Cop Out (Jeff's Review)

When someone puts a fresh spin on something tried and true, it normally is met with mixed results: those who welcome change by accepting the newer version and then those who stick to fundamentals and tend to say you are ruining a perfectly good thing. That is kind of how it is with Kevin Smith’s new film Cop Out. He is putting a new twist on the 80’s buddy cop genre and I find it to be particularly refreshing.

The film opens with upwards pan of Jimmy (Bruce Willis) and Paul (Tracy Morgan) as they swagger into an interrogation room immediately telling the audience with the first shot that these two are badass cops. After some bickering over which one gets to play bad cop and interrogate the drug dealer first, Paul heads in and freaks the perp out by spewing out movie quotes meant to scare him into confessing. After hitting all the bases (Scarface, In the Heat of the Night, and Training Day), and then some non-traditional bases (Dirty Dancing and Star Wars), they get their infomation. This leads these couple of dicks to stake out the perp’s store and catch the supplier. Unfortunately all hell breaks loose and he gets away.

This leads us into both Jimmy and Paul’s secondary story lines, which play key roles into the outcome of the movie. Jimmy decides to sell his gem-mint 1950’s Topps baseball card that could net him as much as $80,000 to pay for his daughter’s wedding, but his plans are derailed by a taser-wielding Dave (Sean Williams Scott) as he robs the baseball card store and steals the card. Then, Paul suspects his beautiful wife (Rashida Jones) of cheating on him with his next door neighbor. He goes as far to set up a Nanny-Cam in his bedroom to spy on his wife. Both issues play major roles throughout the film.

After tracking down their robbery suspect Dave, Jimmy and Paul find out that he sold the card to Poh Boy (Guillermo Diaz) a big time drug trafficker and avid baseball fan. From there they have no choice but to throw the rulebook out the window. The suspended detectives then attempt to track down a stolen car that they plan to exchange for Jimmy’s card.

This movie is Kevin Smith “homage” (pronounced homm-ige) to buddy cop movies of yesteryear and just about every police show on TV. So much so, that you can almost play “spot that cliché,” a game where you name the movie or television show that Smith is lovingly imitating. Even Harold Faltermeyer’s score of synth laden 80’s tunes seems to show Smith’s adoration for the pre-existing genre.

I think the real beauty of this film is in the casting. Willis is easily cast as the badass veteran cop who is cocky and a bit of a smart ass. Morgan finally gets a chance to shine on the big screen in a role that allows him to show case his comedic timing and ability to improvise. I specifically love the casting of the foils to Willis and Morgan; Adam Brody and Kevin Pollak play rival detectives Hunsaker and Mangold. As the main duo is celebrating 9 years of partnership, these two are newly partnered together and Pollack is attempting to teach Brody the ropes. Some of the funniest movements of the film are the interactions between these two sets of partners.

Even smaller roles like Jason Lee’s Roy, the filthy rich stepfather who is attempting to over step his bounds with Willis’ daughter (Michelle Trachtenberg) by paying for her wedding, are done with a sly wit and charm. However, it is Diaz who steals the movie with his performance as an out to conquer the world drug dealer. His obsession with baseball is a nice twist on the typical Mexican drug lord character. Maybe it is his crazy eyes that sells me on him but his performance is nothing short of brilliant.

Once most people get past the ample amount of Kevin Smith “dick and fart” jokes then they will find a movie that pays respect to those films that has come before it while telling a fresh, enjoyable story. Though this is clearly not a Kevin Smith script, he certainly churns out a Kevin Smith movie. It’s refreshing to see that, if given a big Hollywood budget, Smith doesn’t stray too far from his roots.

-Jeff Clark