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[[File:other_guys_movie_poster_will_ferrell_mark_wahlberg_01-405x600_3201.jpg|frame]]
[[File:other_guys_movie_poster_will_ferrell_mark_wahlberg_01-405x600_3201.jpg|frame]]


A 2010 Adam McKay action comedy that satirizes the [[Buddy Cops]] picture.
A 2010 Adam McKay action comedy that satirizes the [[Buddy Cops]] picture.


''The Other Guys'' focuses on two New York City police detectives Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz ([[Will Ferrell]] and [[Mark Wahlberg]]) that have been office pencil pushers for years, while the station's two top cops Highsmith and Danson ([[Samuel L Jackson|Samuel L. Jackson]] and [[Dwayne Johnson|Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson]]) garner praise from not only the NYPD, but from the entire city for their cowboy, take-no-prisoners antics. After an unforeseen event forces the department to bring two new cops to the forefront to deal with a corporate embezzlement scheme, our two mismatched desk jockeys finally get the chance to prove their mettle and show that they can save the day....all without getting each other killed or driving each other crazy.
''The Other Guys'' focuses on two New York City police detectives Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz ([[Will Ferrell]] and [[Mark Wahlberg]]) that have been office pencil pushers for years, while the station's two top cops Highsmith and Danson ([[Samuel L. Jackson]] and [[Dwayne Johnson|Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson]]) garner praise from not only the NYPD, but from the entire city for their cowboy, take-no-prisoners antics. After an unforeseen event forces the department to bring two new cops to the forefront to deal with a corporate embezzlement scheme, our two mismatched desk jockeys finally get the chance to prove their mettle and show that they can save the day... all without getting each other killed or driving each other crazy.


Compare ''[[Hot Fuzz]]''.
Compare ''[[Hot Fuzz]]''.
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{{tropelist}}
=== This film features examples of: ===
⚫
* [[Adam Westing]]: [[Samuel L. Jackson]] and [[Dwayne Johnson]] taking their typecast roles.

