Running with the cops

Kevin Smith is considered an underdog director in Hollywood, but his films have received cult acclaim and made a credible impact on the generation that grew up watching movies in the 90s. Smith’s independent masterpiece “Clerks” (1994) brought him recognition as a comical genius with insight to the truth behind human absurdity. In his first cop movie, Smith stepped outside of his traditional choice of cast and enlisted Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan.

Jimmy Monroe (Willis) is an officer for the New York Police Department and pressured to pay for his only daughter’s wedding after being suspended from the force for indecent conduct. Since he is hard up for money he decides to sell his priceless baseball card to pay for the wedding. During the transaction, the hobby shop is robbed at gunpoint and his baseball card gets stolen.

Monroe and his partner, Paul Hodges (Morgan) track down the tattooed, parkour–practicing (base running) thief (Sean William Scott) who stole his card. The search for Monroe’s card quickly goes awry in a frantic search for the New York City’s Mexican drug lord, Poh Boy (Guillermo Diaz), an avid baseball fan. To get the card back from Poh Boy, the cops must first recover his beloved Mercedes.

Monroe and Hodges go through a series of offbeat obstacles to get the Mercedes and when they finally obtain it, they discover a beautiful Latina (Ana de la Reguera) stored in the trunk. Gabriela was hidden in the trunk for two days, and the detectives must keep her alive to get to the root of the drug war in New York City as well as get Monroe’s card back.

Monroe and Hodges are practically married to each other, much like Smith’s reoccurring antiheroes, Dante and Randal of the Quick Stop convenience store in “Clerks.” Their “hetero-lifemate” relationship develops as they hightail around New York City in a series of zany adventures. Between Gabriela, the femme fatale, Davie, the parkour running thief, Poh Boy, the Mexican drug lord, and typical good cop/ bad cop situations, “Cop Out” is a clever mix of suspense, comedy, drama and action.

“Cop Out” is not like an ordinary Kevin Smith film; in fact, it the first film he has directed that he did not also write. However, “Cop Out,” which was written by Robb Cullen and Mark Cullen, is in the same nutty, whimsical spirit as previous Smith films like “Mallrats” (1995) and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” (2001).

Critic’s Conclusion: Since “Jersey Girl” (2004), Kevin Smith has developed a soft spot with his filmmaking and story telling. His movies used to be borderline vulgar, but “Clerks II” (2006) and “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” were even more tame than the rest of his derogatory filmography. “Cop Out” is a step in the right direction for Smith; it seems that he finally found a happy medium between absurdity and mature humor. This is a film for all ages to enjoy: high-class acting, witty screenwriting and smooth cinematography make “Cop Out” a firm-standing movie compared to Smith’s history of eccentric and nonsensical filmmaking.