It was only a matter of time until Mark Wahlberg embraced the fact that he was fast turning into bumbling platypus that Tinsletown pointed and laughed at.
Firstly, he had the indignity of dubbing himself ?Marky Mark,? affiliating himself with the hideously named Funky Bunch, starring in numerous so-so movies (under the guise of serious acting), and finally topping it off with a verbal joust with a resolute plant. Which, the plant won.
Its these previous overly po-faced performances that probably make him such a joy to watch throughout the latest Will Ferrell chuckle-fest, The Other Guys. That and the script, direction and all the other actors, obviously.
Playing partner to the curly-haired comedian, Marky Mark?s Hoit is a fiery, pent-up detective, to Ferrell?s accountant-like Gamble. They both share?duties playing the straight man and the loony one, so there's equal yuk-yuks between the two throughout.
Unfortunately, while previous collaborations between Ferrell and director Adam McKay has placed puerile, simple-minded caricatures into straightforward storylines, The Other Guys fails only by having a?ridiculously bewildering plot. It doesn’t sound complicated on paper, with the two of them on the trail of some shady capitalist (Steve Coogan), while trying to prove that they've got the chops to be cops, but it’s all a pile of steaming guff. But hey,?at least the cast are top notch.
Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Coogan, Eva Mendes, a Wayans brother who's actually tolerable. They?re all here, along with other recognisable faces that you barely care to think about. But, as you can imagine with such an overwhelming amount actors, they're all crammed into the movie, smacking elbows, butting heads and exchanging penis jokes with barely any room to breathe.
Thank god they're all a bunch of funny people, then. Ferrell and Wahlberg banter with the best of them, indulge in the odd action scene and don't skimp on the profanities. If your idea of hell is two grown men jumping through the air firing guns, discussing deer vaginas in disturbing detail, while Alan Partridge sits around looking smug, then stay away.
And get a sense of humour.
And we?d be remiss if we didn't mention the features thrown into the Blu-ray, spooning hot supplementary goodness into our comedy-hungry gobs. The Mom-mentary is an amusing alternative to the standard yak-track, with director McKay and Will Ferrell selling their own mothers to have a day off. Elsewhere, Walhberg brings his fat friend on set to eat flowers, the gag reel can't keep a straight face and Michael Keaton is…well he's Michael Keaton.
It might not reach the lofty heights of Anchorman or Step Brothers but The Other Guys is consistently?entertaining. And even Mark Wahlberg comes out of it looking good, which is something.
?Spray Rating: 4/5
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