* [[Actor Allusion]]:
** Hoitz is basically [[The Departed|Dignam]], reassigned and demoted instead of {{spoiler|left on his own to kill off Sullivan}} as per [[Reality Ensues]]. {{spoiler|Bonus points for Gamble ambushing Hoitz in his own apartment.}}
*** Also, when Terry is in group therapy for officers who have had to fire their weapons in the line of duty, everyone but him is extremely proud of themselves. In ''[[The Departed]]'', [[Leonardo Di Caprio]]'s character tells his therapists that cops who cry about having to fire a weapon is something made-up for tv, and that real cops love it.
** He could also be the [[Max Payne (Film)|other]] Wahlberg's cop role.
** And Gamble yelling at length about injuries (or even a ''hangover'') comes all the way from his role in the first two [[Austin Powers]] movies.
*** Speaking of hangovers, Rob Riggle demands his taser back from a class of schoolchildren, parodying his [[One-Scene Wonder]] role in ''[[The Hangover]]''.
** While doing [[Samuel L Jackson]]'s paperwork, Will Farrell hums the theme from ''S.W.A.T.'' Jackson played Hondo in [[The Movie]].
⚫
* [[Adam Westing]]: [[Samuel L Jackson]] and [[Dwayne Johnson]] taking their typecast roles.
** Somewhat the case as well with Mark Wahlberg, who has started to parody the perception that he's a [[Hot-Blooded]] jerk.
** Somewhat the case as well with Mark Wahlberg, who has started to parody the perception that he's a [[Hot-Blooded]] jerk.
⚫
* [[Affably Evil]]: Given that he's a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]], a perv, and [[Evil Brit|British]], Ershon would seem to be prime [[Big Bad]] material, but the film ultimately involves the heroes saving him from worse people, and he's so disarming and charming that he's hard not to like.
⚫
* [[The Alleged Car]]: The Prius is slowly transformed into this during the course of the movie, from hobo orgies to ''gunfire''.
⚫
* [[An Aesop]]: Just because corporations can get away with rampant greed legally doesn't make it okay. Arguably [[Anvilicious]], but since this movie came out just after the [[Credit Crunch]] and resulting crisis, it's largely a case of [[Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped]].
* [[Analogy Backfire]]: Taken [[Up to Eleven]]:
* [[Analogy Backfire]]: Taken [[Up to Eleven]]:
{{quote| '''Terry''': If we were in the wild, I would attack you. Even if you weren't in my food chain, I would go out of my way to attack you. If I were a lion and you were a tuna, I would swim out in the middle of the ocean and freakin' eat you! And then I'd bang your tuna girlfriend.<br />
{{quote|'''Terry''': If we were in the wild, I would attack you. Even if you weren't in my food chain, I would go out of my way to attack you. If I were a lion and you were a tuna, I would swim out in the middle of the ocean and freakin' eat you! And then I'd bang your tuna girlfriend.
'''Allen''': Okay, first off: a lion? Swimming in the ocean? Lions don't like water. If you'd placed it near a river or some sort of fresh water source, that'd make sense. But you find yourself in the ocean, twenty foot waves, I'm assuming it's off the coast of South Africa, coming up against a full-grown, 800 pound tuna with his twenty or thirty friends? You lose that battle. You lose that battle nine times out of ten. }}
'''Allen''': Okay, first off: a lion? Swimming in the ocean? Lions don't like water. If you'd placed it near a river or some sort of fresh water source, that'd make sense. But you find yourself in the ocean, twenty foot waves, I'm assuming it's off the coast of South Africa, coming up against a full-grown, 800 pound tuna with his twenty or thirty friends? You lose that battle. You lose that battle nine times out of ten.}}
⚫
* [[And the Adventure Continues...]]: In the unrated version, {{spoiler|Derek Jeter reappears and hands Gamble and Hoitz their next case}}.
⚫
* [[An Aesop]]: Just because corporations can get away with rampant greed legally doesn't make it okay. Arguably [[Anvilicious]], but since this movie came out just after the [[Credit Crunch]] and resulting crisis, it's largely a case of [[Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped]].
* [[Anti-Hero]]: Hoitz is a Type III, while Allen is a Type I.
* [[Anti-Hero]]: Hoitz is a Type III, while Allen is a Type I.
⚫
* [[Affably Evil]]: Given that he's a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]], a perv, and [[Evil Brit|British]], Ershon would seem to be prime [[Big Bad]] material, but the film ultimately involves the heroes saving him from worse people, and he's so disarming and charming that he's hard not to like.
⚫
* [[The Alleged Car]]: The Prius is slowly transformed into this during the course of the movie, from hobo orgies to ''gunfire''.
⚫
* [[And the Adventure Continues]]: In the unrated version, {{spoiler|Derek Jeter reappears and hands Gamble and Hoitz their next case.}}
* [[Artistic License Gun Safety]]: Desk pop.
* [[Artistic License Gun Safety]]: Desk pop.
* [[As Himself]]: Derek Jeter!
* [[As Himself]]: Derek Jeter!
* [[Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny]]: Gamble and Hoitz accepting Ershon's tickets is really closer to this trope.
* [[Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny]]: Gamble and Hoitz accepting Ershon's tickets is really closer to this trope.
* [[Author Tract]]: The end credits.
* [[Author Tract]]: The end credits.
* [[Badass Bystander]]: {{spoiler|The villains' helicopter is taken down with the help of some driving range patrons.}}
* [[Badass Bystander]]: {{spoiler|The villains' helicopter is taken down with the help of some driving range patrons}}.
* [[Badass Driver]]: He learned it from [[Grand Theft Auto]].
* [[Badass Driver]]: He learned it from ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]''.
* [[Battle Cry]]: AMEERRRICAAAAA!!
* [[Battle Cry]]: AMEERRRICAAAAA!!
{{quote| '''Hoitz''': Did you shout 'America' back there?<br />
{{quote|'''Hoitz''': Did you shout 'America' back there?
'''Gamble''': [[Blatant Lies|No, of course not. Why would I shout 'America'?]] }}
'''Gamble''': [[Blatant Lies|No, of course not. Why would I shout 'America'?]]}}
* [[Bavarian Fire Drill]]: "Ladies and gentlemen, guess who gave me the secret to making my first million... That guy there!"
* [[Bavarian Fire Drill]]: "Ladies and gentlemen, guess who gave me the secret to making my first million... That guy there!"
* [[Binge Montage]]
* [[Binge Montage]]
* [[Black Dude Dies First]]: [[Samuel L Jackson]] and [[Dwayne Johnson]]'s supercop characters have this happen to them early in the flick, when one of their death defying moments of glory goes horribly wrong. They leap off a building with no conveniently placed item to break their fall.
* [[Black Dude Dies First]]: [[Samuel L. Jackson]] and [[Dwayne Johnson]]'s super-cop characters have this happen to them early in the flick, when one of their death defying moments of glory goes horribly wrong. They leap off a building with no conveniently placed item to break their fall.
* [[Black Helicopter]] (and two unmarked white vans)
* [[Black Helicopter]]: And two unmarked white vans.
* [[Blatant Lies]]: Ershon is adamant that offering ten million dollars to cops for not doing their job is definitely not a bribe. Gamble {{spoiler|insists that he wasn't a pimp}}.
* [[Blatant Lies]]: Ershon is adamant that offering ten million dollars to cops for not doing their job is definitely not a bribe. Gamble {{spoiler|insists that he wasn't a pimp}}.
* [[Bloodless Carnage]]: To be expected in any comedy movie, but when {{spoiler|Danson and Highsmith fall 20 stories and the only thing to crack is the pavement, you know a line has been crossed.}}
* [[Bloodless Carnage]]: To be expected in any comedy movie, but when {{spoiler|Danson and Highsmith fall 20 stories and the only thing to crack is the pavement, you know a line has been crossed}}.
* [[Blooper]]: Noticeably, when the red Prius's rear door is replaced with a gray door. Later, when the car is on a train, the door is red, and a few scenes later, the door is gray again.
** Also after the explosion, his wooden gun is in its holster, then on the ground, then in its holster again.
* [[Blunt Metaphors Trauma]]: Hoitz, half of the time. "I'm a peacock; you gotta let me fly!"
* [[Blunt Metaphors Trauma]]: Hoitz, half of the time. "I'm a peacock; you gotta let me fly!"
* [[Book Ends]]: The narration by [[Ice T|Ice]]-[[Hey, It's That Voice!|T]] includes a [[Title Drop]] at the beginning and end.
* [[Book Ends]]: The narration by [[Ice T|Ice]]-[[Hey, It's That Voice!|T]] includes a [[Title Drop]] at the beginning and end.
* [[Brick Joke]]: In the beginning of the film Will Ferrell's character is convinced to do a "desk pop". When he fires his gun in Mark Wahlberg's apartment, he offhandedly says "Apartment pop". The [[Binge Montage]] even has a couple of "bar pops".
* [[Brick Joke]]: In the beginning of the film, Will Ferrell's character is convinced to do a "desk pop". When he fires his gun in Mark Wahlberg's apartment, he offhandedly says "Apartment pop". The [[Binge Montage]] even has a couple of "bar pops".
** The {{spoiler|flying peacock}} at the end of the movie.
** The {{spoiler|flying peacock}} at the end of the movie.
** [[Everything's Better With Bob|Bob.]] Just Bob. First he gets yelled at by Terry just for asking him to come to a conference; then we see him at {{spoiler|the board meeting, about to invest the police pension fund}}; then finally when Wesley is apprehended, {{spoiler|he's one of the cops with their guns on him.}}
** [[Everything's Better with Bob|Bob.]] Just Bob. First he gets yelled at by Terry just for asking him to come to a conference; then we see him at {{spoiler|the board meeting, about to invest the police pension fund}}; then finally when Wesley is apprehended, {{spoiler|he's one of the cops with their guns on him}}.
** After Ershon learns that Gamble calls himself "Gator," he is shown in prison wearing a T-shirt bearing the logo of the University of Florida Gators.
** After Ershon learns that Gamble calls himself "Gator", he is shown in prison wearing a T-shirt bearing the logo of the University of Florida Gators.
* [[Brutal Honesty]]: Mrs. Gamble is a little too forward about her sex life, even to her parents.
* [[Brutal Honesty]]: Mrs. Gamble is a little too forward about her sex life, even to her parents.
* [[Bullet Time]]
* [[Bullet Time]]
* [[By-The-Book Cop]]: Detective Gamble
* [[By-The-Book Cop]]: Detective Gamble.
* [[Car Fu]]: "It turned backwards, then it went upside down!"
* [[Car Fu]]: "It turned backwards, then it went upside down!"
* [[Cassandra Truth]]: After a couple of botch-ups, the rest of the police stop believing Gamble and Hoitz.
* [[Cassandra Truth]]: After a couple of botch-ups, the rest of the police stop believing Gamble and Hoitz.
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* [[Chase Scene]]: A few.
* [[Chase Scene]]: A few.
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: {{spoiler|Faceback}}. May overlap with [[Brick Joke]].
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: {{spoiler|Faceback}}. May overlap with [[Brick Joke]].
** {{spoiler|The jewelry store robbery.}}
** {{spoiler|The jewelry store robbery}}.
* [[Chew Toy]]: In a way. Hoitz certainly thinks he's this, and life does dump on him a lot, but it's evident much of his misfortune is his own fault, and him being such a terrible person isn't helping things. Character development, however, does help by the end of the movie.
* [[Chew Toy]]: In a way. Hoitz certainly thinks he's this, and life does dump on him a lot, but it's evident much of his misfortune is his own fault, and him being such a terrible person isn't helping things. Character development, however, does help by the end of the movie.
