Plenty of laughs in 'The Other Guys'

Director: Adam McKay

Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Swayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan

Ferrell and McKay team up for their fourth film and turn in a winner, even if it’s what Ferrell does with his eyes closed.

The storyline is fairly predictable in that it teams Ferrell (Allen) with Wahlberg (Terry) as a couple of useless, accident-prone NY cops relegated to the paper clips unit running messages for hero, headline-grabbing Danson (Johnson) and PK (Jackson), the team they all want to emulate.

The chance comes for the hapless duo when they are handed a major investigation into seedy capitalist (Coogan) … but it’s hard to change old habits.

Ferrell is always excellent playing the dumb schmuck and here he does it with a lot of laughs in what is a crime comedy, but the surprise packet is Wahlberg, playing the anxious, always-ready-to-blow Terry and finding a rich seam of comic timing that brings the added bonus of great chemistry with Ferrell.

Even if the pace begins to fade towards the end, this is a fun-filled film.

Star Rating: 4/5