Hi and welcome to the penultimate edition of Friday Film Club for 2023! With Autumn in full swing and Winter only a few weeks away, I thought that this month I might brighten up those weary and cold souls with some laughter and action (for the most part). And you can get all the laughter you need with these four films. The theme this time is Buddy-Cop movies, usually (but not in every case) they focus on a duo of cops, who are nothing alike and engage in hilarious hijinks to solve a crime. While scrolling through the Library’s collection, I found the following entries which I believe should be considered as some of the best buddy-cop films ever made, though they were ironically released within just a couple of years of each other.
We begin with Adam McKay’s (Anchorman, The Big Short) action comedy, The Other Guys (2010). Starring regular McKay collaborator Will Ferrell (Anchorman, Step Brothers) and Mark Wahlberg (The Departed, Daddy’s Home) as eponymous ‘Other Guys’, the supporting cast includes: Eva Mendes (2 Fast 2 Furious, Ghost Rider), Michael Keaton (Batman, Birdman), Steve Coogan (Night at the Museum, Around the World in 80 Days 2003) and the late Ray Stevenson (Thor, King Arthur).
Ferrell & Wahlberg play Detectives Allen Gamble & Terry Holtz of the NYPD. The two are polar opposites; Allen a mild-mannered forensic accountant without a gun to his name and Terry a hot-tempered cop riding a desk but desperate to see more action. The receive no respect but plenty of ridicule from the other officers in their precinct, especially Detectives Martin (Rob Riggle) & Fosse (Damon Wayans Jr.). When the top two cops in the station, Detectives Danson & Highsmith, are involved in a fatal accident during a high-speed pursuit, Gamble and Holtz get their chance to impress and earn their respect back.
While the two are assigned to investigate a simple scaffolding permit violation by British multi-billionaire Sir David Ershon (Coogan), they unwittingly uncover a much larger plot by Ershon to cover up losses incurred by his client Llendl Global (who unsurprisingly are not very happy with him) and gain the $32 billion by other nefarious methods, with the help of his henchman Wesley (Stevenson). Eventually taken off the case due to mishaps and lack of progress by Captain Mauch (Keaton), the two resolve to solve the case on their own.
The film received highly positive reviews, with some calling it as the best police of the year. Peter Travers (Rolling Stone) praised the lead actors in particular, saying “Ferrell and Wahlberg will double your fun. Guaranteed.” Whereas, the renowned Richard Roeper (Chicago Sun-Times) beamed, “THIS is how you do a spoof of the buddy-cop genre.” Additionally, it won “Best Comedy Film” in the first annual Comedy Awards in the US. And I concur, it is absolutely hilarious! Ferrell and Wahlberg’s chemistry is surprisingly off the charts and it is no wonder they have teamed up again since. In my opinion, it is liked both actor’s best performance in their careers so far, bolstered by a brilliant script.
If you haven’t seen it, you should, and you can watch a hilarious clip of a fight between Holtz & Martin at a funeral in the video:
From the hilarious to the sometimes horrific – our second entry is the much more dramatic End Of Watch (2012), an action thriller written & directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad, Fury). It focuses on two L.A.P.D. (Los Angeles Police Department) officers portrayed expertly by Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain, Spider-Man: Far from Home) and Michael Peña (World Trade Center, The Martian). Supporting characters are played by the likes off: Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect, Twilight), David Harbour (Hellboy 2019, Black Widow), Frank Grillo (Zero Dark Thirty, Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and America Ferrera (How To Train Your Dragon, Barbie).
Gyllenhaal and Peña play Officers Brian Taylor & Mike Zavala respectively, who patrol in the South-Central area of LA (a high crime zone) out of newton Division. Throughout the movie Taylor, a Marine Corps veteran (many a US Cop is a veteran in reality), records their daily activities for a college class. This comes as they have recently returned to duty after a recent officer-involved shooting. As such the film takes a documentary style approach to proceedings.
The premise originates with the two attending a public disturbance call, at which Zavala is racially insulted by Tre, a gang member (of The Bloods). Zavala responds by having a one-on-one fight with Tre, winning it and Tre’s respect in the process for not arresting him. Later that night, Tre and his gang are attacked in a drive-by shooting by rival group Curbside Gang. The same gang has a run in with the two officers the next night went they shit a house party held by a member down. After a daring rescue from a burning house, they are presented with the Medal of Valor, heightening their profile. They later arrest a man for possession of firearms and cash, and find he has links to the Sinaloa Cartel (a real-life large Mexican outfit), whom unbeknownst to them have links to the Curbside Gang. They are subsequently urged to stay clear of the investigation for fear of them becoming targets. While they nevertheless continue to go out on patrol and excel in their daily lives, they truly have no idea of the danger that is coming for them.
End of watch was incredibly well received by audiences and critics alike, with Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times) awarding it 4 stars out of 4! Calling it “one of the best police movies in recent years, a virtuoso fusion of performances and often startling action.” He also named it the fourth best film of 2012. Peter Debruge (Variety) mused, “End of Watch cuts past the clichés of standard police procedurals”, likewise Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly) stated it as being “one of the few I’ve seen pay serious attention to what cop life feels like, both on and off duty.” Most praise went to the performances, direction, grittiness and depiction of the L.A.P.D. as a whole, while some criticism was levied on the camerawork and decision to cast minorities as stereotypical gang members however. It received numerous award nominations and a TV series is currently in development.
