The new action-comedy "Cop Out" is what happens when you have a filmmaker who spent WAY too much time in the 1980s checking out buddy-cop movies from his local video store. Oh yeah. There is NO doubt whatsoever that director Kevin Smith spent more than his fair share of disposable income during his teens and early twenties, holed up and watching marathon viewings of "48 Hours," "Lethal Weapon," "Tango & Cash," "Running Scared," and "Red Heat," before having to get the titles back to Blockbuster or Erol's or wherever on time.
"Cop Out" isn't as good as any of those above films. And a few of those films weren't even really that good. But for those like Smith who did indeed cut their teeth on the adventures of Riggs and Murtaugh, Axel Foley, and even Irwin Fletcher (not a cop, but "Fletch" is referenced quite heavily here), you are going to find some nostalgic pleasure watching Smith's movie.
Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan play Jimmy and Paul, respectively, a couple of buddy cops in present-day New York who find themselves mired in a crime plot from, oh, 1986 or so. They're hot on the trail of Poh Boy, a ruthless drug lord (Guillermo Diaz) even as they bicker and quarrel with each other on everything from Paul's wife's fidelity to Jimmy's need for cash to pay for his daughter's (Michelle Trachtenberg) extravagant wedding.
When the not-too-dynamic duo inadvertently get an informant killed and allow Poh Boy's younger brother (Corey Fernandez) to escape, they are suspended without pay and forced to watch from the sidelines as their squad-room rivals (Kevin Pollak and Adam Brody) take over the case. Matters are made even worse when a petty thief named Dave (a very funny Seann William Scott) steals Jimmy's prized baseball card that he was going to sell to pay for his little girl's nuptials. No surprise. The card was bought by the very same criminal who Jimmy and Paul had been tracking.
I will say this. "Cop Out" throws a lot at the canvas. Some of it sticks. But, mostly, it's all over the map and not terribly involving. Willis can't decide whether he's playing John McClane or a parody of him. Morgan, meanwhile, is borderline offensive as his motor-mouthed, profane, poop- and sex-obsessed, African-American partner. The rest of the cast members are one-note stick figures, the worst of which are the steady parade of Latino stereotypes that pass as gang members.
The movie does have one BIG saving grace, and that is Smith's decision to roll back the stone on the tomb of composer Harold Faltermeyer and use his still-catchy synthesizer-and-drum-machine riffs for the film's soundtrack. Faltermeyer is best known for his "Axel F" theme from "Beverly Hills Cop" and his "Get-outta-my-head" main theme from "Fletch." As a product of the '80s myself, I never thought I'd get to hear a score like this again. And I couldn't help but smile every time Jimmy and Paul walked down a street to their own, personal Harold Faltermeyer theme.
As much as Smith and screenwriters Mark and Robb Cullen have studied their '80s buddy-cop cheese, I wish they had actually taken more cues from those flicks. Say what you want about movies like "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Stakeout," but they were tight little movies with little in the way of bloat. "Cop Out" feels padded with so many off-the-wall ideas and bits.
It squanders audience interest at several points in its running time. There's a failed marriage; another marriage in jeopardy; an estranged daughter; a beautiful hostage, who may or may not tempt one of the cops; a wacky third banana crook, who may or may not help the two main cops (a la Joe Pesci in "Lethal Weapon 2"); a couple of rival officers; a baseball card that makes the rounds; and the list goes on.
Those original movies also had a better handle on balancing broad, profane comedy with standard car chases and shootouts. Smith and Co. are almost a little too excited to be making a movie in this sub-genre. There are pleasures to be had here. But if you saw flicks like "Running Scared" and "Turner and Hooch" and "Nighthawks" on VHS … you can wait for this one on DVD. It rates a 5 out of 10. (T. Durgin)
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