Officer James Coffee (Ed Helms) is the laughing stock of the Detroit police force. He is inept and completely untrustworthy. When he screws up a drug bust and his girlfriend’s son, Kareem (Terrence Little Gardenhigh), tries to have him killed, Coffee & Kareem must team up to save their own lives and the woman that they both love, Vanessa (Taraji P. Henson).
The plotline is ridiculous, and that is alright. Every now and then you need to sit back and enjoy a film with little substance and just appreciate the film’s humor. The issue with the first thirty minutes of the film was how racially and politically charged it was. Nearly every line disrespected police officers, and the delivery of these intended moments of humor was all out of whack. Each “joke” was delivered like a statement rather than as a joke, and it made it difficult to appreciate the first portion of the film. The seemingly never ending banter between twelve year old students about “pigs” and how terrible police officers was a terrible turn off and would have borderline pushed viewers to the brink of turning off the film.
As the film progressed and the story began to develop more, the jokes became swifter, and the chemistry between Helms and Gardenhigh shined brightly. Their chemistry reminded me of the relationship between Sean William Scott and Bobb’e J. Thomas in Role Models (2008). They were hilarious and their ability to make comedy at the other’s expense was easy to appreciate. The story progressed further and further, the comedy picked up and the action scenes became more intense. What early on appeared to be a terrible waste of time, quickly began to make sense in terms of a comedy, and writer Shane Mack and director Michael Dowse began to look more and more competent.
While the film fell short of the expectations I had (greatly due to the admiration I have for Helms as an actor and comic), it was so ridiculous that it, in some ways, worked. From beginning to end there were struggles with the acting, the dialogue and the racially charged aspect of the film. It falls short in these categories on many occasions and left a lot to be desired from Helms and the rest of the ensemble. However, the mindless comedy, and the irrefutable ridiculousness of it all allowed for some semblance of appreciation. There were no layers to the story, and there was nothing to be learned from anything that took place in the film; this was simply an escape from reality.
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