Adann-Kennn Alexxandar
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
“The Other Guys” (Comedy/Action: 1 hour, 47 minutes); Starring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, and Dwayne Johnson; Director: Adam McKay; Rated: PG-13 (Violence, profanity, sexual innuendo and mature themes)
Movie Review: When they have the chance to step up to the plate as New York City police detectives, Allen Gamble (Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Wahlberg) attempt to solve one of the biggest cases involving a Wall Street investor, David Ershon (Steve Coogan). The problem is the awkward pairing of the two produces more chaos than lawful solutions.
Will Ferrell’s films are hits or misses. Score this one as a miss. It is funny, but its uneven nature is perplexing, although an exquisite plot exists in the background. The characters appear to change personalities constantly. For example, Ferrell’s Gamble appears a weakling while working at his precinct, but as the movie progress, his character behavior and demeanor changes sporadically. Some moments, he is goofy; at other moments, he is masculine and dominant. The same is true for Wahlberg’s Hoitz, who appears overly aggressive and depressed at the beginning and later appears overly domesticated. He exhibits erratic behavior, too. Keaton’s persona, Captain Gene Mauch, is the only consistent personality.
Director McKay, who also directed Ferrell in “Step Brothers” (2008), the very funny “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” (2006), “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” (2004) and a few other productions, takes several movie themes and collides them to create a messy clash of comedy and action. The effect is a piece that inspires laughs, mainly because it is pure silly humor or just plain slapstick. When characters have to explain or describe what viewers are observing, a screenplay writer failed to pen a scene adequately.
Furthermore, McKay allows his film to go astray, often focusing on the greed of Wall Street, the comparisons between the wealthy and poor, and government. Some points of interests are smart considerations, and others are just plain asinine.
The best part of the film is Jackson and Johnson as two über macho detectives. They are only in this screenplay for a short period, but they manage to score plenty of laughs. They are the more interesting “other guys.”
Grade: C+ (Funny, but some other movie is playing.)
Note: For those interested, stay through the end credits for one more scene.
“Step Up 3D” (Musical/Drama: 1 hour, 37 minutes); Starring: Adam Sevani, Rick Malambri, Sharni Vinson and Alyson Stoner; Director: Jon Chu; Rated: PG-13 (Brief violence, sexual innuendo and brief strong language)
Movie Review: Occasionally, a film has a plot easily reducible to one paragraph and contains lackluster acting, yet it remains masterful in its own clumsy way to dazzle viewers. “Step UP 3D” does this with an array of neat tricks, mostly energetic dance sequences and nice visual effects via three-dimensional technology. The film’s other staple is Adam Sevani from 2008’s “Step Up 2 the Streets” (also directed by Chu), who excels as the cast’s best player.
Sevani plays Moose, a curly, longhaired New York University freshman, who believes he has put his high school dancing days behind him and is now concentrating on becoming an electrical engineer. He is in a new stage of life, entering college with his longtime friend, Camille (Stoner). Soon, Moose is approached by Luke (Malambri, who is about as moving as ants walking away with your picnic basket), who recruits Moose for his local street dance troupe called The Pirates. Simultaneously, Luke recruits a female whom he admires greatly, Natalie (Vinson). While The Pirates are about to lose their dance studio because of the absence of funds, they can save the place if The Pirates can win a major dance competition.
FOX has a show entitled “So You Think You Can Dance.” For “Step Up 3D,” the title could easily read, “So You Think You Can Do Acrobatic Stunts.” Many of the dance scenes are pure acrobatics, some scenes performed by stunt doubles rather than the dancing actors. Yet, a few scenes steal the show.
A dance duet to Fred Astaire’s “I Won’t Dance (Don’t Ask Me)” is well done by Sevani and Stoner. They prance around a New York street, capturing a moment worthy of a nice musical, which “Step Up 3D” really is but disguises itself as a dance diversion for youthful audiences. Also, a ballroom dance scene involving Malambri and Vinson scores some points. These two scenes are different from other scenes, as they provide more traditional dance sequences.
If you like dancing, this version of the “Step Up” series of films, the second sequel to the 2006 hit directed by Anne Fletcher, is very entertaining. This recent outing is the better of the three movies. The addition of three-dimensional technology, nice dance scenes and good music makes watching poor acting and clichéd plot worth it.
Grade: B- (Definitely a step up from the last two.)
