The Other Guys

The second 1980s buddy-cop action comedy throwback to be released in 2010, The Other Guys exceeds Kevin Smith’s loathsome Cop Out by virtue of being watchable, but it’s still no 48 Hours—or Anchorman. Will Ferrell does the umpteenth nonvariation on his stock character (i.e., tall guy screaming non sequiturs into a narrative black hole) as Allen Gamble, a milquetoast police accountant whose disgraced but ambitious partner Terry (Mark Wahlberg) thirsts for danger and excitement. Those exciting cases go to supercops Highsmith and Danson (Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson, in amusing cameos), but when their untimely deaths leave a hero void, Allen and Terry try to fill it by investigating a slimy investment adviser (Steve Coogan). There are laughs in The Other Guys, but few are of the out-loud variety, and McKay’s scatterbrained comedy is at least 20 minutes too long.