Director: Kevin Smith
Starring: Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan & Seann William Scott
An occasionally funny buddy cop movie by Kevin Smith that despite some good jokes and likeable chemistry between its leads, struggles when it comes to action and the script doesn’t hold up to those that Smith has written himself.
Having only directed films that he has written himself up to now, most featuring the same cast of actors for the most part, Kevin Smith has taken on directorial duties on his first film that he hasn’t written himself. Cop Out, a police comedy in the style of 1980s buddy cop films, is Smith’s chance to direct a film starring Bruce Willis and while a love for the genre and the era of its classics can be felt here, Smith’s weaknesses as a director of action can be felt and the humour throughout, while occasionally decent, also suffers since it wasn’t written by Smith whose gift for humorous dialogue accounts for much of his success.
Jimmy (Willis) and Paul (Morgan) are NYPD detectives celebrating nine years of partnership. When a drug sting goes bad with the death of a witness, Jimmy and Paul are suspended without pay. Jimmy, in desperate need of money to pay for his daughter’s wedding with the threat of his ex-wife’s new husband taking over if he can’t pay, Jimmy decides to trade in a rare baseball card. A robbery at buyer’s store however, leaves Jimmy without his card or his money and he and Paul go in search of the card, now in the possession of a local drug lord named Poh Boy (Guillermo Diaz) who is also behind the death of the witness that got Jimmy and Paul suspended in the first place though Poh Boy is unwilling to surrender the card unless Jimmy and Paul can locate a stolen car whose contents are valuable to the drug lord.
Cop Out’s inspiration from buddy cop films of the 1980s/90s is keenly felt throughout from the partners of opposing ages, personalities and race to the score by Harold Faltermeyer, Cop Out pays several tributes with one character, Paul, so enamoured with movies he often feels the need to quote them throughout the film. The fondness for the genre is a clear attraction for Kevin Smith and there is fun to be had in the film. Cop Out is most entertaining when it’s characters are given time to hang out and banter back and forth in a manner that often feels improvised and is likely improved from the script in the editing room where Smith’s talents at timing dialogue to generate the best laughs can shine through. However, the script is rarely as funny as one that Smith himself would write and the film’s original title, A Couple of Dicks, suggests a far cruder and perhaps funnier film than what is here. Smith is also a director known for having more gifts as a writer than as a director with his visual style lacking action and so, the action sequences in the film are decent but generally uninspiring as are the film’s villains which, intentionally or not, is in keeping with the style of villains seen in many an 80s cop film.
Cop Out benefits from having a generally enjoyable cast. Bruce Willis, whilst not adding anything new to his repertoire in his performance as Jimmy, clearly seems amused by his partner’s antics and he shares good chemistry throughout with Tracy Morgan who plays his partner Paul. Morgan is entertaining too, though sometimes his performance is too OTT with Morgan’s style of comedy more suited to him being part of an ensemble (TV’s 30 Rock) than in a lead role. Seann William Scott steals most of the scenes he appears in as the their who originally takes Jimmy’s card and also works well on screen with Willis and Morgan and Kevin Pollack and Adam Brody as a fellow pair of detectives, have good chemistry together though suffer somewhat when sharing scenes with Willis and Morgan. Females characters are generally underdeveloped and the actresses do their best and Guillermo Diaz as the film’s lead villain is ok but far too OTT to remembered as anything more than annoying.
With some decent gags and lines and good chemistry between Willis and Morgan, Cop Out is a decent buddy cop comedy but Smith’s weaknesses as a director of action are evident and that the script was not written by Smith is reflected in the quality of the jokes which are below that of comedies Smith has written himself. Somewhat fun as a tribute to similar films of the 1980s but not a standout film for the resumes of any of the talents involved.
Rating: 3/5
