-spoilers. Currently available on Netflix/Redbox*** The Other Guys Let's set up one thing right away: There's no way I should have enjoyed this movie. Of the two camps "People who like Will Ferrell Movies" and "People who despise Will Ferrell Movies" I fall slightly toward "like", but that's b/c I like his schtick. (I don't think drama is his bag, though. IMO) So I rented it with someone elses recommendation in mind and thinking that it looked like an utter turd from the get go, figuring at worst I could shut it off and update my queue. What I got, was a pleasantly surprising and not-too-formulaic tongue-in-cheek comedy. The easy plot premise is that the two idolized NYPD (Samuel "the Man" Jackson and the Rock) die, and it's left up to a pair of milquetoast loser-cops (Ferrell and Walberg) to solve a high-level financial crime. Hijinks ensue. I know, right? Even the box art makes it look stupid. And then you realize, "a financial crime? Not drugs? Not prostitutes? Not Czechen mafioso?" See, what elevates this is that it really doesn't rely too much on Ferrell's schtick (granted, it comes out once or twice.) and it has enough by way of supporting players (Michael Keaton as the beleagured police Captain who has to work part-time at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and drops TLC lyrics like they were bon mot's...and then denies he's ever heard of them- is a gem. Eva Mendes as the smoking hot wife of Will Ferrell playing it straight while he keeps calling her "plain" and Steve Coogan as the Bernie Madoff Knock-off round out the lot.) as well as buddy-cop movie nods with a twist (It lacks the sexiness of, say, a Gran Torino, but Ferrell's Prius makes for funny car chases.) Lastly...Someone tell Mark Wahlberg to keep doing comedy. I mildly b#tched about him in "The Fighter" , but he sports some great comic timing in this. Seriously. The conversation he has about Will Ferrell's collegiate "pimp-days" was laugh-worthy, in addition to his exclaiming "I'M A PEACOCK...AND I JUST GOTTA SPREAD MY WINGS AND FLY!!!". If anything does slow it up, it's that it tends to be a mish-mash of cut scenes. Some gags are pulled out juuuust a little too long. And Will Ferrell doing his schtick instead of playing it all straight causes more eye-rolling than laughs. Still, a solid comedy for a date night. Really. 3 out of 4 Stars