Cop Out – Dual Review

Being big Kevin Smith fans, what was your initial reaction when you heard he was doing a movie not written by himself?

Donny: I was skeptical. Part of what excites me about Kevin’s movies is his sense of humor. I’ve heard critics compare his humor to that of an adolescent, and I don’t understand why that’s a problem. I’m quickly getting tired of fans and critics that feel they have to stop enjoying things they did when they were younger in order to justify their own existence.

Jon: Well, yeah I was skeptic too, only because I feel he has a voice and why would he do someone else’s work? But if he could take established characters like Daredevil and Green Arrow and craft interesting stories, who not this film? Oh, right, he didn’t write this. Nervous energy…

Explain your first impressions on the Green Band, then Red Band trailer for Cop Out?

Jon: My first thoughts were “wow, that doesn’t look funny”. I understand it’s sometimes hard to cut a trailer, and also we shouldn’t really judge a film based on the trailer, but Cop Out looked weak, and very un-Kevin Smith. In the Green Band trailer, you have to understand the limits of what they can and cannot show, but jokes fell flat and Kevin Smith’s name wasn’t pushed.

I guess there was a solid reason to pimp the buddy-cop aspect to the film over it being a new Kevin Smith film, since his films don’t open with huge numbers, but again, I was saddend to shrug it off. Now, I remember when Donny raved about the Red Band trailer, I figured the best stuff was in the film, so I didn’t seek it out, and instead, held onto my fleeting anticipation for the comedy.

Donny: I absolutely despised the Green Band trailer. I thought the jokes were flat and the acting seemed forced. The Red Band however, I loved. I got a kick out of seeing Bruce Willis wax with the vulgarity.

What’s your review of Cop Out?

Donny: I thoroughly enjoyed the flick. Being a huge fan of the buddy cop movies that dominated the ’80s box office, I found it refreshing to see someone take a stab at bringing back the old school vibe back instead of focusing on the gritty, MTV-influenced, flash cut heavy flicks today’s generation is used to.

I know that there are a lot of Kevin Smith’s fans that are going to compare this flick to his previous ones, and I don’t want to do that. I’m glad he jumped ship for a bit to try his hand at something new, and I’m also pretty impressed with the outcome. I’m not a fan of Tracy Morgan, but that didn’t stop me from having a great time with this flick. I found the jokes funny, the film felt like it was made in the decade of excess, and I absolutely loved the Beverly Hills Cop-like music.

While I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did Smith’s View Askew productions, I did enjoy the flick enough to spend coin on the Blu-ray when it’s released, and I’m thinking about checking it out again in the theatre as well.

Jon: It happens almost every time we do these dual reviews, folks, Donny and I vastly disagree. Being such a huge Kevin Smith fan, one of the few voices in comedy I admire and trust, I cannot believe WB and as well as Smith, would allow for a film where they take away his best attribute: his writing. It’s easy to say that Kevin Smith hasn’t really became a “visual” director, but his directing skills went fine with his writing. It’s all about the dialogue and jokes when it comes to Smith and with Clerks II and Zack and Miri, he’s found some sentimentality amongst the penis and poop jokes. If anything, he’s becoming a better, mature voice in writing, yet Cop Out is like taking the ball out of Adrian Peterson’s hands and making him the punter for the Vikings. Uh, why?

Because screenwriters Robb and Mark Cullen aren’t Kevin Smith.

For football fans, one knows when it’s crunch time, you never take the ball out of your best players hands, and Cop Out does just that, forcing the film to allow Smith handle just directing, a talent that isn’t his M.O. So, the film feels flat, the jokes roll off conventionally, and it’s all in line for Smith’s worst film. Cop Out makes Jersey Girl look like Chasing Amy.

I admire the attempt for that feeling of the long-gone buddy cop films of the 80’s, but if I can finish the joke before they do, then the film isn’t funny. Strangely, since Smith edited the film as well, it sagged a lot towards the end, perhaps from being overly long. A lot of the subplots didn’t have the payoff needed, like the confrontations between Jason Lee and Bruce Willis as stepfather and father, just really went nowhere. Speaking of nowhere, the scenes with Adam Brody and Kevin Pollack were horrible. WB could have saved a few dollars, hired an up-and-coming second unit action director and got the same results.

Now, please, remember I’m a huge Smith fan just as much as Donny, but Cop Out didn’t deliver. Did I expect unrealistic expectations? No, I knew he was attempting something different, but could he have at least gave the script a better once over to make some jokes funnier? I just can’t share Donny’s enthusiasm for Cop Out.

Should he go back to View Askew?

Jon: As Zack and Miri Make a Porno proved, he doesn’t need to go back to that universe yet. Again, Cop Out‘s biggest issue was prevented Smith to do what he does best: write. I fully expect the next Smith film to be better and good, as I won’t jump off his bandwagon with this. Smith is insanely funny, and I’m sure he has a slew of new ideas outside of Jay and Silent Bob ready for us all. But if those fail, like I felt Cop Out failed, I will welcome back those characters in a heartbeat.

Donny: I think he should do whatever makes him happy. I haven’t been disappointed with any of his flicks thus far.

Grade?

Donny’s: Rating:

Jon’s: Rating: