What Do The Critics Say?
"The Other Guys is a goof; a happily disposable yukfest that never pretends to be other than that, yet manages to surprise in the sharpness of its script and in the fun all involved are clearly having."
Diva Velez THE DIVA REVIEW
"With the two leads revealing pitch-perfect chemistry, this hysterically funny film is packed with bizarre dialogue and over the top action. With plenty of inventive and nutty bits of dialogue, action and character moments, The Other Guys is a genuinely hysterical, laugh-a-minute comedy."
Pauline Adamek FILMINK
"Do we really need another buddy-cop comedy? While stupefying, the answer is, surprisingly, "yes." One more, at the very least. McKay has surrounded his lead with a wealth of guest stars and a funny script that borders on manic. One of the film's best surprises comes in the form of Michael Keaton as a precinct captain who moonlights at Bed Bath & Beyond and is prone to unknowingly quoting lyrics from '90s R&B group TLC."
Tom Horgen MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
"I think it's one of his best efforts, actually, and I think he can be a very variable comedy performer, I think, depending on the material he gets. When he's good he's pretty good, and I think this is one of his better parts and, you're right, the teaming with Mark Wahlberg is excellent. Lots of lovely jokes and I like the way Will Ferrell goes off on these silly sort of long riffs on all sorts of weird subjects."
David Stratton ABC AT THE MOVIES
"A hilarious comedy that sails on absurdly-angry comic chemistry between Ferrell and Wahlberg and the sharp improvisational working relationship between Ferrell and his director-soulmate Adam McKay."
Jim Slotek JAM! MOVIES
"Ferrell is given the space to do what he does best: play it straight. One killer line after another is delivered in deadpan monotone. The superb and almost always underestimated Wahlberg is also terrific comedian. He serves as Ferrell’s straight man and lobs him perfectly timed lines. Early in the film they do a back and forth on Lions and Tuna worthy of comedy legends Abbot and Costello. You will laugh at the opening chase scenes and everything in between. 4 1/2 STARS"
Gary Wolcott TRI-CITY HERALD
"Director Adam McKay feeds this sketchy premise into a machine primed to run on the stoo-pid things only Ferrell can get away with. Ferrell can still be at his bizarre best when conditions are right. And right indeed they are in The Other Guys, a recklessly funny ripping of well-worn cop-movie cliches."
Leigh Paatsch HERALD SUN
"Ferrell fans will enjoy the ride in which we see the fine line that exists between law and chaos. Steve Coogan is terrific as David Ershon, the crooked banker who offers bribes and Michael Keaton goes the whole mile as the police captain who gives Gamble a wooden gun."
Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE
"Often silly, but very, very funny and well-cast. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg have terrific chemistry and impeccable comic timing. Even the underrated Eva Mendez gets a chance to show off her comedic talents, among other things. It’s one of the best buddy flicks since Rush Hour. "
Avi Offer NYC MOVIE GURU
"This zany, very funny comedy works largely because of the pairing of Ferrell and Wahlberg. As with all good comedy they play it for real and Wahlberg is a revelation. I can be a bit ho-hum about Ferrell but this film really had me laughing out loud. 4 STARS."
