If you are like me then Will Ferrell acting out the role of a cop gunning down criminals is an intriguing thought.  I mean, he’s done pretty much everything else at this point, so why not fill the shoes of an action star?  Unfortunately the film’s poster isn’t really an appropriate representation considering you can’t quite pull that off when carrying a wooden gun in your holster.  Funny, but it doesn’t quite carry the same bang I had hoped for.

Instead Will Ferrell plays Allen Gamble, a man who is much more comfortable humming the theme songs of action films from the safety of his own desk as apposed to being the inspiration for the music.  A man who is not so musically inclined is his partner, Terry Hoitz, who still aspires to be the man people look up to while fighting the good fight.  No matter their feeling, eventually they find themselves knee deep in a case that might just be what it takes to pull them from their seats on the sidelines, as long as they can handle it.

The first 10-20 minutes of the film are everything I expected going in.  Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson play the BA super cops capable of seemingly anything, including coming out unscathed in a car chase that takes place in part from within a bus.  As in, their car is in the bus.  In all honesty they could have made a whole film around these two characters and I probably would have been completely happy with the outcome.  But all good things must come to an end, and in many ways once the point of focus transfers over to Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg’s partnership the tone of the film that comes out of the gates strong falters, coming back to this glory in bits and pieces as the film progresses.

Ferrell might be toned down in these roles, but don’t expect him to remain contained forever thanks to the situations that arise from his character’s uncharacteristically dangerous backstory and his lack of understanding of how to act out in the field.  Plus, his delivery of the most random dialog is as strong as ever, bringing about a large amount of quotable words, including a give-and-take between him and Wahlberg about who would survive when pitting a lion and a tuna against each other that more or less introduces the relationship between the two to the audience.  And what a relationship it is.  Wahlberg plays his role as seriously as he can in this film, and though there is never a point where I was awed by his ability to improv lines as I am with most actors that are familiar with these types of films, he still manages to add a lot to the comedy.  Plus, the chemistry between the two is great, bringing about the majority of the comedy through the tension found in the dichotomy of these characters and the actors playing them.

The comedy of the film is a little more hit or miss than I had hoped it would be, but I still admire how they were willing to allow jokes to play out.  As I mentioned before with the lion vs. tuna rant, a lot of it was worth the time dedicated to making sure it was milked for all it was worth, adding this example to the list of many other running gags in the film, including Ferrell’s ability to get women far more physically attractive than him, such as Eva Mendes as his faithful wife.  However, in the end I was not so much thoroughly entertained as I was just amused, with far less laugh out loud moments than I had hoped for.

In the end I couldn’t even honestly fully explain what the actual plot of this film was, and unfortunately this is a little more upsetting since the comedy doesn’t overcompensate for this as it usually does in the more outlandish films.  However, I will say that it seemed like a lot of the audience enjoyed it more than I did, so don’t be discouraged from seeing it just because it didn’t fully live up to my expectations.

Final Grade: B-