Let's Be Cops

Starring: Jake Johnson, Damon Wayans Jr., Rob Riggle, Andy Garcia, Nina Dobrev, James D'Arcy, Keegan-Michael Key
Directed by: Luke Greenfield
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two struggling friends (Jake Johnson, Damon Wayans Jr) pretend to be cops to get respect. Things spiral out of control when they run afoul of a dangerous criminal (James D'Arcy).

Review:

Tim: Very often, I'll say about a movie that the idea was good but the execution was lacking. I'm not quite sure that I could say that about Let's Be Cops. Maybe there's some kernel of a good idea in the premise that two friends pretend to be cops to gain respect. The initial reaction is, "Oh, maybe there's something there." And then, almost immediately, the issues start to pile up. For one (a big one), the consequences of impersonating police officers is so steep that no reward could ever outweigh that risk. Unless you're a complete moron or a career criminal, there's just no good reason to impersonate a police officer. This movie never adequately addresses why these two characters- who aren't stupid and aren't exactly desperate- would go to such extreme lengths and risk years and years in jail. It's moronic and it undercuts the whole movie.

If you get past the completely absurd premise, I suppose there's some positive things about the movie. Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. obviously have chemistry together, likely coming from their time together on "New Girl". The highlight of the film is watching these two interact. They do have some humorous moments together, although this film really needed to be funnier. Johnson certainly has a great deal of appeal and I can see a long career for him. I was actually pretty surprised by Wayans- he gave a good performance and has some actual talent. Both these guys, in the right roles with the right directors (unlike this movie) could have huge careers.

I have to give a great deal of credit to James D'Arcy. I've been a fan of his in Cloud Atlas and on TV with "Agent Carter", so imagine my surprise when I saw him here, nearly unrecognizable as a gangster. He gives a very strong performance and really impressed me with his range as an actor. He was one of the best parts of the film. It was nice seeing Andy Garcia here as well, although I wish he had a little more to do. Rob Riggle was fine. I don't think he is especially funny, but he was tolerable in the role.

I really wanted to like Let's Be Cops more than I did. Besides the ludicrousness of the plot, there's something kind of fun about watching fake cops abuse their power. I understand what was attractive about the story (if you're okay completely disconnecting from reality). Unfortunately, as the movie goes on, they push the envelope more and more, and any ability of the audience to suspend disbelief eventually wears thin. We're left with confronting the harsh reality that this movie is thoroughly absurd, and while occasionally funny, it's not believable in the least. That really hurts the film.

I didn't have a terrible time watching Let's Be Cops, but I wasn't very enthusiastic about it, either. Director Luke Greenfield really botched this film (although no one will care with how much money it pulled in at the box office). This was a disappointing film

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



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