You can view the high-octane trailer:
Our next entry features a distinct change in location (yet still holds links with the U.S.), in Irish comedy The Guard (2011). Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh (Calvary, The Forgiven), it features Irish acting legend Brendan Gleeson (Braveheart, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) & Don Cheadle (Ocean’s Eleven 2001, Iron Man 2) as the cop duo, with Mark Strong (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Shazam!) and Liam Cunningham (The Mummy; Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, War Horse).
Gleeson plays Sergeant Gerry Boyle of the Garda Síochána (Irish Police), based in the Connemara district of West Ireland. He is not the best cop, being confrontational and regularly indulging in drugs & alcohol while on duty. Boyle and his new partner Aidan McBride (Rory Keenan) investigate a murder, with evidence appearing to point to an occult serial killer. Due to these findings, FBI agent Wendell Everett (Cheadle) is sent to liase with the Garda, creating a task force to hunt down four Irish drug traffickers led by Francis Sheehy-Skeffington (Cunningham) linked to the murder. Francis and his top lieutenant Clive Cornell (Strong) are in the drug trade, and after Boyle recognises the deceased as on of Francis’ men, McBride mysteriously goes missing.
The strait-laced Everett and unorthodox Boyle team up to track down Francis and his men, while Boyle searches for McBride in his own time. Everett struggles to gauge responses from the local people in his enquiries due to being foreign and black, but Boyle makes more headway arousing the suspicions of Cornell. With growing signs of corruption within the Garda, its upto Everett and Boyle to take Francis and his crew down once and for all.
Like it’s predecessors in this blog, The Guard was rapturously welcomed, and became the most successful independent Irish film of all time (in Ireland itself). Both Gleeson & Cheadle’s performances were highly praised, with Gleeson gaining a Golden Globe nomination and an Irish Film & TV award for Best Actor. In terms of critics, Todd McCarthy called it a, “twisted and exceptionally accomplished variation on the buddy-cop format”, whereas Wendy Ide (The Times) wrote: “this sly, witty and provocative Irish black comedy is an exceptionally funny crowd¬-pleaser.” My sentiments exactly! With beautiful scenery and impeccable comedic timing, McDonagh makes one hell of a hit. There may be some racial jokes, but they certainly fall on the funny side rather than insulting and fit seamlessly into the jargon of this film.
Experience a briefing by Wendell with some of the funniest moments within the feature in the video:
Saving the best till last, it’s the author’s choice, 21 Jump Street (2012). Helmed by directing duo Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Lego Movie), it was an adaptation/continuation of the US TV series of the same name (1987-1991), which was a young Johnny Depp’s breakthrough role. Jonah Hill (Superbad, The Wolf of Wall Street) and Channing Tatum (Magic Mike, Foxcatcher) play the dynamic duo in this final entry, and the supporting cast includes: Brie Larson (Captain Marvel, Room), Dave Franco (Now You See Me, Bad Neighbours). Rob Riggle (The Hangover, Dumb and Dumber To) and Ice Cube (Boyz n the Hood, Ride Along).
Hill & Tatum feature as L.A.P.D. Officers Morton Schmidt & Greg Jenko respectively, best friends & partners since they re-met at the police academy after previously attending high school together, though they weren’t really friends then as Jenko was popular and Schmidt was not. After an unfortunate incident with a gang leader (DeRay Davis), where the two fail to read him his Miranda rights leading to the voiding of his arrest, the duo is reassigned to Jump Street. Jump Street being, a scheme from the 1980s which specializes in using young officers to infiltrate high schools, led by the no-nonsense Captain Dickson (Cube).
Dickson assigns Schmidt & Jenko to attend Sagan High School, to find and contain the spread of a synthetic drug called HFS. Enrolled as students, with schedules to match their previous academic performances, the two officers get a whole new shot at high school (something the rest of us could only dream of). They do however hilariously manage to mix up their identities at some point. In an interesting twist, they discover things are much different this time around, Schmidt’s intelligence makes him popular while Jenko’s lax attitude is frowned upon. Though they both manage to consistently annoy the gym teacher Mr. Walters (Riggle). After making friends with Molly (Larson), Schmidt meets the main dealer, Eric (Franco). But as Schmidt’s popularity rises and he starts to run the case, he starts to get distracted and Jenko becomes jealous as the duo drift apart. They must find their way back to each other to solve the case.
21 Jump Street was an unexpected critical and commercial success, with many agreeing that (like other remakes) it wasn’t really needed it was a very good film. The humour, script and chemistry of the lead stars was highly praised. David Hynes (WhatCulture) ranked the movie’s script 3rd in a list of the 10 Best Since of the 2010s, and commenting on Hill & Tatum he stated, “they proved to be a great double act” (after originally having had doubts about them). It’s highly enjoyable and more relatable to younger audiences than the other entries. All the cast play their parts to perfection, with Ice Cube a standout as the gruff boss. It is simply one of the best buddy cop movies of the 21st Century. Its legacy continues as well, as a sequel 22 Jump Street was released two years later, a third entry plus several spin-offs are currently in development.
You can get a glimpse of Captain Dickson’s first scenes with the duo in the video:
So, if you need a laugh after the drama of resits, or something to take your mind off the dreary weather before you get to the Christmas films, look no further than these four gems. Buddy Cop movies is a special genre as it brings you laughter and action rolled into one and the above entries are the best of the best. All four are available for loan only on DVD in the Library so come and get them before anyone else!
Not sure how to access e-stream? Then simply click on the link below…
Bradford College Planet Estream.
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