‘Cop Out’ is without a plot, but it’s funny despite the handicap

Editor’s note: Peter Lewis has agreed to use whatever it is you call his writing style to provide some measure of analysis to those folks who still go to a theater to see a movie. Enjoy.

review by Peter Lewis

If it wasn’t obvious from the previews, Cop Out, starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, is a buddy picture. These are generally male-centric films that feature a story arc that focuses on a platonic relationship between two men. The classic personification of the concept came in a pair of George Roy Hill films, “Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid” (1969) and “The Sting” (1973). Both of these pictures featured Paul Newman and Robert Redford in the leading roles.

From classics like The Sting or Butch Cassidy to the hilarious inanity of films like Dumb and Dumber, the tradition of the so-called “buddy film” covers a wide swathe of filmdom. Over the years, these films have become mostly associated with police procedurals that mix in your face action with good natured humor. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the potential of the concept first begin to garner some widespread attention through films like “48 Hours” and “Lethal Weapon.”

While the territory has been heavily mined in the past 30 years, a money making vein can still be found if executed correctly. Fortunately, the makers of Cop Out largely succeed in their endeavors.

Buddy pics live and die by the rapport of the leading actors. “Cop Out” pairs the outlandishly hilarious Tracy Morgan (30 Rock, SNL) with the taciturn Bruce Willis. Their interactions drive a film that easily could have been derailed by a ludicrous conception. They possessed that certain on-screen charisma that characterizes the best buddy pictures; the respectable films that, despite any number of unbelievable stunts or inconceivable pistol shots, retain their charm and are veritable pleasures to see because of their paradoxical authenticity. Simple dialogue creates a great buddy film. The characters become relatable, their interactions are realistic. Despite any number of ridiculous scenarios, they are rooted in an inalienable honesty.

Often, buddy pictures start from the beginning. The two actors are invariably wary of one another and there is friction. They feel each other out and come together as the film nears its close. For whatever reason, most screenwriters struggle to hit the right notes in birth of a great friendship, only hitting their stride once the bond has been forged.

The sense of interpersonal affability that Willis and Morgan exude while on screen was aided by a script that stuck them together from the get go. We aren’t privy to the birth of a friendship, but one beginning its ninth year together. The characters know each other and make it easy for us to know them. Quite predictably, Morgan is wacky and neurotic with obsessions for film, firearms and random trivia, while Willis is no nonsense and focused, with a wry and understated sense of humor — personas that they seem to own a patent for at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

I’ve spent so much time talking about Willis and Morgan because there is largely nothing else happening in the film to make it worthwhile beyond the periodic appearances of the perpetually unconcerned Sean William Scott. The story that purportedly drives the film is severely lacking. The ancillary details that usually fill out a film are non-existent, the supporting characters are cardboard cutouts.

In theory, it is a homage to the great police pal movies like 48 Hours. In practice, however, it fails to achieve that iconic level. As a buddy picture, it flounders somewhere in the mid-range, greater than inane works like “Starsky & Hutch” but not quite reaching the upper echelon of a “Bottle Rocket” or “The Blues Brothers.” In short, it is good for some laughs, but not much else.

• Cop Out is playing at the Carmike 14 and the Malco Cinema 12 in Fort Smith, and the Malco Van Buren Cinema. Link here for time and ticket info.

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