The Other Guys


The Other Guys is a 2010 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Adam McKay, who co-wrote it with Chris Henchy. It stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg with Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Ray Stevenson, Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson in supporting roles.
This film is the fourth of five collaborations between Ferrell and McKay, following Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and Step Brothers, and followed by Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. The Other Guys is the only one not to be co-written by Ferrell. It is also the first of three collaborations between Ferrell and Wahlberg, who later reunited in Daddy's Home and Daddy's Home 2.
The film was released in the United States on August 6, 2010. It was well received by critics and grossed $170 million worldwide.

Plot

After mistakenly shooting Derek Jeter at the World Series, hot-tempered New [York City Police Department|NYPD] detective Terry Hoitz is partnered with mild-mannered forensic accountant Allen Gamble. Both are ridiculed by their peers, who idolize detectives Chris Danson and P. K. Highsmith, considered New York City's best cops despite the major collateral damage they cause catching petty criminals.
After Danson and Highsmith fall to their deaths jumping off a building during a rooftop chase, other detectives including Terry seek to fill their vacancy. Allen, however, is only interested in investigating a scaffolding permit violation by British multi-billionaire Sir David Ershon. Terry grudgingly goes along to arrest Ershon, but they are ambushed by a team of mercenaries led by Roger Wesley who apparently kidnap Ershon.
Terry and Allen talk through the case at Allen's house, where Terry is stunned by Allen's beautiful wife, Sheila, who is a doctor. The two visit Allen's beautiful ex-girlfriend, Christinith, to listen to a voice message from Allen's phone she mistakenly received during Ershon's apparent kidnapping. In the recording, Ershon tells Wesley his plan to cover $32 billion he lost on behalf of his client, Lendl Global, whose CEO, Pamela Boardman, has hired Wesley to ensure that Ershon pays her back.
When Terry and Allen arrive at a small suburban accounting office tied to Ershon, they are nearly killed by a bomb planted by Wesley. Upset by the escalating danger, Allen confides in Terry that he ran a prostitution ring in college and developed a dark, alternative personality, "Gator". He wound up in the hospital, where he met Sheila, and joined the NYPD to suppress his "Gator" persona.
Captain Gene Mauch orders Allen and Terry to hand over their evidence to Ershon's attorney, Don Beaman, who also works for the Securities and Exchange Commission. Upset when they are taken off the case, Allen briefly reverts to his Gator personality and Sheila kicks him out. Meanwhile, Terry unsuccessfully attempts to reconnect with his ex-fiancée Francine, who had left him over his anger issues.
After Terry and Allan fail to prevent Beaman's apparent suicide, Mauch splits them up, sending Terry to New York City [Police Department Transportation Bureau|traffic duty] and Allen to beat patrol. Allen keeps investigating on his own and learns that Danson and Highsmith died responding to a jewel robbery, which Wesley set up as a diversion in order to break in to another accounting firm tied to Ershon. Allen convinces Terry to join him, and they brief Mauch at his second job at Bed Bath & Beyond; Mauch admits that he has hampered them because of Ershon's high-profile connections, but allows them to pursue the case.
Terry and Allen crash an investment meeting to arrest Ershon, where they learn that he has embezzled $32 billion from the NYPD pension fund. Wesley, along with Chechen and Nigerian "investors", open fire on the duo, who escape with Ershon. He confesses that the pension money is already in his account awaiting transfer to Lendl Global the next morning. Realizing that preventing the transfer will be perilous, Allen and Terry reconcile with Sheila and Francine that night.
After evading Wesley, other mercenaries and NYPD officers who believe Allen and Terry have gone rogue, the duo bring Ershon to the bank in time to stop the transfer. Mauch arrives with backup and arrests Ershon for embezzlement and Wesley for multiple counts of murder.
Ershon's arrest leads to a stock market crash and the subsequent federal bailout of Lendl Global. Terry marries Francine, and Allen reunites with Sheila. During the end credits, statistics relate the disparity between the benefits received by companies and financial executives through the TARP bailouts with those of NYPD officers.

Cast

;Cameos
Adam McKay described the genesis as an "accident, in a way", stemming from a dinner he and Will Ferrell had with Mark Wahlberg. After noticing the actors' chemistry, McKay wrote producer Kevin Messick an email hypothesizing a possible film starring the two, giving a cop film as an example of what he thought would work. Messick suggested developing that idea into a film.
Principal photography for the film began on September 23, 2009, in New York City. Additional scenes were filmed in Albany, Westchester and Staten Island, New York.
Practical visual effects work, including the helicopter crash scene, was done by KernerFX.
Stunt coordinator Brad Martin said in a Wall Street Journal interview that for Gamble's car they used three Priuses, including one with a racing engine so large it had to go in the back seat.

Release

In July 2010, Wahlberg and Ferrell appeared at San Diego Comic-Con to promote the film.
During an episode of Big Brother, the house guests competed in a luxury challenge to see an advance screening of the film. Although they weren't actually in the house, both Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg made an on-screen video appearance.
During the August 4, 2010, episode of America's Got Talent, the week's contestants saw an advance screening of the film and met Ferrell and Wahlberg.
Ferrell and Wahlberg also made a cameo appearance on an episode of WWE Raw to promote the film.
During the week leading up to the release date, the film was promoted on TruTV programs, specifically The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest.... During the Jersey Shore episodes#Season 2|Season 2] premier for the MTV reality series Jersey Shore on July 29, 2010, special segments were shown during the commercial breaks of the show's cast broken down on a highway, discussing several movies, as part of a promotional tie-in; with The Other Guys being one of them.
They appeared in on screen advertising on broadcast sports events like MLB and NASCAR.

Reception

Box office

In its first day of release, The Other Guys grossed $13.1 million, placing first for Friday. It had a large opening weekend take of $35.5 million, placing it at #1 for the weekend of August 6–8, 2010, unseating Inception. The film ended up grossing $119.2 million in North America and $51.7 million in other territories, making for a worldwide total of $170.9 million.

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, The Other Guys holds an approval rating of 78% based on 203 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "A clever parody of cop-buddy action-comedies, The Other Guys delivers several impressive action set pieces and lots of big laughs, thanks to the assured comic chemistry between Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg." On Metacritic, the film was assigned a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.
The film was praised as "a highly entertaining movie filled with witty dialogue and over-the-top action." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised the film, saying, "Don't let anyone spoil the wildly hilarious surprises. Ferrell and Wahlberg will double your fun. Guaranteed." Some critics praised The Other Guys as the best police film of the year, comparing the film to the critically panned Cop Out, with Richard Roeper stating, "Note to Kevin Smith: THIS is how you do a spoof of the buddy-cop genre," and Stephen Whitty of The Star-Ledger said in his mixed review, "Measured against this year's other police farce—remember Cop Out?—it looks absolutely heroic."
The Other Guys also received the "Best Comedy Film" award for 2010 at the first annual Comedy Awards.

Accolades