COP OUT 1.5****
The disappointment in this movie could be described by that famous Marlon Brando line from “On the Waterfront”…”I coulda been a contender”…yes, this film had coulda been good but it “copped out” by settling for a really weak script and uninspired, even hokey direction.

The movie is an attempt to revive the buddy-cop film genre of the 1980s which had such really fine and funny films as “Lethal Weapon”, “Beverly Hills Cop” and “48 Hours”. As you'll recall, those action comedies generated their laughs from the antics of ill-matched crime fighters, one of them a somewhat straight arrow and the other somewhat looney . "Cop Out" botches this basic concept. Its two detectives Bruce Willis, as the straight man, and Tracy Morgan, as the looney one, just don’t have the zingy banter these films require..the writing is, instead, one big “groan”. The opening scene of the movie, an interrogation of a suspect by Tracy Morgan, is a precursor of the rest of the movie…funny at times but way too long and way too over the top. It coulda, it shoulda been funny but misses the mark by a city block both in that scene as well as in the rest of the movie.

The story begins with the two of them being suspended, without pay. This is especially bad news for Willis, who needs to come up with $48,000 to pay for his daughter's wedding — which will otherwise be gloatingly funded by her snotty stepfather. Willis’ only valuable asset is a very rare baseball card. But just as he's about to make a big-bucks deal for it at a memorabilia shop, two zany robbers burst in and loudly taser Willis, loudly rip off his baseball card, and loudly make their getaway. Morgan is standing right outside the shop, but he doesn't hear any of this because he's ranting on while making a phone call. The rest of the movie is about Willis’ desperate attempt to get the card back. Of all things, it ends up in the hands of a Mexican drug lord who, of all things, is a baseball memorabilia collector....come on now, that’s ridiculous, but indicative of the poor writing.
Another problem is the casting of Bruce Willis as the straight guy…the problem is he’s TOO straight, too lifeless… he has the animated presence of a man waiting for a check to clear, and that impassiveness just doesn’t play well with a comedian like Tracy Morgan who's in your face, over the top and then behind your back pulling down your pants. There are lots of old-movie references, as you'd expect, and even a couple of knock-knock jokes, which you probably wouldn't expect and sadly aren’t funny. The picture has no comic rhythm, and no action style. It sits on the screen begging you to take an interest when, in fact, your interest lies elsewhere — over by the exit.
So, I suggest you “opt out” and rent instead a great buddy-cop film such as “Beverly Hills Cop (1984).
Clark
NOTE: It has a “R” rating for the bad language…many “f’ words.