Margaret Pomeranz ABC AT THE MOVIES
The Inside Story
Not every cop can be a hero. It takes all kinds to fill a police force: you got your superstars, the guys who get the medals, your hot shots, glory boys, vets and then; there are the other guys. Guys like Detectives Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz. "Gamble and Hoitz are not necessarily what you think of when you think of the heroes of buddy cop movies," says Will Ferrell, who stars opposite Mark Wahlberg in "The Other Guys", an action comedy about the cops who never make the headlines. "Gamble is a forensic accountant, a desk cop, the guy who never leaves the office, who’s very much into his paperwork. Hoitz is more of the streetwise guy who’s jonesing to get out there and make a name for himself." "My character is obsessed with what he thinks is real crime: drug dealers, vice, murderers, and anything that's going on in the street," says Wahlberg. "Will’s character’s whole attitude and approach to police work is paperwork. That’s all it basically comes down to: paperwork and white collar crime. But I’m stuck with him because of a mistake that I made." Academy Award ® nominee Wahlberg ("The Departed"), is known for his tough-guy action movie roles. So why a a comedy opposite Will Ferrell? It’s the fulfillment of a desire on both actors part. "I’ve been looking to do a comedy for a long time," says Wahlberg ("Date Night"). "I just wanted to make sure I was in the right hands. There were comedic elements to certain performances that I’ve done, but to do a full-blown comedy I wanted to make sure I was protected and who better to work with than the funniest guys in movies in my opinion, Will and Adam. They invited me to dinner and said they wanted to do a movie." Wahlberg recalls thinking, "You got to be kidding me." But he was saying "I’ll do whatever you want." "We: Adam McKay and I; are such big fans of Mark’s. We always thought he would be great in a comedy, playing a character that maybe is similar in some ways to the role he had in The Departed, but to utilize that intensity he has and play it for laughs." "Literally, around one in the morning that night after that first dinner, Adam sent out an e-mail describing a cop movie where Will is the guy who wants to do desk work and the opportunity arises for him to step up," says co-writer Chris Henchy ("Land of the Lost"). "From that, we started talking about it and danced around the idea and went in and pitched it." "Adam and Chris went to work writing the script, and then, eight or ten weeks later, they got it to me," Wahlberg recalled. "I couldn’t believe it. It was perfect; they wrote an amazing role for me where I just got to go crazy." Strangely enough, the comedic outline of the plot would be inspired by the current headlines and Will’s character, though outrageously silly, is a new kind of cop and perhaps the future of law enforcement. "We like the idea of Will as a policeman, always on his computer, loving paperwork. He solves crimes from his desk, with a computer," Henchy explained. "That’s how you catch the Bernie Madoffs of the world. It’s not hitting the streets, it’s following the paper trail." "Allen Gamble is a guy who loves: he actually relishes; paperwork," says Ferrell. "Working on the computer and organization are police work for him. He’s an earnest, sweetheart type: a guy who plays it very close to the vest; a buttoned-down type of guy who shows up right on time for work and stays to the very last minute." The comic potential was redoubled by pairing that character with Wahlberg’s Terry Hoitz. Frustrated by his bad fortune and the abuse he endures from his cop colleagues, Terry is desperate to redeem himself. Wahlberg says Hoitz "wants to go out, bust some heads, fire his weapon, and kick ass."
Ferrell ("Semi-Pro") says that working with an actor like Wahlberg afforded the filmmakers the opportunity to work the comedy in a way that emphasizes his strengths. "Sometimes the comedy is conversational, and other times, it’s broad and crazy and out of control. Adam and I always feel like the best comedy is played straight: as real as possible. In fact, this might be the most real movie we’ve done tonally, which makes the situations that Allen and Terry get into so much funnier." Wahlberg described the pure pleasure and the problems trying to remain professional while working with Ferrell. "The biggest concern for me was just looking at Will’s face. He’s just so funny that every once in a while I’d burst out laughing." "Mark is not only a great actor. He’s also a family man and also the guy who could kick anyone’s ass in the room, but also a jovial, lighthearted guy who in no way wants to kick anyone’s ass," says McKay ("Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy"). "It was very interesting watching him interact with Will, who, of course, is famous for his insane temper and grotesque ego." With just a handful of films, co-writer/director Adam McKay has established himself as one of the most original voices in the current generation of comedy directors. style and sensibilities have not only proved popular with audiences, but made him an attractive creative partner for actors as well. One of the reasons actors like to work with director Adam McKay is that they get the opportunity to stretch their creative muscles. "It’s fantastic," says Wahlberg. "I kept waiting for someone to say, 'All right, quit screwing around,' but it never happened. Whatever you want to do, whatever you want to try, is okay. Adam works completely differently from everybody else." Other actors are even more effusive. For example, Eva Mendes (who played Monica Fuentes in "2 Fast 2 Furious"), who joins the cast as Sheila, the wife of Will Ferrell’s character, says, "I’ve been a McKay/Ferrell fan for a long time. A few years ago, the AFI asked me my opinion of the greatest movie of all time, and y’know, I could have said "The Bicycle Thief", but I said 'Anchorman' and I’m going to hold firm to that." McKay has long been Ferrell’s creative and producing partner. After meeting on "Saturday Night Live" in 1995, the two have forged a close working relationship, with McKay co-writing three movies with Ferrell, directing four, and executive producing another. "He’s one of the most creative directors I’ve ever worked with," Ferrell stated. "I think it’s just as funny as the movies we’ve made in the past. But it’s also a bit more badass," says McKay, noting, "we really tried to come up with action scenes we hadn’t seen before, and I think we came up with some fantastic stuff." Gamble and Hoitz idolize their colleagues, Detectives Danson and Highsmith. The quintessential hot rod stud cops who date models, go to red carpet events, and put on a great show for the city and for Captain Mauch (Michael Keaton), they also have no sense of proportion, causing billions of dollars in damage for small-time busts. "Danson and Highsmith might be the best cops ever to grace the force in New York City, so long as you ignore the billions, if not trillions, in damage they’ve caused the city," Henchy notes. Danson and Highsmith are played by Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson, respectively. Johnson describes them, succinctly: "They’re the best of the best. The hell with the rest. Put you to the test." For Jackson, the chance to parody his screen persona opposite Ferrell and Wahlberg was irresistible: sort of. "Obviously, you could make a legit action movie with Sam and Dwayne," says McKay.
"What people don’t know about me is that I will do anything for a laugh," Mendes ("Training Day") says. "Once Adam and Will and Chris knew I was game and that I don’t care about looking ridiculous or ugly or silly, it gave them more freedom to go even further with my character. It was a great collaboration." When Danson and Highsmith fall out of the picture, there’s a power vacuum in the precinct. Hoitz and Gamble are convinced this is their chance to step up: but so are Detectives Martin and Fosse, played by Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jnr. Riggle, who played Officer Franklin in "The Hangover", says his character Martin, "has the talent, the skills, the intellect, the muscular build, to be a supermodel, really, if he’d chosen that, but he didn’t. He went into law enforcement and he wants it all. He wants to be the top dog. And together with my partner, Rick Fosse, we’re going to do it!" How does he see his fellow officers? He describes Det Hoitz and Det Gamble as, "a couple of real knobs from the department that are a blight, an embarrassment to the force." "Basically, everything Fosse and Martin do in this movie," says Wayans Jnr ("Dance Flick"), "is to sabotage Terry and Allen, making Fosse and Martin’s rise to grace that much easier." 2008 Maverick Spirit Award winner Michael Keaton was cast as the precinct’s Captain Mauch, a guy who’s seen it all and despite his lofty perch is having a little trouble making ends meet. "He’s the type of guy who just wants to get to the end of his shift and call it a day, so we wanted to bring in some real world problems with Mauch," says Henchy. "I come from a family of cops and I know about the pensions and working 20 years and getting two kids through school, so he has a second job at "Bed, Bath, and Beyond". It's tough to come from running a police precinct and then going to run the housewares section." "I’ve been a fan of Michael Keaton since his stand-up days, and then "Beetlejuice" and "Night Shift" were movies I watched over and over," says McKay. "As soon as he got on set, I thought, 'Oh, he’s still got his fastball.' One of the biggest treats on this movie was to work with Michael Keaton." Three time British Comedy Award winner Steve Coogan joins the cast as David Ershson, a banker caught in the middle of a high-stakes crime. "I’m like a British Bernie Madoff. He’s a stockbroker, trader, hedge fund guy, who has embezzled billions from different people. It’s the new bad guy in movies: the financial bad guy." In keeping with McKay’s and Ferrell’s goal of playing the both the comedy and the action as real as possible, BAFTA TV Award winner Coogan revealed he walked a fine line. "I did play him quite smooth, quite suave, but also to get the comedy out of it, I hiccupped and tripped over my words occasionally. I tried to find the humor in that, and Will helped a lot. Will shares out the laughs." Ray Stevenson ("Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant") rounds out the cast as Wesley, formerly of the Australian Special Forces, who will become an antagonist for Gamble and Hoitz. "My character, Roger Wesley, is Australian, and I decided that he’s as dry as the great western desert. This is the first full-blown comedy I’ve done, and it’s best to leave the comedy to the people who are so good at it." Most of the film was shot in New York. "We were so lucky to get to shoot in New York and to get to show off all the different locations in the city, from Wall Street to Rockefeller Centre," says Ferrell. Other New York feel locations they filmed at included: a Knicks basketball game, City Hall Park, The Plaza Hotel, the famous Nathan’s Hot Dogs in Coney Island and at a Bed, Bath and Beyond store.