* [[Chick Magnet]]: Gamble doesn't seem to notice that he's irresistible to hot women, something which utterly perplexes Hoitz.
* [[Chick Magnet]]: Gamble doesn't seem to notice that he's irresistible to hot women, something which utterly perplexes Hoitz.
** To be fair, [[Weirdness Magnet|there's always something wrong with those women]].
** To be fair, [[Weirdness Magnet|there's always something wrong with those women]].
* [[Click Hello]]: Done to a harmless clerk during the climax.
* [[Click. "Hello."]]: Done to a harmless clerk during the climax.
* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: '''Both''' Allen and Terry.
* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: '''Both''' Allen and Terry.
** It's probably easier to list the characters who aren't.
** It's probably easier to list the characters who aren't.
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* [[Cowboy Cop]]: Detectives Danson and Highsmith are the standard badass version while Detective Hoitz tries to be this and drags [[By-The-Book Cop|Gamble]] along for the ride.
* [[Cowboy Cop]]: Detectives Danson and Highsmith are the standard badass version while Detective Hoitz tries to be this and drags [[By-The-Book Cop|Gamble]] along for the ride.
* [[Cringe Comedy]]: Oh boy....
* [[Cringe Comedy]]: Oh boy....
* [[Cut His Heart Out With a Spoon]]: Roger Wesley threatens to slice David Ershon's ear off with a butterknife. Ershon even lampshades it by saying, "Oh, that's blunt. Blunt's worse than if it's sharp."
* [[Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon]]: Roger Wesley threatens to slice David Ershon's ear off with a butterknife. Ershon even lampshades it by saying, "Oh, that's blunt. Blunt's worse than if it's sharp."
* [[Da Chief]]: Captain Mauch, who is probably the most mellow example imaginable.
* [[Da Chief]]: Captain Mauch, who is probably the most mellow example imaginable.
* [[A Date With Rosie Palms]]: When Gamble & Hoitz first go to Ershon's office, he's watching [[Hentai]] on his laptop, and has trouble turning it off.
* [[A Date with Rosie Palms]]: When Gamble and Hoitz first go to Ershon's office, he's watching [[Hentai]] on his laptop, and has trouble turning it off.
* [[Dawson Casting]]: Parodied. In a flashback to his college days, younger Gamble looks exactly like his older self. No attempts to hide his grey hair of wrinkles were made.
* [[Dawson Casting]]: Parodied. In a flashback to his college days, younger Gamble looks exactly like his older self. No attempts to hide his grey hair of wrinkles were made.
⚫
* [[Death as Comedy]]: {{spoiler|Danson and Highsmith's "jump" is played as nothing short of utterly hilarious}}.
* [[Deconstructive Parody]]: Definitely leans in this direction. In particular, Danson and Highsmith are presented as [[Jerk Sue]] characters for satirical effect, and they are one of many elements that lead to [[Conversational Troping]] of cop movie tropes not fitting real life. Not to mention the message at the end to the effect of "Corrupt Corporate Executives as the real criminals".
* [[Deconstructive Parody]]: Definitely leans in this direction. In particular, Danson and Highsmith are presented as [[Jerk Sue]] characters for satirical effect, and they are one of many elements that lead to [[Conversational Troping]] of cop movie tropes not fitting real life. Not to mention the message at the end to the effect of "Corrupt Corporate Executives as the real criminals."
⚫
* [[Death As Comedy]]: {{spoiler|Danson and Highsmith's "jump" is played as nothing short of utterly hilarious.}}
* [[Determinator]]: Gamble's ex-girlfriend and her husband. "COME BACK HERE AND HAVE SEX WITH MY WIFE!"
* [[Determinator]]: Gamble's ex-girlfriend and her husband. "COME BACK HERE AND HAVE SEX WITH MY WIFE!"
** "He chased us twenty miles?!"
** "He chased us twenty miles?!"
* [[Desk Jockey]]
* [[Desk Jockey]]
* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: The Chechens.
* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: The Chechens.
* [[Domestic Abuse]]: He never gets physical, but Allen Gamble ([[Moral Dissonance|one of the heroes]]) is emotionally abusive to his wife to a rather disturbing extent, vigorously and repeatedly insulting her physical appearance, sense of style, cooking ability and calling her an adulterer and whore when she reveals that she is pregnant. This occurs both in private and in the presence of others. He later explains that he does this all because he fears that, if she ever realizes how truly beautiful she is, she will leave him; this makes things ''worse'', since it shows that he is aware that his actions are wrong and is [[Moral Dissonance|deliberately traumatizing his wife for his own ends]]. It is not [[Played for Laughs]], it does not set up an [[Aesop]], it is just...awful.
* [[Domestic Abuse]]: He never gets physical, but Allen Gamble ([[Moral Dissonance|one of the heroes]]) is emotionally abusive to his wife to a rather disturbing extent, vigorously and repeatedly insulting her physical appearance, sense of style, cooking ability and calling her an adulterer and whore when she reveals that she is pregnant. This occurs both in private and in the presence of others. He later explains that he does this all because he fears that, if she ever realizes how truly beautiful she is, she will leave him; this makes things ''worse'', since it shows that he is aware that his actions are wrong and is [[Moral Dissonance|deliberately traumatizing his wife for his own ends]]. It is not [[Played for Laughs]], it does not set up an [[Aesop]], it is just... awful.
** Well, the pregnancy thing was implied to be some kind of horrible Pavlovian response from his {{spoiler|college pimp days}}, not that it makes it better.
** Well, the pregnancy thing was implied to be some kind of horrible Pavlovian response from his {{spoiler|college pimp days}}, not that it makes it better.
** There is a little ray of hope at the end, when Allen goes through [[Character Development]] and we're left to infer that the two reconciled and he isn't as much of a jerk anymore...but yeah this is [[Cringe Comedy]] at its best/worst.
** There is a little ray of hope at the end, when Allen goes through [[Character Development]] and we're left to infer that the two reconciled and he isn't as much of a jerk anymore...but yeah this is [[Cringe Comedy]] at its best/worst.
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* [[Dragon-in-Chief]]: Roger Wesley is for all intents and purposes the main villain. Nominally [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Pamela Boardman]] (who hired Wesley to keep an eye on Ershon and ordered Ershon to get back 'her' money) is the [[Big Bad]] but she seems entirely detached from any actual direct machinations.
* [[Dragon-in-Chief]]: Roger Wesley is for all intents and purposes the main villain. Nominally [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Pamela Boardman]] (who hired Wesley to keep an eye on Ershon and ordered Ershon to get back 'her' money) is the [[Big Bad]] but she seems entirely detached from any actual direct machinations.
** He is more of [[The Heavy]] than this, really.
** He is more of [[The Heavy]] than this, really.
* [[Dropped a Bridge On Him]]: You gotta wonder how [[Samuel L Jackson]] and [[Dwayne Johnson]] could sign on for a movie where {{spoiler|their characters are killed in the first twenty minutes over a stupidly hilarious stunt gone horribly awry.}}
* [[Dropped a Bridge on Him]]: You gotta wonder how [[Samuel L. Jackson]] and [[Dwayne Johnson]] could sign on for a movie where {{spoiler|their characters are killed in the first twenty minutes over a stupidly hilarious stunt gone horribly awry}}.
** [[Money, Dear Boy|Yeah,]] [[Rule of Cool|you]] [[Rule of Funny|really do.]]
** [[Money, Dear Boy|Yeah,]] [[Rule of Cool|you]] [[Rule of Funny|really do.]]
*** Actually, [[Doing It for The Art|given both of their approach to acting,]] how much they're both known for loving what they do, and how fun both of those role obviously were, it's not that hard to explain.
*** Actually, [[Doing It for the Art|given both of their approach to acting,]] how much they're both known for loving what they do, and how fun both of those role obviously were, it's not that hard to explain.
*** Also, given how both have already done films that make fun of their action hero typecasting, it makes sense.
*** Also, given how both have already done films that make fun of their action hero typecasting, it makes sense.
* [[Drugs Are Bad]]: Subverted. {{spoiler|Hoitz keeps thinking that all the crimes/criminals are drug related when in fact they are white collar financial crimes.}} Also {{spoiler|Danson and Highsmith cause millions of dollars worth of damage chasing after some guys who only have a small amount of marijuana on them.}}
* [[Drugs Are Bad]]: Subverted. {{spoiler|Hoitz keeps thinking that all the crimes/criminals are drug related when in fact they are white collar financial crimes}}. Also {{spoiler|Danson and Highsmith cause millions of dollars worth of damage chasing after some guys who only have a small amount of marijuana on them}}.
** Those guys were also dangerously armed, and firing back at the cops too...
** Those guys were also dangerously armed, and firing back at the cops too...
* [[Edutainment Show]]: The [http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2010/08/09/other-guys-end-credits-sequence-video/ end credits] has a rather informative animated slideshow about Big Company corruption.
* [[Edutainment Show]]: The [https://web.archive.org/web/20100816124056/http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2010/08/09/other-guys-end-credits-sequence-video end credits] has a rather informative animated slideshow about Big Company corruption.
** With 'Pimps Don't Cry' playing in the background... [[Fridge Brilliance|maybe Allen created it?]]
** With 'Pimps Don't Cry' playing in the background... [[Fridge Brilliance|maybe Allen created it?]]
* [[Epic Fail]]: With Danson and Highsmith {{spoiler|"Aim for the bushes"}}
* [[Epic Fail]]: With Danson and Highsmith {{spoiler|"Aim for the bushes"}}.
⚫
* [[Eyedscreen]]: kicking off the movie's climax from the boardroom (see [[Guns Akimbo]] above) onwards.
⚫
** When they are chased by bad guys, Allen says that there is a shortcut at the Chelsea Pier. Eventually, {{spoiler|they and up on the fenced-off mini-golf course}}. In ''GTA IV'', there is really a shortcut in this place.
⚫
** Hoitz having the mad skills to curb-stomp a band of motorcycle hitmen single-handedly may well have stemmed from the physical coordination derived from ''dance lessons''.
* [[Every Car Is a Pinto]]: A helicopter. Also, the Escalade in the beginning.
* [[Every Car Is a Pinto]]: A helicopter. Also, the Escalade in the beginning.
* [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]]: Played for laughs.
* [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]]: Played for laughs.
{{quote| "Mr. Ershon, Detective Gamble and the officer who shot Derek Jeter here."}}
{{quote|"Mr. Ershon, Detective Gamble and the officer who shot Derek Jeter here."}}
⚫
* [[Eyedscreen]]: kicking off the movie's climax from the boardroom (see [[Guns Akimbo]] above) onwards.
⚫
** When they are chased by bad guys, Allen says that there is a shortcut at the Chelsea Pier. Eventually, {{spoiler|they and up on the fenced-off mini-golf course}}. In GTA IV there is really a shortcut in this place.
⚫
** Hoitz having the mad skills to curbstomp a band of motorcycle hitmen singlehandedly may well have stemmed from the physical coordination derived from ''dance lessons''.
* [[Gang of Hats]]: Inverted. Terry and Allen go up against people in business suits so many times ''because'' the bad guys are business people.
