The Other Guys (Blu-ray)

Rewind to the early noughties and it was an indisputable fact that there was nobody funnier gracing the silver screen than Will Ferrell. Stuffing smooth chat up lines like “I wanna be on you!” into the world’s lexicon and making figure skating look manly, there’s no doubt that the guy will one day go down in history as one of the comedy greats.

Still, as Land of the Lost will attest, you can’t just rely on Ferrell to carry a film by himself. No, he’s at his best when he’s teamed up with an equally talented co-star that can bounce the funny back with just as much welly. That’s what made the likes of Talladega Nights and Blades of Glory work, and unsurprisingly that’s what makes The Other Guys so hilarious. What is surprising though is that this time it’s Mark Wahlberg – a man hardly renowned for cracking people up – that’s matching Ferrell laugh for laugh.

When the city’s best cops inadvertently leap to their deaths, laughably bad NYPD desk jockeys Alan (Ferrell) and Terry (Wahlberg) seize the opportunity to boost their dreary career profile by filling their gung-ho predecessors’ shoes. Of course, before you know it they’re out of their depth and wading wide-eyed into danger – with utterly hilarious results as Wahlberg ignores all peril in order to berate Ferrell while lusting after his Eva Mendes-shaped wife.  

Still that’s not to say that the film relies solely on the interplay between the two leads, it’s also brilliantly written, well shot, has some superbly out-of-place action set pieces and, to top it all off,  there’s a ton of quotable lines – everything you should expect from an Adam McKay film in fact.

Easily up to the standards of Anchorman, Talladega Nights and Step Brothers, it’s safe to say that if you like those films, you’ll love The Other Guys as well.

As for the Blu-ray, it’s surprisingly good for a comedy. The NYC skyline is shown off with dazzling clarity, fast moving colours and explosions look fantastic and you can see every sweaty pore on Will Ferrell’s mug. It’s a superb transfer. Aurally, things aren’t quite as good. While things are clear and crisp, the audio only really impresses during the opening action sequences – elsewhere it’s not even as good as the bassy music that’s playing over the menu. As for the extras, the disc is teeming with some utter gold. Between deleted scenes, a commentary, heaps of hilarious featurettes and two versions of the movie, it makes for a fantastic title that’s well worth a peek – especially as this sort of film tends to plummet in price pretty quickly.

Overall Verdict: The McKay-Ferrell connection churns out another comic hit that looks ace in high def.

Special Features:
"Pimps Don't Cry" Music Video
Extreme Close Up
Everyone Hates the DVD Guy
movieIQ
The "Mom"-mentary- Unrated Version
The "Mom"-mentary
Line-O-Rama
Deleted & Extended Scenes
Alternate Action
Wasn't That???
Crash and Burn!
Why Are There Brits In This Movie?
Rob Riggle Likes to Party
We Shouldn't Kiss Chicken
Mark Wahlberg's Eating Contest Entourage
Bed Bath & Way Beyond

Reviewer: Jordan Brown