What's It All About?
 Not every cop can be a hero. It takes all kinds to fill a police force: you've got your superstars, the guys who get the medals, your hot shots, glory boys, vets and then; there are the other guys. Guys like Detectives Gamble and Hoitz. Detectives Christopher Danson and P.K. Highsmith are the baddest and most beloved cops in New York. They don’t get tattoos: because other men get tattoos of them. Two desks over and one back, sit Detectives Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz. You’ve seen them in the background of photos of Danson and Highsmith, out of focus and eyes closed. They’re not heroes. They’re not in the action. They’re 'the other guys'. But every cop has his or her day and soon Gamble and Hoitz stumble into a seemingly innocuous case no other detective wants to touch that could turn into the city’s biggest crime. It’s the opportunity of their lives, but do the guys have the right stuff?
The Verdict
"When it comes to comedy, they don't come any bigger than that zany, crazy, funster, Will Ferrell. And no, I'm not refering to the fact that he is (in the old scale) 6 foot 3 inches (191cm) tall. Teamed with the highly creative writer/director Adam McKay, Ferrell has kept audiences in stitches with a string of films: "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy", "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" and "Step Brothers". This time Ferrell and McKay have teamed up to bring cinemagoers a different experience: a comedy packed with spectacular action sequences and stunts, all under the watchful eye of "Bourne" franchise producer, Patrick Crowley. But there's a couple of more twists to reveal. As he did when he played Harold Crick in "Stranger Than Fiction", Ferrell plays the straight guy! This time he's the foil, or is that fool, for an actor most would generally remember as an action man: Mark Wahlberg (think Grant Holbrooke in "Date Night"). And it works a treat. Especially when you throw in some classic moments with the gorgeous Eva Mendes. Into this fabulous mix of talent you can add: Michel Keeton (massively great as Batman) as the precincts Captain; Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson; the inimitable Samuel L Jackson; wickedly funny British comedian Steve Coogan; protagonists Rob Riggle & Damon Wayans Jr; and finally, Ray Stevenson who plays the films bad guy, Roger Wesley (who just happens to be an Australian). Cinemagoers who have been hanging out for a good comedy will, if they are also Will Ferrell fans (and who isn't one), probably laugh themselves into exhaustion. It begs a sequel! 4 STARS."
The Production Team
Directed
Writers
Producers
Original Music
Cinematography
Film Editor
Casting
Production Design
Art Direction
Set Decoration
Costume Design
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Adam McKay
Adam McKay & Chris Henchy
Patrick Crowley & Jimmy Miller
Jon Brion
Oliver Wood
Brent White
Jennifer Euston & Allison Jones
Clayton Hartley
Jim Gloster
George DeTitta Jr
Carol Ramsey
Who Is Playing Who?
Will Ferrell
Eva Mendes
Mark Wahlberg
Samuel L. Jackson
Dwayne Johnson
Rob Riggle
Damon Wayans Jr
Michael Keaton
Steve Coogan
Ray Stevenson
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Allen Gamble
Dr. Sheila Gamble
Terry Hoitz
P.K. Highsmith
Christopher Danson
Martin
Fosse
Captain Gene Mauch
David Ershon
Roger Wesley
Run Time 107 minutes
Rated M [AUST]
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