* [[Gang of Hats]]: Inverted. Terry and Allen go up against people in business suits so many times ''because'' the bad guys are business people.
⚫
* [[Gone Horribly Wrong]]: The Chechen version of ''[[Dora the Explorer]]''.
* [[Good Cop, Bad Cop]]: OK, more like bad cop, psycho cop.
* [[Good Cop, Bad Cop]]: OK, more like bad cop, psycho cop.
** Also parodied when they {{spoiler|interrogate Ershon in his office}}.
** Also parodied when they {{spoiler|interrogate Ershon in his office}}.
⚫
* [[Gory Discretion Shot]]: {{spoiler|[[Subverted Trope|Completely subverted]] We get to watch [[Dwayne Johnson]] and [[Samuel L. Jackson]] fall to their deaths, without any scene cut whatsoever, including when they hit the ground}}.
⚫
* [[Gone Horribly Wrong]]: The Chechen version of "Dora the Explorer."
⚫
* [[Guns Akimbo]]: ''While inside of a car being launched out of a double-decker bus into a building''.
⚫
* [[Gory Discretion Shot]]: {{spoiler|[[Subverted Trope|Completely subverted]] We get to watch [[Dwayne Johnson]] and [[Samuel L Jackson]] fall to their deaths, without any scene cut whatsoever, including when they hit the ground.}}
⚫
* [[Guns Akimbo]]: ''While inside of a car being launched out of a double-decker bus into a building.''
** And done later on by Hoitz during a boardroom shoot-out.
** And done later on by Hoitz during a boardroom shoot-out.
* [[Hellish Copter]]: A helicopter gets taken out by a volley of ''[[Lethal Joke Character|golf balls]].''
* [[Hellish Copter]]: A helicopter gets taken out by a volley of ''[[Lethal Joke Character|golf balls]]''.
* [[Hidden Depths]]: Hoitz did a lot of mocking kids who danced in his childhood, accidentally becoming a skilled ballet dancer in the process.
* [[Hidden Depths]]: Hoitz did a lot of mocking kids who danced in his childhood, accidentally becoming a skilled ballet dancer in the process.
** It's more likely that he tries to maintain his tough guy persona, because he is a good ballet dancer, plays harp, and is well-versed in modern art. He is also much more empathic than he would like to show.
** It's more likely that he tries to maintain his tough guy persona, because he is a good ballet dancer, plays harp, and is well-versed in modern art. He is also much more empathic than he would like to show.
*** Note during the ballet scene he's inexplicably ''wearing jazz shoes.''
*** Note during the ballet scene he's inexplicably ''wearing jazz shoes''.
** Straightlaced Gamble acts that way because of a [[Dark and Troubled Past]] as a (literal) pimp in college. Now he's also a software expert.
** Straightlaced Gamble acts that way because of a [[Dark and Troubled Past]] as a (literal) pimp in college. Now he's also a software expert.
* [[Hidden in Plain Sight]]: Textbook example with Allen's car near the end.
* [[Hidden in Plain Sight]]: Textbook example with Allen's car near the end.
* [[Homage]]: David Ershon bandies the buzzword "excess" in his speech, just as [[Wall Street|Gordon Gekko did with "greed".]]
* [[Homage]]: David Ershon bandies the buzzword "excess" in his speech, just as [[Wall Street|Gordon Gekko did with "greed".]]
* [[Hot Pursuit]]
* [[Hot Pursuit]]
* [[I Know Mortal Kombat]]: "Where did you learn to drive like that?" "Grand Theft Auto!"
* [[I Know Mortal Kombat]]: "Where did you learn to drive like that?" "''Grand Theft Auto''!"
** Turns into a [[Strange Minds Think Alike]] moment soon after.
** Turns into a [[Strange Minds Think Alike]] moment soon after.
* [[Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy]]: Some protagonists and antagonists seem to be star graduates.
* [[Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy]]: Some protagonists and antagonists seem to be star graduates.
* [[Improbable Aiming Skills]]: Hoitz can shoot down an overhead banner to take down motorcyclists pursuing him. {{spoiler|Wesley can pull off three nonfatal shots in rapid succession (at close range no doubt, but making them ''nonfatal'' at that rate is harder than you'd think).}}
* [[Improbable Aiming Skills]]: Hoitz can shoot down an overhead banner to take down motorcyclists pursuing him. {{spoiler|Wesley can pull off three nonfatal shots in rapid succession (at close range no doubt, but making them ''nonfatal'' at that rate is harder than you'd think)}}.
** Well, the latter is not so improbable for a {{spoiler|ex-special forces professional bodyguard}}.
** Well, the latter is not so improbable for a {{spoiler|ex-special forces professional bodyguard}}.
* [[Insistent Terminology]]: Allen sure takes a long time to admit that he was a pimp in college. Ershon has a similar hangup with the word 'bribe'.
* [[Insistent Terminology]]: Allen sure takes a long time to admit that he was a pimp in college. Ershon has a similar hangup with the word 'bribe'.
* [[Insult Backfire]] / [[Sidetracked By the Analogy]]: Involving lions and tuna.
* [[Insult Backfire]]/[[Sidetracked by the Analogy]]: Involving lions and tuna.
* [[It Amused Me]]: "You mate, I'm gonna kill just for fun." - Wesley, to the bystander bank clerk who asks him whether or not he want the transfer approved.
* [[It Amused Me]]: "You mate, I'm gonna kill just for fun." - Wesley, to the bystander bank clerk who asks him whether or not he want the transfer approved.
* [[It Tastes Like Feet]]: Allen says this about Sheila's cooking (see [[Moral Dissonance]] below).
* [[It Tastes Like Feet]]: Allen says this about Sheila's cooking (see [[Moral Dissonance]] below).
* [[Jerkass]]: Detective Hoitz.
* [[Jerkass]]: Detective Hoitz.
** [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold]]
** [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]
* [[Karma Houdini]]: {{spoiler|Pamela Boardman when she gets a bailout}}.
* [[Karma Houdini]]: {{spoiler|Pamela Boardman when she gets a bailout}}.
* [[Kavorka Man]]: Detective Gamble.
* [[Kavorka Man]]: Detective Gamble.
* [[Little Useless Gun]]: Literally. Gamble's real gun is replaced by a wooden prop and then {{spoiler|thats taken away and replaced with a rape whistle.}}
* [[Little Useless Gun]]: Literally. Gamble's real gun is replaced by a wooden prop and then {{spoiler|that's taken away and replaced with a rape whistle}}.
* [[Lyrical Dissonance]]: Arguably [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5JC9dTKskg those songs Allen sings in the bar]. Hoitz lampshades by saying they're depressing.
* [[Lyrical Dissonance]]: Arguably [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5JC9dTKskg those songs Allen sings in the bar]. Hoitz lampshades by saying they're depressing.
* Metaphorgotten: Hoitz expresses the belief that "I'm a peacock! You gotta let me fly!" Numerous characters point out that that doesn't make any sense, notably because peacocks can't fly {{spoiler|but one does at the end for [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic|symbolism]] and [[Rule of Funny]]}}.
* [[Metaphorgotten]]: Hoitz expresses the belief that "I'm a peacock! You gotta let me fly!" Numerous characters point out that that doesn't make any sense, notably because peacocks can't fly {{spoiler|but one does at the end for [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic|symbolism]] and [[Rule of Funny]]}}.
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* [[N-Word Privileges]]: (on 'tips for staying out of jail') "One: Try your hardest not to be black or Hispanic." Would they have given that line to a white guy? Well, maybe, but it's certainly less offensive for the placement.
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** Plus, well, it's funnier coming from the black guy, who's talking to a grade school class, showing off about being a successful cop.
* [[Never Trust a Trailer]]: The trailers always show Mark Wahlberg's character playing the [[Straight Man]] to Will Ferrell's antics. The truth is Detective Hoitz is just as crazy as Gamble, if not crazier.
* [[Never Trust a Trailer]]: The trailers always show Mark Wahlberg's character playing the [[Straight Man]] to Will Ferrell's antics. The truth is Detective Hoitz is just as crazy as Gamble, if not crazier.
** Actually, it becomes apparent that {{spoiler|Hoitz is masking his gentle side with juvenile antics while Gamble's self-imposed control hides a borderline psychotic personality}}.
** Actually, it becomes apparent that {{spoiler|Hoitz is masking his gentle side with juvenile antics while Gamble's self-imposed control hides a borderline psychotic personality}}.
* [[Non-Fatal Explosions]]: Averted and lampshaded.
* [[Non-Fatal Explosions]]: Averted and lampshaded.
** "How do they walk away in movies without flinching when it explodes behind them!? There's no way! I CALL BULLSHIT ON THAT! When they flew the Millenium Falcon outside of the Death Star and it was followed by the explosion, that was bullshit!"
** "How do they walk away in movies without flinching when it explodes behind them!? There's no way! I CALL BULLSHIT ON THAT! When they flew the Millenium Falcon outside of the Death Star and it was followed by the explosion, that was bullshit!"
Line 147: Line 139:
** Notably averted with the shooting of Derek Jeter. Then they bring it up enough to push it straight into [[Running Gag]] territory.
** Notably averted with the shooting of Derek Jeter. Then they bring it up enough to push it straight into [[Running Gag]] territory.
** "I got so drunk last night I think I thought a tube of toothpaste was astronaut food!"
** "I got so drunk last night I think I thought a tube of toothpaste was astronaut food!"
* [[Not the Fall That Kills You]]: '''Subverted.'''
* [[Not the Fall That Kills You]]: '''Subverted'''.
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* [[The Plot Reaper]]: The two super-cops die, so Hoitz and Gamble have a chance at being in the spotlight.
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* [[N-Word Privileges]]: (on 'tips for staying out of jail') "One: Try your hardest not to be black or Hispanic." Would they have given that line to a white guy? Well, maybe, but it's certainly less offensive for the placement.
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* [[Prison Rape]]: Alluded to when one of the jerkass detectives taunts Ershon- "I hope you like prison food." *Beat* "...and penis." [[Call Back|It's the "tips for staying out of jail" cop, too.]]
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** Plus, well, it's funnier coming from the black guy, who's talking to a grade school class, showing off about being a successful cop.
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* [[The Plot Reaper]]: The two supercops die, so Hoitz and Gamble have a chance at being in the spotlight.
⚫
* [[Prison Rape]]: Alluded to when one of the jerkass detectives taunts Ershon- "I hope you like prison food." ([[Beat]]) "...and penis." [[Call Back|It's the "tips for staying out of jail" cop, too.]]
* [[Product Placement]]: The Toyota Prius and Bed Bath and Beyond, of course. There are others, like Cakesters and Vaio.
* [[Product Placement]]: The Toyota Prius and Bed Bath and Beyond, of course. There are others, like Cakesters and Vaio.
** In one scene Gamble is drinking Mike's Hard Lemonade. Another has Gamble and Hoitz practically shilling ''Jersey Boys''.
** In one scene, Gamble is drinking Mike's Hard Lemonade. Another has Gamble and Hoitz practically shilling ''Jersey Boys''.
** "[[Lyrical Dissonance|While their Harry Potter books were burned...]]"
** "[[Lyrical Dissonance|While their Harry Potter books were burned...]]"
** And [[Grand Theft Auto]].
** And ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]''.
** "Your hair is ''really'' soft!" "V05 Hot Oil!"
** "Your hair is ''really'' soft!" "V05 Hot Oil!"
* [[The Real Heroes]]: The Aesop of the movie is that the real heroes are the ones who genuinly make the world a better place, instead of doing more harm than good and still getting in the paper for being big and flashy like Highsmith and Danson
