The Other Guys (2010)

Released in the summer of 2010, The Other Guys arrived at a moment when the buddy cop genre had already been picked over pretty thoroughly, from the polished but unremarkable studio entries of the nineties to the more self-conscious parodies that followed in their wake. Columbia Pictures and Gary Sanchez Productions (the latter being Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's own production company) clearly knew what kind of film they were making: a broad, knowingly silly riff on the action-comedy template, set against a New York backdrop and built around a mismatched pair of detectives who spend more time at their desks than on the streets. The film runs 107 minutes and carries the tagline "NY's finest were busy," which tells you everything you need to know about its attitude. There is also, perhaps unexpectedly for a film of this type, a thread of financial-world satire running through the plot, taking aim at white-collar crime and corporate excess in ways that feel a touch incongruous alongside the gags but are there nonetheless.

Adam McKay had by this point established himself as a reliable architect of this particular brand of high-energy, anarchic comedy, most notably with Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and his instinct for fast-cut, semi-improvisational chaos is all over The Other Guys. He keeps the camera restless and the pace relentless, throwing in mockumentary-style diversions and self-aware action sequences that signal the film is in on its own joke. The supporting cast adds some texture: Michael Keaton turns up as the detectives' captain, Steve Coogan plays the white-collar antagonist at the centre of the financial plot, and Eva Mendes takes on the role of Ferrell's wife, a piece of casting the film wrings for comic effect with varying degrees of success.

At the centre of it all, of course, is Will Ferrell, doing the kind of work his fanbase knows well: the hapless, oblivious everyman pushed to absurd extremes. If you have followed his career through films like Old School or more recently Despicable Me 4, you will have a fairly clear sense of what register he is operating in here. Alongside him, Mark Wahlberg plays against type to some degree, leaning into a wound-up, frustrated energy that bounces reasonably well off Ferrell's studied obliviousness. Whether the two of them generate enough chemistry to carry a film of this length is, naturally, a question for the review itself.

The Other Guys (2010) is a perfectly serviceable buddy cop comedy. Loud, silly, and packed with the kind of absurd humour Will Ferrell excels at but it never rises above being just average. He plays a neurotic, desk-bound guy with zero street cred, paired with Mark Wahlberg an explosive ex-partner of legendary cops now stuck in obscurity. Their mismatched dynamic has potential, and there are genuine laughs... The satire on Wall Street corruption is surprisingly present for a Ferrell vehicle, and director Adam McKay keeps the energy high with fast cuts, mockumentary-style cutaways, and cameos. The action is over-the-top in that self-aware, wink-at-the-audience way McKay does well. But for all its noise and gags, the film lacks real bite or originality. The plot meanders, the third act fizzles into generic shootouts, and too many jokes rely on repetition rather than wit. It’s not bad (it’s actually kind of fun while it lasts) but it doesn’t stand out in a crowded genre. You’ve seen this movie before, just with different one-liners. Watchable, occasionally funny, but forgettable. A solid rental, not a classic. If you’re in the mood for Ferrell yelling about spreadsheets while wearing a bulletproof vest? Sure, why not.

That sense of a film coasting on its own goodwill is what stays with me most. There are moments here where you can see what a sharper, leaner version of this might have looked like, particularly in the financial satire elements, which felt genuinely odd and interesting in the way only slightly misfiring ambition can be. But the film keeps blinking first, retreating into noise and repetition whenever it gets close to something with a bit more edge. I have seen action comedies that commit more fully to both sides of that equation, as my reviews of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and A Bittersweet Life might suggest, and the contrast does The Other Guys no favours. It is a film that clearly had a good time making itself. Whether that is quite enough is another matter.

Rating: ★★½  | Year: 2010  | Watched: 2025-10-14

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Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for The Other Guys (2010) on YouTube

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Related on Movies With Macca

More from Adam McKay: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
More with Will Ferrell: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Old School (2003) · Despicable Me 4 (2024)
More from the 2010s: Wonder (2017) · Beautiful Boy (2018) · The Witch (2015) · What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
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