Cop Out (2010)

Cop Out comes to us from director Kevin Smith, for the first time not writing the screenplay to a film he is directing. He did sign on to direct Cop Out though–originally titled “A Couple of Dicks”, although the title was changed due to negative reaction–and he has actually made a competent buddy cop film. It’s not the greatest film and there likely wasn’t much need for one to be made, but Cop Out is a solid film.

But then I remember that there was another buddy cop film that cam out in 2010. Yes, The Other Guys was another film in the genre, showing itself off as a spoof of the buddy cop genre. Both films were supposed to be funny, wacky and paying somewhat of an homage to the film in the 80’s that directly inspired them.

Unfortunately, I didn’t like The Other Guys. It wasn’t funny, the action scenes were boring, and the majority of the film just didn’t work for me. Then I looked at the reviews for it, and was shocked. Critics and audiences both liked it, while the earlier buddy cop film, Cop Out, was panned by both.

After finally getting around to watching Cop Out, I’m quite surprised by this, because I found the two films to be quite the opposite of what the general consensus stated. I didn’t like The Other Guys, but Cop Out ended up really surprising me. It was funny, really funny in fact, and it kept me far more entertained than the aforementioned other buddy cop film.

Cop Out stars Bruce Willis and Tracey Morgan as pair of New York Police Detectives, who, after failing to capture a bolting suspect, are given a month-long suspension from the department. They don’t get paid during this time, something that is really disappointing for Jimmy Monroe (Willis). His daughter has a wedding coming up, and he needs his paycheck in order to pay for the wedding. Not getting paid forces him to sell a rare and prized baseball card.

Unfortunately, before Jimmy is able to sell the card, he is mugged, with the card stolen. Since the card is that important, he and his partner Paul Hodges (Morgan) go on a quest in order to get the card back. They encounter drug dealers, other cops and more drug dealers. No, variety is not strength of Cop Out.

What is a strength is just how funny the film is. I was laughing with great regularity as the film was playing. I was enjoying myself, and for a comedy, especially one that doesn’t give you a great deal to think about, enjoying yourself while watching it is the most important part. The jokes were funny, most of the random dialogue exchanges between to partners were hilarious, and Seann William Scott’s character will keep you laughing every time he is on-screen.

On top of the film being really funny, the characters that we get to meet throughout the film develop, and they are likable. Willis’ character has reason to get sympathy from the audience, having to compete with his ex-wife’s husband, and we get a good sense of why we should root for him. He also undergoes changes throughout the film, becoming a different person at the film’s finale.

Morgan’s character doesn’t quite have the same type of motivation that Willis’ character does, but he also develops throughout the film. His character is a direct contrast to Willis–who is the ‘serious’ cop–with Morgan being the funny cop. He plays almost everything for laughs, having few serious moments scattered throughout.

Although, that seems to be true of the entire film. There aren’t many serious moments, but when they do come around, they are actually fairly touching, mostly because you will grow to like the characters in the movie. There is one particularly moving scene at the film’s conclusion that really touched me up, just because it felt like the perfect conclusion to what was overall a really enjoyable experience.

If you haven’t already written Cop Out off as a poor buddy cop film, I can only hope that I’ve convinced you to give it a look. It’s a really funny film that, like Morgan’s character, pays homage to other films. It takes direct inspiration from 80’s buddy cop films, but uses that inspiration to make an incredibly enjoyable film. The characters are likable and develop throughout, and when the film goes for an emotional response, it achieves it! I had fun while watching Cop Out, and with a comedy like this, that’s the most important part.