* [[The Real Heroes]]: The Aesop of the movie is that the real heroes are the ones who genuinely make the world a better place, instead of doing more harm than good and still getting in the paper for being big and flashy like Highsmith and Danson
* [[Reality Ensues]]: The [[Unflinching Walk]] doesn't work here.
* [[Reality Ensues]]: The [[Unflinching Walk]] doesn't work here.
** This is also how The Rock's and Sam Jackson's characters died early in the movie.
** This is also how The Rock's and Sam Jackson's characters died early in the movie.
* [[Reassigned to Antarctica]]: What happened to Hoitz after he accidentally shot Derek Jeter.
* [[Reassigned to Antarctica]]: What happened to Hoitz after he accidentally shot Derek Jeter.
** Becomes an [[Ironic Echo]] when it happens to both Hoitz and Gamble later on. While Hoitz learns to mellow out for the first time in his life, Gamble [[Took a Level In Badass]].
** Becomes an [[Ironic Echo]] when it happens to both Hoitz and Gamble later on. While Hoitz learns to mellow out for the first time in his life, Gamble [[Took a Level in Badass]].
* [[Refuge in Audacity]]
* [[Refuge in Audacity]]
* [[Running Gag]]: Captain Mauch [[Waxing Lyrical|unwittingly quoting lyrics]] from the band [[TLC]] with Detective Hoitz and Gamble's disbelief that he's doing it by accident.
* [[Running Gag]]: Captain Mauch [[Waxing Lyrical|unwittingly quoting lyrics]] from the band [[TLC]] with Detective Hoitz and Gamble's disbelief that he's doing it by accident.
** Random attractive women being into Gamble. ([[Averted Trope|Except Terry's girlfriend.]])
** Random attractive women being into Gamble ([[Averted Trope|except Terry's girlfriend]]).
*** Not merely 'attractive' but explictly 'hot' (ie. sexy) women; Terry's girlfriend is played by Lindsay Sloane who, though pretty, is more of an [[Girl Next Door|understated attractiveness]] than the obvious babes that seem to fall for Gamble.
*** Not merely 'attractive' but explicitly 'hot' (i.e. sexy) women; Terry's girlfriend is played by Lindsay Sloane who, though pretty, is more of an [[Girl Next Door|understated attractiveness]] than the obvious babes that seem to fall for Gamble.
*** At the end, Gamble says he lost his virginity to [[Heather Locklear]].
*** At the end, Gamble says he lost his virginity to [[Heather Locklear]].
** Wesley and his fellow thugs taking Hoitz's shoes and Gamble's wooden gun
** Wesley and his fellow thugs taking Hoitz's shoes and Gamble's wooden gun
** Gamble's Prius being used for [[Hobo]] orgies
** Gamble's Prius being used for [[Hobo]] orgies.
** Hoitz's fascination with Sheila that causes him to repeat everything concerning her a few times. During conversation with her husband, nonetheless.
** Hoitz's fascination with Sheila that causes him to repeat everything concerning her a few times. During conversation with her husband, nonetheless.
* [[Sensitive Guy and Manly Man]]: Gamble and Hoitz, of course. {{spoiler|Then gradually Deconstructed.}}
* [[Sensitive Guy and Manly Man]]: Gamble and Hoitz, of course. {{spoiler|Then gradually Deconstructed}}.
* [[Serious Business]]: What does Hoitz do, when he and Gamble are in shock after the the nearby explosion and Gamble shouts that the destruction of the Death Star was all but realistic? Warn him not to bad-mouth ''Star Wars'', of course.
* [[Serious Business]]: What does Hoitz do, when he and Gamble are in shock after the the nearby explosion and Gamble shouts that the destruction of the Death Star was all but realistic? Warn him not to bad-mouth ''[[Star Wars]]'', of course.
* [[Shout-Out]]: The captain is named [[wikipedia:Gene Mauch|Gene Mauch]].
* [[Shout-Out]]: The captain is named [[wikipedia:Gene Mauch|Gene Mauch]].
* [[Sidetracked By the Analogy]]: Allen does this frequently.
* [[Sidetracked by the Analogy]]: Allen does this frequently.
* [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]: [[Foo Fighters (Music)|Foo Fighters]]' "My Hero" just before {{spoiler|two heroic cops jump 20 stories straight into the sidewalk.}}
* [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]: [[Foo Fighters]]' "My Hero" just before {{spoiler|two heroic cops jump 20 stories straight into the sidewalk}}.
* [[Stuff Blowing Up]]
* [[Stuff Blowing Up]]
* [[Super-Powered Evil Side]]: Gator for {{spoiler|Allen}}.
* [[Super-Powered Evil Side]]: Gator for {{spoiler|Allen}}.
* [[Take Up My Sword]]: The entire plot of the movie revolves around cops who feel that it is their time to step up and prove themselves in order to {{spoiler|replace the two heroes of the setting when they die in the line of duty}}.
* [[Take Up My Sword]]: The entire plot of the movie revolves around cops who feel that it is their time to step up and prove themselves in order to {{spoiler|replace the two heroes of the setting when they die in the line of duty}}.
** Subverted in that, {{spoiler|thought Hoitz and Gamble ended up becoming heroes for exposing the white collar crime that was going to bankrupt the police pension fund, they don't become the heroic replacement super cops. They stay the Other Guys, who the film makes out to be the real heroes: the guys who don't look spectacular saving the day, but do it nonetheless.}}
** Subverted in that, {{spoiler|thought Hoitz and Gamble ended up becoming heroes for exposing the white collar crime that was going to bankrupt the police pension fund, they don't become the heroic replacement super cops. They stay the Other Guys, who the film makes out to be the real heroes: the guys who don't look spectacular saving the day, but do it nonetheless}}.
* [[Testosterone Poisoning]]: The two supercops.
* [[Testosterone Poisoning]]: The two super-cops.
* [[There Was a Door]]: our heroes crash the Prius through the garage door rather than ''let Ershon open it first.''
* [[There Was a Door]]: our heroes crash the Prius through the garage door rather than ''let Ershon open it first''.
* [[Those Two Guys]]: Practically the movie's premise (if the title didn't tip you off). Ironically, it's the [[Jerk Jock]] pair, Martin and Fosse, who get this role.
* [[Those Two Guys]]: Practically the movie's premise (if the title didn't tip you off). Ironically, it's the [[Jerk Jock]] pair, Martin and Fosse, who get this role.
* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: {{spoiler|Danson and Highsmith}}.
* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: {{spoiler|Danson and Highsmith}}.
* [[Troperrific]]
* [[Troperrific]]
* [[True Art Is Incomprehensible]]: Zigzagged. In the unrated version, they parody modern art with a coffee table with junk on it, then it turns out Hoitz understands the "artsy-fartsy" piece better than his artistically inclined ex does and still thinks its crap. Then his genuine tirade is critiqued and cheered on as if it was provocative performance piece.
* [[True Art Is Incomprehensible]]: Zigzagged. In the unrated version, they parody modern art with a coffee table with junk on it, then it turns out Hoitz understands the "artsy-fartsy" piece better than his artistically inclined ex does and still thinks its crap. Then his genuine tirade is critiqued and cheered on as if it was provocative performance piece.
* [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife]]: Allen and Sheila. No, really.
* [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife]]: Allen and Sheila. No, really.
{{quote| '''Terry:''' "Seriously, who ''is'' she?"}}
{{quote|'''Terry:''' "Seriously, who ''is'' she?"}}
* [[Unflinching Walk]]: Averted, but...
* [[Unflinching Walk]]: Averted, but...
{{quote| ''How do they walk away in movies without flinching when it explodes behind them? There's NO WAY!''}}
{{quote|''How do they walk away in movies without flinching when it explodes behind them? There's NO WAY!''}}
* [[Unusual Euphemism]]: "Soup kitchen"
* [[Unusual Euphemism]]: "Soup kitchen".
** Averted with Gamble, who still calls it a "dating service".
** Averted with Gamble, who still calls it a "dating service".
{{quote| "That was no pimp... [[Overly Long Gag|Pimps don't cry."]]}}
{{quote|"That was no pimp... [[Overly Long Gag|Pimps don't cry."]]}}
* [[Visual Pun]]: Hoitz and Gamble may have given the term "Driving Range" a new meaning.
* [[Visual Pun]]: Hoitz and Gamble may have given the term "Driving Range" a new meaning.
* [[Vomit Discretion Shot]]: Allen. "Is that a wastebasket?"
* [[Vomit Discretion Shot]]: Allen. "Is that a wastebasket?"
* [[Watch the Paint Job]]: Boy, does that Prius suffer.
* [[Watch the Paint Job]]: Boy, does that Prius suffer.
* [[Waxing Lyrical]]: Captain Mauch swears he doesn't know he's quoting [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT-6v5YakbU&feature=related TLC.]
* [[Waxing Lyrical]]: Captain Mauch swears he doesn't know he's quoting [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT-6v5YakbU&feature=related TLC.]
* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]: Gamble's app, "Faceback." Though being able to construct the back of someone's head from photos of their face is an amazing technical achievement. {{spoiler|The fact that [[Chekhov's Gun|it also works in reverse]] subverts this somewhat.}}
* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]: Gamble's app "Faceback". Though being able to construct the back of someone's head from photos of their face is an amazing technical achievement. {{spoiler|The fact that [[Chekhov's Gun|it also works in reverse]] subverts this somewhat}}.
* [[What Were You Thinking?]]
* [[What Were You Thinking?]]
* [[White Collar Crime]]: The credits detail not only some of the legit (but often greedy or stupid) finances that got us into the credit crunch, but also some of the now blatant criminality of some financial practices, such as a Ponzi scheme.
* [[White Collar Crime]]: The credits detail not only some of the legit (but often greedy or stupid) finances that got us into the credit crunch, but also some of the now blatant criminality of some financial practices, such as a Ponzi scheme.
* [[World of Cardboard Speech]]: {{spoiler|Gamble/Gator gets one of these when he allows himself to lose control (just a little).}}
* [[World of Cardboard Speech]]: {{spoiler|Gamble/Gator gets one of these when he allows himself to lose control (just a little)}}.
* [[Would Hit a Girl]]: Of the hero being willing to hit a villainess kind. We don't actually ''see'' Hoitz hit the Brazilian [[Dark Action Girl]] but he does so hard enough that she's still unconscious several minutes later.
* [[Would Hit a Girl]]: Of the hero being willing to hit a villainess kind. We don't actually ''see'' Hoitz hit the Brazilian [[Dark Action Girl]] but he does so hard enough that she's still unconscious several minutes later.
* [[Wrong Genre Savvy]]: Wahlberg's character seems to be forcibly trying to turn his life into a [[Buddy Cop Show|buddy cop action movie]], and for the most part, he kind of succeeds, except for his insistence that the bad guys must be connected to [[Drugs Are Bad|drugs]] somehow.
* [[Wrong Genre Savvy]]: Wahlberg's character seems to be forcibly trying to turn his life into a [[Buddy Cop Show|buddy cop action movie]], and for the most part, he kind of succeeds, except for his insistence that the bad guys must be connected to [[Drugs Are Bad|drugs]] somehow.
** And Highsmith and Danson are, of course, {{spoiler|not prepared to live outside a Bad Boys-esque action-thriller.}}
** And Highsmith and Danson are, of course, {{spoiler|not prepared to live outside a Bad Boys-esque action-thriller}}.


