THE OTHER GUYS post-release

I'm surprised there hadn't been a thread for this already.

Yeah, another winner from McKay. He can't film action very well, but I don't expect him to.

He parodies so many buddy cop/action flicks, but does it fluidly, without hammering you over the head. Oh, and not enough wailing sax.

Mark Wahlberg wasn't a stand-out comedy-machine, but he was humorous enough with his constantly angry character. This is exactly the type of role Christian Bale needed, right?

Michael Keaton's unintentional connections with TLC killed me everytime. After he referred to "No Scrubs", I sang "so I creep, yeeeah", and right on queue, he nailed it. We need more Keaton.

Biggest complaint is that it felt too long, which continues the trend among comedies these days, but I guess when you have an overload of material, you want to get enough in as possible. Deleted scenes will no doubt be in abundance.

Aim for the bushes!

How does this rate with the other Ferrell/McKay films? I loved 'Anchorman' and 'Step Brothers' but absolutely hated 'Talladega Nights'.

Tallageda Nights gets funnier every time i watch it. I still haven't re watched Step Brothers, that felt like the low point of the team for me the first time.

Saw this too. Really funny. But did anyone else feel depressed that we got shortchanged on some Dwayne Johnson. So nice to see him doing a action type roll, even if it was only an extended cameo.

I've always loved Talladega Nights more than any of them, but I know I'm in the minority.

I think The Other Guys is on a different playing field, because it's clearly got a high-brow agenda in comparison to self-entitled newscasters or conservative way of living.

Step Brothers is solely focused on comedy bits, and I suppose Achorman does too, which I've seen many hardcore fans claim it's superior to Talladega Nights because of difference in narrative. I suppose it depends on what you're looking for.

Personally, I'd place it higher than Step Brothers, and shoulder-to-shoulder with Anchorman. But again, I'm weird.

Sold! Thank you, Zollicoffer.

I was the only one in the theater that laughed at the Ralph Nader joke.

I'm chalking that up to my total political geekdom.

Funny, but overall, the weakest McKay, at least to me. Felt like they were a little too shackled by the PG-13 rating (which will probably be rectified with an unrated DVD). Would have loved to see more of the little girl the Riggle/Wayans team brought on their ride along.

It isn't the grueling endurance test of non sequiturs that Tallageda Nights is, but The Other Guys kind of wears out its welcome at about the halfway mark. Honestly, I think Michael Keaton is the brightest spot in the film.

I liked it a lot and thought it was really funny, but not as funny as any as McKay's other films. Still great, just not that great. Michael Keaton spouting off TLC lines was the highlight for me.

So glad to here that Ferrell drops his overly confident shtick. A big part of what makes Step-Brothers my favorite McKay movie is that Ferrell plays the quieter one, going smaller instead of bigger.

McKay's movies are like the classic Simpsons episodes. There's so many jokes coming at you that it takes time to digest. It was pretty predictable that the Super Cops from the opening weren't going to last long but the way they went out was classic. Also, gotta love "Soup Kitchen". My rankings....

1. Anchorman
2. The Other Guys
3. Stepbrothers
4. Talladega Nights

I haven't seen the film yet, but I was wondering what the difference is between this and Hot Fuzz...? I'm not really into comedies, but I like Hot Fuzz and this just seemed.... like "Hot Fuzz from across the Pond". Judging from Devin's review, I'm guessing that's not the case, but I thought it was interesting no one had made that comparison, as that was the feel I got from the trailer.

I like Talladega considerably more than all the others, and I might even say it's my favorite comedy of the last ten years (well, maybe after Shaun of the Dead).

For me, the first half of Other Guys was excellent, and the second half was just OK. I'll see it again on video, but I thought all the really inspired bits were relegated to that first hour.

The premise really isn't anything like Hot Fuzz.

I guess the tone seemed similar to me... the buddy cop farce mixed with straightly-played violence is what reminded me. With genre films the plots are usually throwaways anywise... the way they're depicted is usually what sells me. That said, I think the movie looks fresh enough to justify a ticket. Anywise, I haven't seen the film yet, so I don't want to sidetrack the thread anymore. I was just wondering if anyone who had seen it thought these two films were similar in style.

Oh, on the positive, the "Cobra" poster in Ferrell's place was great, it really brought me back, my brother had that poster hanging in his room.

The premise is similar to Hot Fuzz in that they're both satirical comedies inspired by action buddy cop movies. It's actually a fair point of comparison, but Other Guys is more of a piece with the previous McKay films, in the way that Hot Fuzz was of a piece with Shaun of the Dead.

The Lion vs Tuna stuff killed me.

I guess I don't even feel like The Other Guys is that much of a parody of cop action movies, except mostly for the characters played by Johnson and Jackson. It's just a comedy that happens to have cops as characters. Most of the jokes here are just so out there and unrelated to the story.

