Cop Out

I’ll be eating a heaping helping of crow after this…

I’ve been a big supporter of this movie since I had first heard of it being in production. ¬†I even liked the trailer that everyone loathed. ¬†The fact of the matter is I’m a huge, unapologetic Kevin Smith fan. ¬†The dude is a total geek, he gets to make movies, and he talks like a sailor on Twitter. ¬†Not only that, he gets to make these movies the way he wants. ¬†Well… OK so about that last part…

Look, I’m going to come out and just say it- I was really disappointed with this movie. ¬†Was it funny? ¬†Yes, at times very much so. ¬†But beyond that it was just a mess. ¬†And I wasn’t walking into this hoping for some cinematic revelation to ravage me like it was my wedding night. ¬†I had read some reviews and had seen the vitriol being spewed across the Internet. ¬†I felt like I lowered my expectations accordingly going in and about half way through the movie I couldn’t help but feel that I was watching a film that had absolutely little to no energy. ¬†You heard it here first, folks: I think Cop Out was a little less than mediocre. ¬†But that’s it. ¬†It’s not the travesty/disaster that some of the other blogs I follow have made it out to be. ¬†I saw that Devin from Chud gave it a 0/10. ¬†Although I agree with a lot of his points, respectfully I cannot agree with such a score being bestowed upon this movie. ¬†It’s bad but not that bad.

So let’s get to the thing that really keeps this film down- the story. ¬†I know what you’re saying, “but the story shouldn’t matter, it’s about being fun!” but to that I say, “No way!” ¬†Here’s the plot in a nutshell- Jimmy (Bruce Willis) and Paul (Tracy Morgan) have been partners on the NYPD for nine years. ¬†They start the film off with an interrogation of a witness that leads them to a local drop off mark for a drug dealer. ¬†They get into a shoot out that leads to their informant getting killed and then they get suspended for a month without pay. ¬†So far so good right? ¬†Well then we’re told that Jimmy has a daughter with a $50,000 wedding and he just so happened to commit to paying a good portion of money for that wedding. ¬†This is unfortunate because, as I mentioned, he’s not getting paid for a month so how on earth is he going to afford this wedding? ¬†He decides to sell a baseball card, worth $80,000, but in the process of selling it, he’s mugged, the card is stolen, and now he and Paul have to track it down. ¬†Then things start connecting to the informant from the interrogation and man, my head’s starting to hurt.

Here’s my problem with that synopsis- cut that shit down. ¬†Have them getting suspended and being committed to solving the murder or go with the daughter’s wedding premise since it’s a relatively fresh idea. ¬†Going with both is just too much for me to keep track of in a movie like this. ¬†I don’t need shit to connect like a Tarantino movie. ¬†I just want it to be consistently funny and fast paced. ¬†Adding this strange mix of ¬†story elements just bogs things down and causes the film to have little to no energy. ¬†The wife completely disagrees with me here (she liked the movie) but I think in comparison to say Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, this movie just crawls for all 107 minutes.

The thing that kills me is that a lot of this could have been fixed in editing. ¬†For example, there’s an extended gag involving Paul’s wife (a fairly wasted Rashida Jones) being unfaithful that resurfaces several times throughout the movie. ¬†In the end, the only pay off is a patented Tracy Morgan spaz-out. ¬†Some might disagree with me, but I think the wife character could have been completely removed and no one would have noticed. ¬†It’s not like Morgan’s character has much of an arc anyways; the aspect of his home life is erroneous to the plot.

That being said though, this movie does play out like a Tracy Morgan vehicle. ¬†Everyone but Morgan seem like they’re on autopilot. ¬†There’s even scenes and jokes that fall flat on their face until Morgan does or says something funny to save them. ¬†Now I know that a lot of people may not find the man funny. ¬†If that’s you, you’re not going to like this movie. ¬†But if you actually know who Brian Fellows is and enjoy his unique brand of comedy, I think you’re going to like this movie. ¬†But like I said, the rest of the cast is just kind of there. ¬†Willis gets a few laughs but just doesn’t look like he’s having a good time. ¬†Kevin Pollack and Adam Brody are serviceable but ultimately meh as the rival buddy cops to our heroes. ¬†Juan Carlos Hernandez (Weeds) is engaging as bad guy Raul but he’s almost too real for a role like this. ¬†Maybe I just like my bad guys in silly action comedies to be a little over the top but damn it, them’s my tastes.

Which reminds me, I know one of the things that this movie is supposed to be is a throwback to those buddy action flicks from the 80s. ¬† For the most part all of that works (save for the horribly synthesized soundtrack). ¬†But all of this was made moot two years ago with a buddy-drug comedy called Pineapple Express. ¬†I had this thought about half way through the movie tonight and I just can’t escape it-¬†Pineapple Express keeps the same basic formula and throwbacks to 80s action comedy and ends up being the better movie. ¬†I mean for Christ’s sake they’ve got Huey Lewis doing a theme song for the film! ¬†How is Cop Out going to compete with that? ¬†But I think that Smith and company should have taken a look at what worked in a film like Pineapple and elaborated from there.

I hate to say this, I really do, but I cannot recommend this movie. ¬†If you’re an ardent Tracy Morgan fan, you’ve likely already seen it. ¬†If, like me, you’re a Kevin Smith fan, just be warned that this is virtually nothing like his previous cannon. ¬†See it if you must. ¬†I just hope that Smith turns things around for his next movie.

Recent posts by Dustin

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