{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Films of the 2010s]]
[[Category:Films of the 2010s]]
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[[Category:The Other Guys]]
[[Category:Film]]
[[Category:Film]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Other Guys, The}}
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[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Latest revision as of 01:17, 26 September 2018

A 2010 Adam McKay action comedy that satirizes the Buddy Cops picture.

The Other Guys focuses on two New York City police detectives Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz (Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg) that have been office pencil pushers for years, while the station's two top cops Highsmith and Danson (Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) garner praise from not only the NYPD, but from the entire city for their cowboy, take-no-prisoners antics. After an unforeseen event forces the department to bring two new cops to the forefront to deal with a corporate embezzlement scheme, our two mismatched desk jockeys finally get the chance to prove their mettle and show that they can save the day... all without getting each other killed or driving each other crazy.

Compare Hot Fuzz.

Tropes used in The Other Guys include:

Terry: If we were in the wild, I would attack you. Even if you weren't in my food chain, I would go out of my way to attack you. If I were a lion and you were a tuna, I would swim out in the middle of the ocean and freakin' eat you! And then I'd bang your tuna girlfriend.
Allen: Okay, first off: a lion? Swimming in the ocean? Lions don't like water. If you'd placed it near a river or some sort of fresh water source, that'd make sense. But you find yourself in the ocean, twenty foot waves, I'm assuming it's off the coast of South Africa, coming up against a full-grown, 800 pound tuna with his twenty or thirty friends? You lose that battle. You lose that battle nine times out of ten.

Hoitz: Did you shout 'America' back there?
Gamble: No, of course not. Why would I shout 'America'?

