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SOUND OFF

Sound Off: Kevin Smith's New Comedy Cop Out - Thoughts?

by Alex Billington
February 27, 2010

Now that you've seen it, what did you think? Opening in theaters this weekend is Kevin Smith's ninth feature film, called Cop Out, following Zack and Miri Make a Porno from 2008. It's a modern day buddy cop comedy in the same vein as the Lethal Weapon movies of the 80's, but is it as good those? Cop Out got slammed by critics and has a 19% on Rotten Tomatoes, but were the critics just unable to enjoy the humor? How are Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as partners? Is it as good as Kevin Smith's past few films or worse? If you've seen it, then leave a comment below and let us know what you thought of Kevin Smith's Cop Out.

To fuel the fire, I really wanted to like this movie, but ultimately I couldn't. I didn't understand what movie was trying to do - make a mockery of the buddy cop comedies of the 80's or be a modern version of an 80's buddy cop comedy, funny in its own way? Unfortunately it just felt like a mess and although I enjoyed a few parts of it, overall it wasn't that good. All of the good jokes were spoiled in the trailer and everything else in it wasn't funny. I didn't find myself laughing much and wasn't otherwise impressed with the characters or anything. However, I will say I was impressed to see that everything in the story connected together so well.

What did you think of Cop Out? Another solid comedy or one of the worst movies of the year?

Explore tags: Discussion, Hype, Sound Off

http://www.obsessedwithfilm.com Ray DeRousse

It's horrible. Poorly written and constructed, with meandering and pointless scenes scattered throughout. Morgan and Willis are pretty good, though, for what they have to do. Kevin Smith's direction is abysmal, especially in some dialogue scenes. Here's the whole review: http://www.obsessedwithfilm.com/reviews/shocker-ray-hates-cop-out.php
gplongwood

It had a couple of laugh-out-loud moments and the chemistry between the leads was surprisingly good. Willis kinda phoned in the acting and you could tell there weren't a lot of takes in each scene. I like Kevin Smith's approach to directing and you do see a retrospect of an 80's cop movie, but it just didn't have the same quality of say Beverly Hills Cop. I don't know why people keep comparing it to 48hrs, other than the leads being black and white. The music was very 80's which I liked and the very funny Sean William Scott stole most of his scenes. It's worth a look, but you can wait for DVD, it's not big screen quality.
WhatISmynameanyway?

There were good jokes in the trailer?
Kick-Butt

If none of the trailers made me chuckle and you're saying that all the "good jokes" were in them, then I'm definitely passing. Kevin Smith has not been good in a looooooooooong time.
Duck

I enjoyed it
no

He just did it for a paycheck calm down everybody. "unable to enjoy the humor" - really? come on.
http://www.filmgazing.com Carter

it's a really bad film.
IKE

Terrible, unfortunately in Louisiana it will stay in the theaters awhile since that is the kind of comedy that everyone here likes. Year One was a big hit here just to give everyone an idea...
JMoney

#6 actually Kevin Smith is on record as saying he took a huge pay cut to direct this movie, so it's inaccurate to say he "did it for the pay check", maybe in the context of him hoping this opens the door for more studio work, but he didnt make a lot of money of this movie
dex

Can't wait to see this (though most reviews are -ve) here's a custom dvd cover i made for fun, check it out... http://i48.tinypic.com/2qv9qif.jpg
Stevo

I actually really enjoyed. SWS did steal every scene he was in and he was absolutely hilarious. Tracy Morgan and Willis made a perfect couple. The thing I think I liked most was all the movie references... something I have always enjoyed about Kevin Smith's flicks. I really laughed a lot throughout the movie and it wasn't just a bunch of dick and fart jokes. I also love that Guillermo dude (he played Scarface in Half Baked). He makes the most ridiculous gangbangers.... This one reminded me a lot of the guy he played on Weeds. BTW. It seems like a lot of people on here seem to think Kevin Smith wrote this. He only directed it. The credits credited the Cullen's Brothers for writing it. Just a suggestion, stay for the first couple minutes of the credits for an extra scene. I'm always the type of person that waits but my buddies were ready to bounce and we almost missed it.
Scott McHenry