I also don't feel Hot Fuzz is as much a buddy movie as this is. Maybe it's just because Simon Pegg is so fucking commanding in Fuzz, or maybe because there are far more scenes where he's by himself, but I always thought of him as the main character and Nick Frost as a sidekick, whereas The Other Guys is much more focused Ferrell and Wahlberg's characters are partners.

I really, really enjoyed this movie. I can't wait to see it again. Some of the jokes in this movie are just phenomenal. I think the "Aim for the bushes!" gag, the fistfight that follows, and above all the perfect timing and execution of Ferrell talking about his college years constitute some of the best material McKay and Ferrell have ever done.

"Gator's girls wear Jimmies!"

So glad that Michael Keaton is back in full effect here. Adam McKay is fucking great. Even the action scenes were well shot.

What few action scenes were here looked good I thought. You know who was shooting who and where people were in relation to each other. Lots of one liners to be mined here. The tuna vs. lion thing plus the shark on his desktop screensaver was killing me. Grandma relaying messages from Ferrel to his hot wife and the following scene got some huge laughs. Michael Keaton is great in this, like wearing his work smock under his NYPD jacket cracked me up as well. It's the recurring setups and playoffs that were delightful. I am learning to crochet for sarcastic use against an old lady on the bus I dislike.

Few people stayed for the credits, which were really astounding for the info and the "Pimps Don't Cry". Jeebus H., what the hell are we doing as a country? Did anyone stay all the way to the end for the blooper scene. I think it showcases Devin's critique that Mark Wahlberg is trying, but can't seem to rise to the level around him.

So fucking stupid this movie.

I hope you like prison food....


....and penis!

Funny, but this is no Anchorman. Keaton killed it with the TLC references.

I loved the absurd way they decided to kill off Sam and Dwayne. Walburg even has a line seconds later, something like "There wasn't even an awning... Why would they do that?!"

Adam McKay himself also had a great cameo. "Mark my words, this isn't over. We're going to have sex in that car!"

Another notch on the McKay/Ferrell belt. Particularly enjoyed the Pimp backstory.

Not sure why so much discussion is on where it ranks in the McKay canon. Who gives a fuck for now? The film just came out. Worry about that shit later.

I pretty much loved the hell out of this, and was pleasantly surprised not only by the jokes from left field but by the occasional stylish garnish such as the bar "montage" and the conference room mega gunfight where seemingly no one gets shot. McKay is upping his game here.

I can't remember them stretching so many jokes tothe breaking point and beyond in previous films. The repeated callbacks of Dirty Mike and the Boys and the old lady being forced to relay "messages" between Ferrell and Mendes just killed me. Coogan's attempts at and defense of bribes were fucking brilliant. I'm ready to see this bitch again.

I had no idea this was PG-13. When I saw the 4-minute Comic-Con trailer it seemed to me like that couldn't even be possible. Wow!

Well after being severely disappointed with Step Brothers, I'd say this is my third favorite McKay film (at the moment anyway) behind Anchorman and Talladega Nights.

In some ways, I think it's his best film in a narrative sense. I felt it dragged just a wee bit towards the end, but not in that bad of a way. It's hard for me to say that, because I was still enjoying the jokes all the way to the end.


One thing that stuck out: I NEVER thought I'd see an Adam McKay film and walk out perplexed thinking, "how in the FUCK did he pull off that shot?!" The frozen-moment-walkthrough of their drunken night out was amazing. Was that CG? A stitched together bit of motion controlled filming with actors holding their poses mixed with CG? (I'd swear I could see some people wiggling a bit). Either way, a HILARIOUS show-off shot that felt pretty innovative to me in terms of visual comedy.

Everyone was firing on all cylinders here. Can't wait to see the unrated version based off McKay's comments in interviews.

ETA: Also, I've heard it said already but I really think Christian Bale would've killed in the Wahlberg role. Not that I didn't enjoy Wahlberg, he was pretty good.

"...so he can explore his bisexuality and become a DJ."

For some reason, THAT line MURDERED my theater. I mean, I laughed my ass off at it, but I was surprised that it connected so well to the rest of the people in the theater. The guy next to me literally (and I'm using the word correctly) was laughing and giggling for a full minute afterwards.

I'd put it second after Anchorman, mainly because I didn't like Stop Brothers at all, and Talladega Nights to me was kinda "ehn". My girlfriend can quote out loud Anchorman and TN with the movie on mute, so she put it third.

I've seen that shot a lot before, and recently they're doing it for the promos on TNT for their series like "Leverage" and whatnot, and I've always been curious as to how they pull it off.

I've seen the whole "3D animate" a still photograph shot a lot. I've personally never seen it done particularly as it was here. Watchmen kind of did something similar, but this still struck me as unique.

But it being McKay, I assume he sort of lifted it from somewhere else. No offense to him, he's just known as a really visual innovator.

I think he addresses it in the press conference video I put up.

