The Other Guys DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Ferrell and Wahlberg’s Hilarious Buddy Comedy Comes to DVD

This unlikely-buddy comedy co-starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.is relentlessly funny, thanks to some hilarious slapstick and an abundance of howl-inducing punch lines. As the film unfolds, we meet recently-demoted NYPD Detective Terry Hoitz (Wahlberg) in the wake of an embarrassing incident where he accidentally shot shortstop Derek Jeter in the leg while guarding the New York Yankees’ locker room.
As a result, the quick trigger-fingered cop has been reassigned to desk duty where he’s mercilessly teased by fellow officers and also partnered with Allen Gamble (Ferrell), a nerdy accountant who has never spent a day in the field. Polar opposites in every way, Hoitz chafes at the bit to return to a beat, while pencil-pusher Gamble is perfectly content to remain stationed inside police headquarters.
Initially, their hard-boiled boss (Michael Keaton) is determined to keep them under his watchful eye. However, his resolve is shaken when the department’s high-profile heroes, Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Danson (Dwayne Johnson), make a tragic miscalculation while in hot pursuit of a couple of perps.
In urgent need of replacements, the Captain grudgingly orders the mismatched pair out on patrol together, and as they proceed to get acquainted while cooped up in a prissy, city-issued Prius, their awkward exchanges prove nothing short of priceless. For instance, when macho Hoitz gruffly tosses a gift from Gamble out of the car window, unfazed, the latter responds with, “I’m going to climb over that anger wall of yours one of these days and it’s going to be glorious.”
Narrated by Ice-T, the whodunit revolves around our hapless protagonists’ efforts to crack a Ponzi scheme hatched by a shady British bloke (Steve Coogan). But make no mistake, that quest to bring the hooligan to justice always takes a back seat to humor in what is basically a zany buddy vehicle.
Ferrell at his funniest!

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 107 Minutes
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Unrated Edition Extras: Theatrical and unrated versions, deleted and extended
scenes, “Bed, Bath & Way Beyond,” and a stunt featurette.