Review of Cop Out (2010) by Walter M — 05 Jul 2011

In "Cop Out," New York City Police Detectives Jimmy Monroe(Bruce Willis) and Paul Hodges(Tracy Morgan) are suspended one month without pay for a bust gone horribly awry that resulted in a shootout on a crowded subway platform, the death of an informant and Paul wearing an ugly cell phone costume. While this gives Paul more time to be worried about the alleged infidelities of his gorgeous wife Debbie(Rashida Jones), Jimmy is even more at a loss of how to pay for his daughter Ava's(Michelle Trachtenberg) wedding, less her stepfather Roy(Jason Lee) step into the breach and do even more damage to his manhood. Luckily, Jimmy has an extremely valuable baseball card he can sell. Unluckily, it is stolen just as he is about to unload it. Detectives Hunsaker(Kevin Pollak) and Mangold(Adam Brody) will investigate when they finally stop laughing. And if somebody's not too busy, Poh Boy(Guillermo Diaz) would like somebody to find his stolen car...

With quality performances from Guillermo Diaz(suitably nasty) and Bruce Willis(suitably world weary) and some surprisingly neat plotting, "Cop Out" turns out to be an agreeably amusing action comedy.(To quote Jimmy: You had me at the anniversary card.) In fact, the movie is about the fraternal bond between partners on the job who could stand to ask for help now and then, their personal lives suffering as a result which is presumably what wrecked Jimmy's marriage in the first place. However, such serious themes get drowned out by the silliness. I know that Tracy Morgan's character is supposed to be annoying but what's Seann William Scott's excuse, in general? And employing Harold Faltermeyer's trademark music only pushes the movie away from standing on its own and back into the homage debate that engulfs the movie in its opening minutes.