Video: Holley's review
By: Holley Sinn

Verdict: Denied

Perhaps my aversion to most Will Ferrell movies is derived from my Southern upbringing. While my little brother was allowed, if not encouraged, to burp at the dinner table (he could say his abc's in one burp...it was horrifying), I was taught to act the little lady. One of my early birthday parties was a "high tea", and we all willingly and with great pleasure, wore little white gloves and consumed tiny cakes and sandwiches my husband would deem "girl food". Maybe that's why I can't get behind jokes about homeless bums engaging in mass sexual exploits in a Prius....or sweet little old ladies delivering filth-invested messages between Will Ferrell and his WAY-too-hot wife, Eva Mendes. Or, maybe, just maybe those things are just disgusting. And, the little boys who once laughed at the sounds of their own bodily functions...whose bodies grew into men while their minds settled in the pre-pubescent area of 10 or 12 years-old...they laugh. They laugh until they cry. They fall out of their chairs. I utter a giggle now and then, but mostly, I'm planning my grocery list.

"The Other Guys", a vehicle constructed by the team behind "Talladegah Nights" and "Step Brothers", stars Will Ferrell as Allen Gamble, a bookish police detective who would rather push paper than fire his gun, and Mark Wahlberg as Terry Hoitz, an angry ex-beat cop who has been confined to his desk for having accidentally shot Derek Jeter. The two are partners without a mission until rock star officers Highsmith and Danson, played by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, die in an untimely and strange fashion. Hoitz sees an opportunity for himself and for Gamble, to prove themselves, but Gamble would rather immerse himself in building permits from the confines of his desk.

When Hoitz and Gamble inadvertently find themselves in the midst of a giant financial cover-up case fronted by David Ershon, played by Steve Coogan, they have to wipe their slate of mutual dislike clean and learn to work as a team. It's then that Hoitz meets Gamble's wife, Dr. Sheila Gamble, played by Eva Mendes. Gamble's blatant disregard for the all-consuming hotness of his own wife serves to baffle his partner.

From this point the plot progresses in a bit-to-bit fashion with occassional story advancement occurring as a sort of aside. Michael Keaton, who plays Police Captain Mauch, helps provide a little heart as a dual-job working "Bed, Bath and Beyond" manager who unwittingly spurts TLC references at random, and Mark Wahlberg shows that his sing-songy, raised-voice delivery fits best in a comedy. Despite the rudeness of the script, he and Ferrell have a good working chemistry. Somehow, "The Other Guys" is rated PG-13, and parents, while your kids won't be hearing foul language, they might still come home from the theater with a whole new set of meanings for an otherwise harmless vernacular. When they make reference to a "soup kitchen", ground them. Trust me on this one.

"The Other Guys" is not Holley-Approved, but it got a big 'ole thumbs up from the fellas with whom I viewed it, so make of that what you will. In case it's one your must-see list, you can find it at pretty much any theater in the bay area.