It looked like a waste of time before, and it looks like a waste of time now
LeeMan

I thought the beginning and the end scenes were very humorous and i laughed out loud but everything in between came off as sort of immature and juvenile humor to me. I chuckled here and there but overall it made me feel stupid watching it.
Writethisway

In solidarity with the director, I'm going to take up two extra seats. Shouldn't be hard.
Guy

Kevin Smith is a cool guy, but a horrible film maker.
sickdoghats

i have been waiting for cop out for a year and i saw it last night . and i was not disappointed with this film. i went into this thinking it was going to be a bruce willis movie directed by kevin smith but it turns out its a kevin smith movie staring bruce willis. this is the first great movie to come out this year and the best movie i have seen since the 90's. seeing all the bad comments made me shake my head. and if liked avatar over this amazing film then you don't deserve to call your self a movie buff. this movie had something thats been missing from film for years now and that thing is movie magic.
Jay

I think people are going into this film with to high of expectations. Smith has made it clear this is a homage film. It doesn't need to be sliced apart and analyzed. Just let go of the jaded film school drop out routine and enjoy it for what it is; A simple cliche, but enjoyable film. If you can't get into Smith's sense of humor, then i suggest Tooth Fairy.
Carlos Spicy Weiner

I haven't seen it yet, but all these negative reviews are spoiling it for me. First off, Kevin Smith didn't write this film. This is a Warner Brothers film which he directed. His last movie was great, a movie he wrote and directed. If all you critics are so fucking great, how come you didn't direct it? Bottom line, if you don't like Kevin Smith you probably won't like his films period. But I guess we're entitled to our own opinion and can talk all the shit we want.
Cody

Wheres the "Your thoughts?" thread for 'The Crazies', Alex? Despite what it looked like Ive heard from a lot of people its actually a very good horror flick, at least overall better than this (from what Ive read on here).
tra la la la la di da

The negative reviews have turned me off this film but reading more I feel that the negative reviews are from the idiots that hate slashers and FD series. For me anyways, I go to see the kids die and if they've changed it up and nothing more. I don't expect A+ writing or acting. It's simple but it's fun for a big screen. So now I'm back on for this but I think I'll see The Crazies first and maybe see this next weekend before I ship out. A comedy send off is what I'll need.
Forget It

#17 take your lips of Kevin Smith's cock and rethink what you just wrote. Best movie since the 90's? Wow. You must watch some pretty terrible shit if this is the "best movie" in over a decade. This film was mediocre at best, with good chemistry between the leads and fantastic cameos, otherwise it's a total Netflix rental. I'm quite baffled at how you think this is movie magic? I'm just going to assume you are a fanboy or someone who has no idea what a good movie really is. But when I think about it...I'm not surprised your post exists, I mean go look at the review for Transformers 2 and look at the fucktards that claims it's the best movie ever. Some people are just too easy to please.
Bum Love

I will not be seeing this because I try not to buy tickets to movies that look like ass. I think this Ebert quote best sums up Kevin Smith and his fans: "If you combine the enthusiasms of a geek with the toilet humour of a third-grader, you’ll be pretty close to defining the art of Kevin Smith." - Roger Ebert Perfect summary.
Lazarus from Sparta!!! DEATHKLOK RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

People...we really didn't see the same movie....IT WAS SO F'ING HILARIOUS!!! I LAUGHED TIL I COULDN'T LAUGH NO MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sure there were long slow moments, but the chemistry of Willis & Morgan is perfect! And the ending OMFG!!! The ending was the greatest comedic moment I've seen since the special cameo of someone in Zombieland!!!!!!!!!!
Brian Ricci

