A Couple of Dicks

Alternative title for this post was going to be Good Cop,  Black Cop which is Tracy Jordan's buddy cop picture. And it would be one thing if he would have at least tried to play it straight. That's the number one rule in all of comedy, don't think / act like something's funny. And that's the summation of this movie, it's trying too hard.

Cop Out is trying too hard to be funny. It started with this script. The original title was A Couple of Dicks. How clever. This is trying to hard to be Beverly Hills Cop. They even hired that composer to rip off his own score. He did Fletch as well, but in that case, they use the exact same score. The movie is trying too hard to be an 80's / 90's buddy cop movie. It's trying to be a kidnapping tale. It's a robbery film. It's a tale of a father not in his daughter's life but still trying to be there for her. It's Running Scared with Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines. It's a big old hodge podge of just about anything.

Is it any of those things? No. Is it funny? A couple of times, but not really. And this movie is loaded with people who could get laughs in their sleep. I include Bruce Willis in that list. Did you ever see Moonlighting? We've also got Sean William Scott as the most annoying person ever. Kevin Pollack and Adam Brody (terribly miscast) as other cop partners. You know the old chestnut that cops and partners zing each other? Since this is a Kevin Smith film he even got Jason Lee a job. Minor and also annoying, but he did get him on board. I'm sure he's thanking him right now.

Bruce is the only one who really gets off clean. He can still open a movie. This is no where near the end of his action career. He's been close but he hasn't had a Collateral Damage / Eraser / End of Days moment yet. I think if you cut around everyone else, you might have some semblance of a film here. Sorry Bruce, keep at it (but don't make Die Hard 5, that's done).

I remember a time when I would have watched Kevin Smith directed films till the cows came home. He made Mallrats. Hilarious. Chasing Amy. Comedic and touching. Now, I feel like I don't even know this guy. Zach and Miri was good. I know a lot of people were turned off by the subject matter, but I would say it was his most honest work since Chasing Amy. I would compare it to Apatow's Funny People.

Although, Kevin didn't write it, he did direct it. I'm not sure if the pushed Tracy Morgan on him, but that was the main mistake. He's not ready for the big screen. Luckily this won't help propel him to the next level. 

Did you enjoy it?

No. I hate to say it, but if I weigh the good and bad, this ends up on the side of bad.

Would you see it in theaters again?

No.

Would you rent it?

No.

Would you buy it?

No.

Would you watch it if you saw it was on TV?
Most likely, not.