Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg are following a well-worn path with their new movie, The Other Guys. They are…wait for it…buddy cops.
In the zany comedy, the duo play a pair of mismatched officers (Ferrell a forensic accountant with a by-the-book attitude, Wahlberg a shoot-first, ask-questions-later detective).
Now the pairing of two oddball cops has been around as far back as 1967’s In The Heat of the Night (which was actually anything except a comedy – unless you find racism funny I guess). In fact, the civil rights’ era film is largely recognized as one of the first times the “buddy cop” theme was used in Hollywood.
Over time of course, the buddy-cop film became a sub-genre of comedy, focusing primarily on the opposing characteristics of two cops. In other words, if one were a cautious cop nearing retirement, the other had to be a young, suicidal maverick (Lethal Weapon). Or if one were an African-American criminal on parole, the other had to be a middle-aged bigot (48 Hours). And in the case of 1988’s Alien Nation, if one had to be a human being, the other had simply better be an extraterrestrial.
Sure enough, that’s the way it goes.
It’s hard to say whether The Other Guys will have much influence in changing a genre that has run the gamut with everything from English/French cops (Bon Cop, Bad Cop) to the aforementioned human/alien cop dynamic (Alien Nation) but one thing is for certain – with Will Ferrell in charge, there are some great stupid gags worth checking out no matter what genre the film is lumped into. In the meantime, here’s a brief look at some highlights of the “Buddy Cop” history:
In the Heat of the Night (1967) – Directed by Canadian filmmaking legend Norman Jewison, this drama may have started it all.
48 Hrs (1982) – This very funny movie with Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte is perhaps the template for all buddy cop comedies.
Lethal Weapon (1987) – Before Mel Gibson was making headlines for his unusual phone calls, he played a psychotic detective in this popular buddy cop franchise. Maybe that role was closer to home than we think….
Feds (1988) – In an effort to flip gender roles, this female buddy cop comedy’s tagline was “Sleep tight, America. These women carry guns”. America listened. The dud’s domestic gross was just under $4 million total.
Alien Nation (1988) – Have you heard enough about this yet? This cult favorite is about a human cop and an alien cop….in case you didn’t get it the first two times.
Turner and Hooch (1989) – Tom Hanks marks the pairing of a cop and a dog named Beasley. It seems Hollywood is into cross-breeding cops now…so to speak.
K-9 (1989) - see Turner and Hooch, only replace “Tom Hanks” with James Belushi and “Beasley” with Jerry Lee.
Cop and a Half (1993) – Burt Reynolds starred in this dud about a detective who gets paired up with a little kid. In keeping with the necessary rules, Reynolds’ character hates kids. Surprise!
Rush Hour (1998) – Kicking off the trilogy, this Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker buddy cop movie was hugely successful earning the franchise over $507 million in North America alone.
Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006) – Canada’s first film in the buddy-cop genre, it quickly becomes one of the country’s highest-grossing films.
Cop Out (2010) – Released earlier this year, this Bruce Willis/Tracy Morgan laugher was director Kevin Smith’s (Clerks, Mallrats) foray into the world of buddy cops.
