The Other Guys (2010)
★★½ — The Other Guys (2010)
There's a moment in The Other Guys where Will Ferrell's character, a desk-bound, forensic-accountant type with absolutely zero street credibility, reacts to some absurd piece of police work with the kind of baffled, deadpan sincerity that only Ferrell can really pull off. It's funny. Genuinely funny. And it reminded me, right in that moment, that this film had all the ingredients to be something special. It just never quite gets there.
What you've got is a classic mismatched buddy cop setup: Ferrell's neurotic, spreadsheet-obsessed detective paired with Mark Wahlberg's permanently furious, explosive ex-partner of two legendary officers, both of them now rotting in obscurity while the real heroes get all the glory. The dynamic has real potential, and to be fair, Ferrell and Wahlberg have a comedic chemistry that keeps things ticking over. Wahlberg in particular seems to be genuinely bewildered by Ferrell for much of the film, which plays better than you might expect. There are laughs here, proper ones, scattered throughout.
Director Adam McKay keeps the energy cranked up, leaning on fast cuts, mockumentary-style asides, and a parade of cameos to paper over the gaps. It's a style McKay does well, and if you've seen Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy you'll recognise the DNA immediately. That film had a manic confidence that made the absurdity feel earned. The Other Guys reaches for the same thing but doesn't quite land with the same conviction.
What's genuinely surprising is the Wall Street satire lurking underneath all the noise. The plot, which involves financial fraud on a grand scale rather than your standard drug lord or crime boss, gives McKay room to take some swipes at corporate corruption. He'd go much further down that road later in his career, but here you can see the interest starting to form. It's an unusual backbone for a Will Ferrell comedy, and in a better film it might have given the whole thing more weight.
The problem is that the plot meanders badly, and by the time the third act rolls around, all that satirical energy has more or less evaporated into generic shootouts and car chases. The comedy, which was at least sporadic and sometimes sharp in the first half, starts leaning too heavily on repetition. A joke that lands once doesn't automatically land a second or third time just by being louder, and too much of The Other Guys makes that mistake. The wit thins out when you need it most.
It's not bad, and I want to be clear about that. Watched on a lazy Sunday afternoon with no great expectations, it's perfectly decent company. There are enough genuine laughs and enough committed performances to make it worthwhile. But it never rises above serviceable. It never finds its own identity within the genre, never gives you a scene or a line or a moment that you're still thinking about a week later. You've genuinely seen this movie before, just with different one-liners.
Two and a half stars. A solid rental, not a classic. If you're in the mood for Ferrell raging about municipal bonds while wearing a bulletproof vest, then honestly, sure, why not. Just don't go in expecting something that sticks around in your memory for long.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2010 | Watched: 2025-10-14
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Stream: Netflix · fuboTV · Starz Apple TV channel
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
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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)
More comedy: The Eagle (1925) · The General (1926) · Americana (2023) · The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
