The Other Guys/The American

The Other Guys

An adequately amusing film that doesn't do the cop movie parody as well as Hot Fuzz, and isn't as gloriously unhinged as Step Brothers, but still has enough nice moments (particularly side comments) that you should find entertaining. But enough about that, the misguided nature of the closing credits sequence is just bizarre. They follow a slapstick filled film starring Will ferrel with credits that try to make a serious social point about the financial crisis, the bailout, and income inequality in America. At first I thought it was a joke, but its not. The entire sequence is just one statistic after another saying that corporate america ripped us all off, got bailed out by the government, and that today america is more unequal then every time in society. Its really irrelevant whether or not the claims are true, the whole setting was just completely jarring and out of place. It would be like following Twilight with Fahrenheit 911. Or the time on an international flight when I watched Raging Bull after The Devil wears Prada (seriously, I did this. I think I can safely say I'm the only in the world to see that double feature).

The American

The movies opens with George Clooney and his companion being attacked in the woods in Sweden. The attack ends with the death of his girlfriend and he ends up hiding in a small italian village, while an associate tries to find out who put the hit out on him. Most of the films running time is spent with Clooney working to make a custom weapon for a client, and starts a relationship with a local prostitute (or as I like to call it, the cheboygan two step), and there is surprisingly little action for a film where the protagonist is a hitman. While I actually enjoyed the vibe of the film, I don't think its going to be tremendously successful, and I can see a lot of people not enjoying it. Its incredibly stylish and mannered, with the dialog being kept as spare as possible. Right until the end (where it gets rushed and jumps the rails a bit) the film maintains a stylish and hypnotic pacing, with most of the characters thoughts and motivations being left unsaid. All that said I could see how some people would find it slow and uneventful, but it worked for me. Its true that not a lot happens, but I think if you let the whole just play out you'll find the film to be a reasonably engaging character piece.