Big-budget comedies strangle themselves. The characters are built on stereotypes; good guys and bad guys, mad guys and sensible guys, black guys and white guys, good choices and bad choices.
This is what the big movies often are; because they're trying to cater for everyone. If you make a movie for 80 million and only seventeen people understand it, you have a problem. The shortcut to everyone 'getting it' is street-wise black men, awkward white men, billion dollar problems and gorgeous woman. I'm 24 minutes into the movie and the beautiful women aren't here yet, but I know Eva Mendes is in it and I'm expecting her soon. The comedy is established, so the romance needs to be plugged in as a device to keep people interested.
The problem with making these movies in this way; is that the jokes have to be amazing and the actors have to be compelling. Wahlberg and Farrell are great at what they do - but the comedy thus far is Wahlberg accusing Farrell of being feminine, and that's about it, and it's old already.
So the film is about 'being a man.' But who relates to that premise? I like rom-coms and I think shooting guns is dumb and stupid. So the story isn't about me, but then who is it about? Who can relate to this stuff?
So we know what's coming. Two desk jockey cops need to prove themselves, overcome their limitations and probably get the girls. We know this story already. So we need something more. If we're not laughing hysterically or desperately concerned about the plight of those involved, then we're detached; we're back thinking about our personal problems and writing blogs instead of focusing on the movie.
They keep doing the joke about Will Farrell being a geek. He loves computers, he loves Photoshop, he loves bad movies, etc-- the joke keeps coming. If this was Billy Wilder he would only have made the joke once, and it would have been funnier.
So Eva Mendes is here now and she's talking about her breasts.
I'm bored, and there's over an hour left.
So I skipped to the end. And the two guys are holding their guns up to the bad guys, Wahlberg is being bad ass and Will Farrell is stepping out of his comfort zones. Don't worry about me giving away the ending, you've seen this film before.
The bad guys are in jail, and Farrell's geekery pays off, and Wahlberg gets the girl.