I liked it. Much more than I thought I would.
Cody

Basing off these posts theres no such thing as a casual moviegoer anymore, your either a hardcore movie buff who examines every fucking part or your a total sheeple who wouldn't know a good movie from his ass #17. You guys need to chill out and just enjoy it for what it is..entertainment. There are some movies that should be picked apart for there awesomeness(The dark knight) or picked apart cause there way over-hyped and don't deserve nearly as much praise as they get (Avatar). This is right in between its not amazing but it doesnt totally suck, this doesnt even deserve a review because everyone knew what they would be seeing before they walked into the theater, Move on and comment on something that actually deserves it.
Ken

I didn't find anything in the previews to be remotely funny aside from the knock knock joke part. Then again Tracy Morgan's voice kinda annoys me so that could be another deterrent.
Bill

If only the movie had been 1/100th as entertaining as some of the comments on this board. Quite possibly the most laugh free comedy I've seen in years. At least crap like Role Models and Youth in Revolt had a couple of funny scenes in them. Beverly Hills Chihuahua was a laugh riot compared to this.
Angry Chief

This movie sucked so bad that I killed myself in the theater, halfway through. I am a ghost now, and I am typing this from my ghost computer.
Spencer

#30. that is fucking funny.
http://www.vimeo.com/user2796852 cyrus the virus

loved this movie. my gf really liked it too.
Angry Chief

@32 That'll do, pig.
xan

@32 titanic was gay and you're gay for liking it... makes sense why you hated transformers, avatar, and 300; they weren't gay (well maybe 300 was a little).
xCloudbox

I did like Kevin Smith.. when he was doing movies like Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy. I even really enjoyed Clerks 2. For those of you saying "oh it was great because of the movie references" What is this, an episode of Family Guy? For those of you saying, "he took a pay cut" Yeah.. his pay cut which still equals 10 years of my salary.. Oh, boo hoo.. He's really hurting on that one.. The trailers were not funny to me. It seems comedy movies have really gone downhill in the past few years. It's really been hard to get me to laugh lately. I didn't enjoy "The Hangover", which seems to be everyone's favorite movie nowadays. So, I'll wait to rent this or download it, if I do actually watch it at all. Side note: Paid to watch The Crazies. I'd say it was worth my money. Unlike this movie.
JMoney

xCloudbox I didnt mention the pay cut for any reason other than to rebut the other buddy saying he only did this WB movie for the money. obviously he gets paid way more than we will ever make, but my point was he didnt sell out for bigger bucks for a studio movie.
SlashBeast

Smith refuses to understand how to use a camera. This just shows his immaturity as a director.
Mike (not really)

I had a lot of fun in this movie, and I really think that's all they were trying for. Smith has some pacing problems throughout, but I actually think he has some potential as a filmmaker and want to see what else he can do with a budget and a less uneven story. I think most of the critics who disliked this film were unfairly comparing it to other kevin smith efforts. As entertaining as the dude is and as active online as he is, he's never really been as talented as the critics wanted him to be. While this movie likes the insight into humanity that Smith wanted to mine in clerks and chasing amy, it makes less mistakes along the way and is true to what it is. In those films, the fact that the character's were hung up on their gf's sexual past totally took me out of it, whereas in cop out i was actually totally engaged in where the story was taking me, and I wanted to go there. If you go to this movie, don't expect a new classic-just expect some good old fashioned mother-fucking HOMM-AGE.
http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

Can you please keep the conversation about the movie itself and what you think of it. Do not personal attack other writers or anyone on this site or your comment will be removed. Stick to the topic at hand and do not use extremely offensive language or you will be banned. #20 - I didn't get to see The Crazies until last night. I really dug it but at this point it's too late to do a Sound Off post for that movie. We don't have to do one for every movie, just the ones that I think will be good to discuss.
EJP

Alex - Hope you put the Sound Off for Alice in Wonderland up early for all of us who are going to the Thursday midnight show.
Insert Name