I watched The Other Guys last night, and I must say that I enjoyed it. Michael Keaton was gold in this movie, and I loved the running gag with the homeless guys and Will Ferrell's car. Will Ferrell's pimp backstory was also pretty funny.

Saw this last night. I liked it a lot. The funniest bit in the movie to me was the whispering fight at the wake. My theater was loosing its shit during that part.

Oh my god, that was glorious. The fucking whisper fight.



And thanks, Devin. I listened to all but the last one at work the other day, so either I missed it or it's in that last piece. I'm off to check.

I think my favorite gag was the stained wooden gun thing that comes out of nowhere.

The whisper-fight was also an inspired bit. I liked Ferrell's FBI mug gift and his GATOR relapses. Overall the chemistry between Wahlberg and Ferrell was good. "You learned all those moves so you could dance ironically?" The movie starts to drag a bit when they're separated. Aside from the surprisingly slick sequence where Wahlberg takes out a bunch of motorcycle bad guys, the action scenes were kind of boring and badly shot. I wanted them to end so we could get back to that FEBREZE BROTHERS magic as quickly as possible.

Also, I don't know why ICE T narrates the movie or why there's even a narrator, but I liked his post-plunge of death comments.
"No one really knows why they did it, but that shit was crazy."

And what happened to the HOBO DEREK JETER gag? I was waiting for that the whole time. I hope it didn't play after the credits.

Jeter being part of the hobo orgy would have been BRILLIANT.

For me the biggest laugh was the way Keaton screamed "He's DIE-YING!" at the end.

what I love about McKay's style is that his characters often deliver jokes that are funny the instant you hear them, but actually become FUNNIER a few seconds after you process them.

the Gator persona is easily my favorite comedic bit of the year...surpassed Diddy and Hill's "furry walls" moment in Get Him To The Greek. Seeing Will, draped in a Puma suit and a Kangol, stroll down the street accompanied by a plethora of whores, with the sternest pimp face he could muster, just fucking slayed me.

Also, the Rock, even with his, like, 5 minutes of screen time, was a joy to watch. The little speech he delivers at the precint was golden, and he actually had some nice chemistry with Sam Jack leading up to the "There Goes My Hero" jump.

man...one more thing. Damon Wayan's son (don't know his name) and the Catalina Wine Mixer guy at the elementary school delivering "safety tips" was hilarious. The blank-eyed stares the kids give them while one says "the streets are a bloodbath. Statistics show that 1 out of every 10 of you in this classroom will be murdered" and the other says "my best advice to you, is to try your hardest not to be Black or Hispanic". I howled.

I agree with the consensus that the movie was pretty front-loaded; it really runs out of steam in the second half. Having said that, it still was pretty fucking hilarious. I thought Wahlberg was kind of great. He totally killed in the dinner scene with Farrell and Mendes.

The whole sequence with Natalie Zea and her gay husband was awesome, esp. the payoff of them still running after the cops after 20 miles.

It's actually Damon Wayans, Jr.

My favorite joke (it got no laughs, and really I only smiled but loved the delivery) was "They're Chechnyans. We were going to do a Russian version of Dora the Explorer. It went bad." I guess no laughs because Coogan had already said they were Chechnyans to Stevenson, and as established the nature of McKay joke bombardment is better on second viewing, when you aren't bracing for the absurd and can pay attention to the little bits.

It would have been better leaner and more satirical (of things like the stats in the credits). I thought Wahlberg's reaction to Mendes was about how ridiculous mandatory super-attractive love interests are in movies.

You have the right to remain silent, BUT I WANT TO HEAR YOU SCREEAAAM!

This movie is gold. Better than Step Brothers and Ricky Bobby. And I don't think I've laughed so hard in a theater since Anchorman. Keaton's Gene, or Captain I mean, is his best performance in over a decade, no doubt. Good to see him having some real crazy fun again.

Was anyone confused about Anne Heche having an uncredited role in this film and having absolutely nothing to do? Not even a single joke or gag as I recall.

Awesome. Nothing beat Mendes and Ferrell sending Mom back and forth to relay promises of sexual adventure so debauched that they'd make the Marquis de Sade blush.

I love love love love love Anchorman and I liked parts of this movie, but it definitely dragged and the rampant sexism that was very funny in Anchorman never quite had the payoff I was hoping for in The Other Guys.

The bit with the mom as a filthy messenger and the sequence at the school (and the flying girl in the backseat follow up) might be kind of old gags but man oh man were they done well.

Reminded me of this sequence from Swing Girls (2004 I think). Though I'm pretty sure they all just stood really still to achieve that effect in Swing Girls.

It made me think of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ3D4CqHbJM

"Yeah I just did an Apartment Pop".

This movie requires a second viewing for sure and count me in the "Christian Bale" fantasy casting club. This role could have done wonders for his image.

Liked it very, very much. Man, I've gotta get a few Little River Band CDs to keep in my car at all times.

AMERICA!