  • Bavarian Fire Drill: "Ladies and gentlemen, guess who gave me the secret to making my first million... That guy there!"
  • Binge Montage
  • Black Dude Dies First: Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson's super-cop characters have this happen to them early in the flick, when one of their death defying moments of glory goes horribly wrong. They leap off a building with no conveniently placed item to break their fall.
  • Black Helicopter: And two unmarked white vans.
  • Blatant Lies: Ershon is adamant that offering ten million dollars to cops for not doing their job is definitely not a bribe. Gamble insists that he wasn't a pimp.
  • Bloodless Carnage: To be expected in any comedy movie, but when Danson and Highsmith fall 20 stories and the only thing to crack is the pavement, you know a line has been crossed.
  • Blunt Metaphors Trauma: Hoitz, half of the time. "I'm a peacock; you gotta let me fly!"
  • Book Ends: The narration by Ice-T includes a Title Drop at the beginning and end.
  • Brick Joke: In the beginning of the film, Will Ferrell's character is convinced to do a "desk pop". When he fires his gun in Mark Wahlberg's apartment, he offhandedly says "Apartment pop". The Binge Montage even has a couple of "bar pops".
    • The flying peacock at the end of the movie.
    • Bob. Just Bob. First he gets yelled at by Terry just for asking him to come to a conference; then we see him at the board meeting, about to invest the police pension fund; then finally when Wesley is apprehended, he's one of the cops with their guns on him.
    • After Ershon learns that Gamble calls himself "Gator", he is shown in prison wearing a T-shirt bearing the logo of the University of Florida Gators.
  • Brutal Honesty: Mrs. Gamble is a little too forward about her sex life, even to her parents.
  • Bullet Time
  • By-The-Book Cop: Detective Gamble.
  • Car Fu: "It turned backwards, then it went upside down!"
  • Cassandra Truth: After a couple of botch-ups, the rest of the police stop believing Gamble and Hoitz.
  • Casual Danger Dialog: "Your hair is really soft!"
  • Chase Scene: A few.
  • Chekhov's Gun: Faceback. May overlap with Brick Joke.
    • The jewelry store robbery.
  • Chew Toy: In a way. Hoitz certainly thinks he's this, and life does dump on him a lot, but it's evident much of his misfortune is his own fault, and him being such a terrible person isn't helping things. Character development, however, does help by the end of the movie.
  • Chick Magnet: Gamble doesn't seem to notice that he's irresistible to hot women, something which utterly perplexes Hoitz.
  • Click. "Hello.": Done to a harmless clerk during the climax.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Both Allen and Terry.
    • It's probably easier to list the characters who aren't.
  • Comically Missing the Point
  • Commander Contrarian: Partially subverted. Captain Mauch secretly knows the truth about the plot, but tries to stop Hoitz and Gamble precisely because he knows how dangerous it is.
    • Further subverted in while Gamble and Hoitz give him no small measure of grief and force him to chastise them over and over, he's completely pleasant with them outside the office.
  • Cowboy Cop: Detectives Danson and Highsmith are the standard badass version while Detective Hoitz tries to be this and drags Gamble along for the ride.
  • Cringe Comedy: Oh boy....
  • Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon: Roger Wesley threatens to slice David Ershon's ear off with a butterknife. Ershon even lampshades it by saying, "Oh, that's blunt. Blunt's worse than if it's sharp."
  • Da Chief: Captain Mauch, who is probably the most mellow example imaginable.
  • A Date with Rosie Palms: When Gamble and Hoitz first go to Ershon's office, he's watching Hentai on his laptop, and has trouble turning it off.
  • Dawson Casting: Parodied. In a flashback to his college days, younger Gamble looks exactly like his older self. No attempts to hide his grey hair of wrinkles were made.
  • Death as Comedy: Danson and Highsmith's "jump" is played as nothing short of utterly hilarious.
  • Deconstructive Parody: Definitely leans in this direction. In particular, Danson and Highsmith are presented as Jerk Sue characters for satirical effect, and they are one of many elements that lead to Conversational Troping of cop movie tropes not fitting real life. Not to mention the message at the end to the effect of "Corrupt Corporate Executives as the real criminals."
  • Determinator: Gamble's ex-girlfriend and her husband. "COME BACK HERE AND HAVE SEX WITH MY WIFE!"
    • "He chased us twenty miles?!"
  • Desk Jockey
  • Disproportionate Retribution: The Chechens.
  • Domestic Abuse: He never gets physical, but Allen Gamble (one of the heroes) is emotionally abusive to his wife to a rather disturbing extent, vigorously and repeatedly insulting her physical appearance, sense of style, cooking ability and calling her an adulterer and whore when she reveals that she is pregnant. This occurs both in private and in the presence of others. He later explains that he does this all because he fears that, if she ever realizes how truly beautiful she is, she will leave him; this makes things worse, since it shows that he is aware that his actions are wrong and is deliberately traumatizing his wife for his own ends. It is not Played for Laughs, it does not set up an Aesop, it is just... awful.
    • Well, the pregnancy thing was implied to be some kind of horrible Pavlovian response from his college pimp days, not that it makes it better.
    • There is a little ray of hope at the end, when Allen goes through Character Development and we're left to infer that the two reconciled and he isn't as much of a jerk anymore...but yeah this is Cringe Comedy at its best/worst.
    • The abuse part was Played for Laughs, actually. The later explanation was not, to demonstrate Character Development. And while Allen admits the reasons behind his behavior, he may well have meant that his insecurities were driving his behavior without realizing it until that point - it doesn't mean that his abuse was some deliberate, crafty, evil plan all along.
      • That's actually how emotional and physical abuse works in real life. Beat a person down enough (physically/emotionally) and isolate them enough, and they can't ever leave you.
      • Her reaction (or real lack thereof) seems to imply she's already figured this all out and takes the abuse because she knows he doesn't mean it and understands why his insecurities are doing this. When he snaps for real, she promptly kicks him out.
    • She never actually seems to pay too much attention to his insults. It's treated more like he just mocks her for himself and never intends to actually hurt her.
  • Don't Explain the Joke: "'Cause it's the FBI, right? It has the same logo, the same shield. And at first glance you're like 'Oh, it's just a mug that says FBI', but... but then at second glance you're like 'F-Female Body Inspector? Get outta town! This is outrage-'"
  • Dragon-in-Chief: Roger Wesley is for all intents and purposes the main villain. Nominally Pamela Boardman (who hired Wesley to keep an eye on Ershon and ordered Ershon to get back 'her' money) is the Big Bad but she seems entirely detached from any actual direct machinations.
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: You gotta wonder how Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson could sign on for a movie where their characters are killed in the first twenty minutes over a stupidly hilarious stunt gone horribly awry.
    • Yeah, you really do.
      • Actually, given both of their approach to acting, how much they're both known for loving what they do, and how fun both of those role obviously were, it's not that hard to explain.
      • Also, given how both have already done films that make fun of their action hero typecasting, it makes sense.
  • Drugs Are Bad: Subverted. Hoitz keeps thinking that all the crimes/criminals are drug related when in fact they are white collar financial crimes. Also Danson and Highsmith cause millions of dollars worth of damage chasing after some guys who only have a small amount of marijuana on them.
    • Those guys were also dangerously armed, and firing back at the cops too...
  • Edutainment Show: The end credits has a rather informative animated slideshow about Big Company corruption.
  • Epic Fail: With Danson and Highsmith "Aim for the bushes".
  • Eyedscreen: kicking off the movie's climax from the boardroom (see Guns Akimbo above) onwards.
    • When they are chased by bad guys, Allen says that there is a shortcut at the Chelsea Pier. Eventually, they and up on the fenced-off mini-golf course. In GTA IV, there is really a shortcut in this place.
    • Hoitz having the mad skills to curb-stomp a band of motorcycle hitmen single-handedly may well have stemmed from the physical coordination derived from dance lessons.
  • Every Car Is a Pinto: A helicopter. Also, the Escalade in the beginning.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Played for laughs.

"Mr. Ershon, Detective Gamble and the officer who shot Derek Jeter here."