I saw this on Friday and thought it was hilarious, the only downfall was too many of the jokes being spoiled int the trailer. @22 you clearly have no sense of humor because Kevin Smith is, along with Apatow, one of the best comedy writer/directors out there @Alex i find rotten tomatoes to be a terrible source of reviews, imdb is far more accurate in terms of how good a move is
AB

I was disappointed. I read the script a long time ago (when it was called A Couple of Dicks) and it was much better than this. It was darker and more serious. I think Kevin Smith needs to let someone else edit his movies. They just don't work that well. Also, the music was terrible. I know it was an homage (or ah-mij) to the 80's synth score but it was way over done. He should of used Jaime again to do a knockoff of the Beverly Hills theme, not the guy that originally did the theme to do it again. Also, SWS steals the movie. I was really disappointed he wasn't in more scenes. The stuff with Brody and Pollock was like watching paint dry. SWS came in and gave the movie some life outside of the Willis/Morgan pairing. Lastly, I am a fan of Smith's films, but this was just a big swing and a miss for him-- I hope he'll do another broad movie, but something more original and not a knock-off of everything we've ever seen in a cop film.
Drake-Varsten

@22 This coming from a person who names him/herself "bum love"...right give me a good reason why I should pay attention to what you say Mr. Butt Pirate >.> Anyways yes and no for whether the movie was good or not, yes because Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan and along with Sean William Scott was an awesome combo and hilarity does ensue, but of course not always. Though overall I believe it was a good movie (definitely not the best movie Kevin Smith has directed) though I beg to differ when compared to Smith's earlier movies such as Dogma (which by the way he actually protested against pretending to NOT be kevin smith haha *youtube it if you people do not understand what I am talking about*)
http://johnkuehlonline.blogspot.com John

I saw this movie on Friday. Just awesome. I loved the cheesy 80's music, the completely random side story with Adam Brody and Kevin Pollack, and pretty much everything else. I read the reviews over at Rotten Tomatoes before going and yours as well, and I honestly don't think you really understood what the movie was about. It clearly did not take itself seriously. Everything from the cheesy taking their badges away scene to Tracy Morgan having a glove box full of extra badges; this was meant to be a spoof. Even the final scenes of the movie, when Tracy Morgan has the gun holster over his orange polo, it was just money. I am sorry you didn't like it Alex, but sometimes you just have horrible taste in movies (M. Bay movies).
sickdoghats

@#43 i could not have said it better myself. im going to see it again this wendsday
Logan

This movie was so good that it reminded me of tender moments I shared with my Uncle.
Bum Love

Apparently the original #22 got deleted....so my post, #23, got shifted to the #22 position....so several of the posts directed at the original #22 now appear to be directed at me....so now conformists are jumping on that bandwagon and writing comments in response to my post, LOL. Conformity at its finest.
Insert Name

No Bum Love, the comments are directed at you because of your Ebert quote. You being an idiot at its finest.
Insert Name

Insert Name, you have a great insecurity and lack of creativity....so much so that you can't even find two brain cells to put together a screen name. It's no surprise that you are a Kevin Smith fan.
xan

lol... a lot of venom in this chain. looks like @22 caught the worst of it... may his deleted post forever live in infamy. BTW, the movie was ok.. no bad, but definitely not one of Kevin Smith's finest but like someone said before, he didn't write it, just directed it. How many directors took a bad script and directed it into a good movie? Kevin Smith can't take all the credit (good or bad) since he's just working with what he was given.
sickdoghats

i would let bruce willis go ass to mouth any day of the week and im a guy and im strait
HUH

Kevin Smith did a poor job of getting the best of the talent hired. Tracy was his usual self and Sean killed his scenes with ease. Bruce looked as if he wished he didnt sign up for the role becuase there wasnt anything interesting about his character. I bet they never imagined he would take the role and it went down hill from there for Bruce.