THE OTHER GUYS

title: THE OTHER GUYS
year: 2010
cast: Mark Wahlberg, Will Farrell, Michael Keaton, Eva Mendes, Samuel L. Jackson
rating: **1/2

There have been so many buddy cop movies throughout the years, any new attempt is usually tongue-in-cheek satire: a plot riding backseat to what makes the genre work: the contrary personalities of the duo and how they bicker back and forth, eventually making up to take on, and then defeat, the villain. This is no different, giving ample time for Mark Walhberg, as a frustrated, hard-boiled jerk who wants to make a difference, and mellow, passive desk-jockey Will Farrell, to clash and clash some more. Farrell does his usual clueless, sweet-natured airhead while Walhberg tries his best to counterbalance with sporadic intensity, making up for the fact his role, if more comedic, could have fit John C. Reilly. Not bad, and not too great, but entertaining enough to wile away the time.