  • Gang of Hats: Inverted. Terry and Allen go up against people in business suits so many times because the bad guys are business people.
  • Gone Horribly Wrong: The Chechen version of Dora the Explorer.
  • Good Cop, Bad Cop: OK, more like bad cop, psycho cop.
    • Also parodied when they interrogate Ershon in his office.
  • Gory Discretion Shot: Completely subverted We get to watch Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson fall to their deaths, without any scene cut whatsoever, including when they hit the ground.
  • Guns Akimbo: While inside of a car being launched out of a double-decker bus into a building.
    • And done later on by Hoitz during a boardroom shoot-out.
  • Hellish Copter: A helicopter gets taken out by a volley of golf balls.
  • Hidden Depths: Hoitz did a lot of mocking kids who danced in his childhood, accidentally becoming a skilled ballet dancer in the process.
    • It's more likely that he tries to maintain his tough guy persona, because he is a good ballet dancer, plays harp, and is well-versed in modern art. He is also much more empathic than he would like to show.
      • Note during the ballet scene he's inexplicably wearing jazz shoes.
    • Straightlaced Gamble acts that way because of a Dark and Troubled Past as a (literal) pimp in college. Now he's also a software expert.
  • Hidden in Plain Sight: Textbook example with Allen's car near the end.
  • Homage: David Ershon bandies the buzzword "excess" in his speech, just as Gordon Gekko did with "greed".
  • Hot Pursuit
  • I Know Mortal Kombat: "Where did you learn to drive like that?" "Grand Theft Auto!"
  • Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Some protagonists and antagonists seem to be star graduates.
  • Improbable Aiming Skills: Hoitz can shoot down an overhead banner to take down motorcyclists pursuing him. Wesley can pull off three nonfatal shots in rapid succession (at close range no doubt, but making them nonfatal at that rate is harder than you'd think).
    • Well, the latter is not so improbable for a ex-special forces professional bodyguard.
  • Insistent Terminology: Allen sure takes a long time to admit that he was a pimp in college. Ershon has a similar hangup with the word 'bribe'.
  • Insult Backfire/Sidetracked by the Analogy: Involving lions and tuna.
  • It Amused Me: "You mate, I'm gonna kill just for fun." - Wesley, to the bystander bank clerk who asks him whether or not he want the transfer approved.
  • It Tastes Like Feet: Allen says this about Sheila's cooking (see Moral Dissonance below).
  • Jerkass: Detective Hoitz.
  • Karma Houdini: Pamela Boardman when she gets a bailout.
  • Kavorka Man: Detective Gamble.
  • Little Useless Gun: Literally. Gamble's real gun is replaced by a wooden prop and then that's taken away and replaced with a rape whistle.
  • Lyrical Dissonance: Arguably those songs Allen sings in the bar. Hoitz lampshades by saying they're depressing.
  • Metaphorgotten: Hoitz expresses the belief that "I'm a peacock! You gotta let me fly!" Numerous characters point out that that doesn't make any sense, notably because peacocks can't fly but one does at the end for symbolism and Rule of Funny.
  • N-Word Privileges: (on 'tips for staying out of jail') "One: Try your hardest not to be black or Hispanic." Would they have given that line to a white guy? Well, maybe, but it's certainly less offensive for the placement.
    • Plus, well, it's funnier coming from the black guy, who's talking to a grade school class, showing off about being a successful cop.
  • Never Trust a Trailer: The trailers always show Mark Wahlberg's character playing the Straight Man to Will Ferrell's antics. The truth is Detective Hoitz is just as crazy as Gamble, if not crazier.
    • Actually, it becomes apparent that Hoitz is masking his gentle side with juvenile antics while Gamble's self-imposed control hides a borderline psychotic personality.
  • Non-Fatal Explosions: Averted and lampshaded.
    • "How do they walk away in movies without flinching when it explodes behind them!? There's no way! I CALL BULLSHIT ON THAT! When they flew the Millenium Falcon outside of the Death Star and it was followed by the explosion, that was bullshit!"
      • "Don't you DARE bad-mouth Star Wars, that was ALL accurate!"
    • Mark Wahlberg wasn't wearing a hat, that's why.
  • Noodle Implements: Apparently Gamble wants to do something to Eva Mendes involving a mannequin hand and a golf club with a shaving razor attached to it.
  • Noodle Incident: "I thought I was gonna hafta shoot my way out... What are you gonna do, y'know, bar mitzvahs..."
    • Notably averted with the shooting of Derek Jeter. Then they bring it up enough to push it straight into Running Gag territory.
    • "I got so drunk last night I think I thought a tube of toothpaste was astronaut food!"
  • Not the Fall That Kills You: Subverted.
  • The Plot Reaper: The two super-cops die, so Hoitz and Gamble have a chance at being in the spotlight.
  • Prison Rape: Alluded to when one of the jerkass detectives taunts Ershon- "I hope you like prison food." *Beat* "...and penis." It's the "tips for staying out of jail" cop, too.
  • Product Placement: The Toyota Prius and Bed Bath and Beyond, of course. There are others, like Cakesters and Vaio.
  • The Real Heroes: The Aesop of the movie is that the real heroes are the ones who genuinely make the world a better place, instead of doing more harm than good and still getting in the paper for being big and flashy like Highsmith and Danson
  • Reality Ensues: The Unflinching Walk doesn't work here.
    • This is also how The Rock's and Sam Jackson's characters died early in the movie.
  • Reassigned to Antarctica: What happened to Hoitz after he accidentally shot Derek Jeter.
    • Becomes an Ironic Echo when it happens to both Hoitz and Gamble later on. While Hoitz learns to mellow out for the first time in his life, Gamble Took a Level in Badass.
  • Refuge in Audacity
  • Running Gag: Captain Mauch unwittingly quoting lyrics from the band TLC with Detective Hoitz and Gamble's disbelief that he's doing it by accident.
    • Random attractive women being into Gamble (except Terry's girlfriend).
      • Not merely 'attractive' but explicitly 'hot' (i.e. sexy) women; Terry's girlfriend is played by Lindsay Sloane who, though pretty, is more of an understated attractiveness than the obvious babes that seem to fall for Gamble.
      • At the end, Gamble says he lost his virginity to Heather Locklear.
    • Wesley and his fellow thugs taking Hoitz's shoes and Gamble's wooden gun
    • Gamble's Prius being used for Hobo orgies.
    • Hoitz's fascination with Sheila that causes him to repeat everything concerning her a few times. During conversation with her husband, nonetheless.
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Gamble and Hoitz, of course. Then gradually Deconstructed.
  • Serious Business: What does Hoitz do, when he and Gamble are in shock after the the nearby explosion and Gamble shouts that the destruction of the Death Star was all but realistic? Warn him not to bad-mouth Star Wars, of course.
  • Shout-Out: The captain is named Gene Mauch.
  • Sidetracked by the Analogy: Allen does this frequently.
  • Soundtrack Dissonance: Foo Fighters' "My Hero" just before two heroic cops jump 20 stories straight into the sidewalk.
  • Stuff Blowing Up
  • Super-Powered Evil Side: Gator for Allen.
  • Take Up My Sword: The entire plot of the movie revolves around cops who feel that it is their time to step up and prove themselves in order to replace the two heroes of the setting when they die in the line of duty.
    • Subverted in that, thought Hoitz and Gamble ended up becoming heroes for exposing the white collar crime that was going to bankrupt the police pension fund, they don't become the heroic replacement super cops. They stay the Other Guys, who the film makes out to be the real heroes: the guys who don't look spectacular saving the day, but do it nonetheless.
  • Testosterone Poisoning: The two super-cops.
  • There Was a Door: our heroes crash the Prius through the garage door rather than let Ershon open it first.
  • Those Two Guys: Practically the movie's premise (if the title didn't tip you off). Ironically, it's the Jerk Jock pair, Martin and Fosse, who get this role.
  • Too Dumb to Live: Danson and Highsmith.
  • Troperrific
  • True Art Is Incomprehensible: Zigzagged. In the unrated version, they parody modern art with a coffee table with junk on it, then it turns out Hoitz understands the "artsy-fartsy" piece better than his artistically inclined ex does and still thinks its crap. Then his genuine tirade is critiqued and cheered on as if it was provocative performance piece.
  • Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Allen and Sheila. No, really.

Terry: "Seriously, who is she?"

How do they walk away in movies without flinching when it explodes behind them? There's NO WAY!

  • Unusual Euphemism: "Soup kitchen".
    • Averted with Gamble, who still calls it a "dating service".

"That was no pimp... Pimps don't cry."

  • Visual Pun: Hoitz and Gamble may have given the term "Driving Range" a new meaning.
  • Vomit Discretion Shot: Allen. "Is that a wastebasket?"
  • Watch the Paint Job: Boy, does that Prius suffer.
  • Waxing Lyrical: Captain Mauch swears he doesn't know he's quoting TLC.
  • What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: Gamble's app "Faceback". Though being able to construct the back of someone's head from photos of their face is an amazing technical achievement. The fact that it also works in reverse subverts this somewhat.
  • What Were You Thinking?
  • White Collar Crime: The credits detail not only some of the legit (but often greedy or stupid) finances that got us into the credit crunch, but also some of the now blatant criminality of some financial practices, such as a Ponzi scheme.
  • World of Cardboard Speech: Gamble/Gator gets one of these when he allows himself to lose control (just a little).
  • Would Hit a Girl: Of the hero being willing to hit a villainess kind. We don't actually see Hoitz hit the Brazilian Dark Action Girl but he does so hard enough that she's still unconscious several minutes later.
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: Wahlberg's character seems to be forcibly trying to turn his life into a buddy cop action movie, and for the most part, he kind of succeeds, except for his insistence that the bad guys must be connected to drugs somehow.
    • And Highsmith and Danson are, of course, not prepared to live outside a Bad Boys-esque action-thriller.
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