Hey guys, sorry for the late start this morning, I had a bit of an alarm clock malfunction. Possibly alcohol related. In any case, as promised, here’s part two of this week’s Frotcast. We talk this week’s episode of Louie, The Other Guys, and what it was like seeing UFC live in Oakland over the weekend, including scoring $500 tickets from Dana White. If you hate when we talk UFC and do Nick Ring impressions… you might just want to skip the last half hour. Enjoy.
I saw The Other Guys over the weekend, and though it was mostly just your standard, reasonably funny Will Ferrell/Adam McKay flick, the part we ended up discussing most after it was over was the closing credit sequence. Conveniently, that sequence is now online courtesy of Moviefone (don’t watch it if you consider a credit sequence that reveals nothing about the plot a spoiler). Here’s their description:
‘The Other Guys’ is a parody of old-school buddy-cop movies like the ‘Lethal Weapon’ films, but director/co-writer Adam McKay wanted to give it a realistically grandiose and relevant villain, which is the reason he turned to Wall Street. “All those old movies had drug-smuggling story lines — if you did that now, it would be quaint,” McKay told Entertainment Weekly earlier this summer. “Who gives a s— about guys selling drugs at this point? Crime has taken on massive proportions: destroying the Gulf of Mexico, stealing $80 billion. Stealing a billion dollars is nothing now — that’s almost adorable.”
Buried in the comedy is a serious point about what really constitutes grand theft these days, a point illustrated over the closing credits by a PowerPoint-like presentation full of jazzy infographics and serious statistics outlining just how much Wall Street and corporate leaders have enriched themselves at the expense of American workers and taxpayers. (All this while Rage Against the Machine cover Bob Dylan’s anti-corporate anthem ‘Maggie’s Farm’ on the soundtrack.) Even for moviegoers who are connoisseurs of end-credit sequences, this one stands out as unique.
I like the end-credit sequence on its own, but my first impression when I saw it was “Wow, this is reeeeally out of place.” When they say the serious point is buried in the comedy, they mean really buried. The Ponzi-scheme plot never fully came together during the movie, and seemed more like a torn-from-the-headlines premise that was kind of a take-off of cop shows like Law & Order or CSI, just like the rest of the movie was a tongue-in-cheek take-off of mainstream cop stuff. Which was fine, it was just a skeleton around which to build Will Ferrell improv jokes about Tunas fighting lions and astronaut food and I accepted it as such. If they wanted to make a movie with a serious point, they could have, but it seemed like they didn’t. The only serious-point part was the end-credits sequence itself, which just makes it feel like a separate entity.
Anyway, sorry for the semi-serious interlude here, it just seemed like a lot of you had seen the film, and that you might want to discuss some of its finer points like gentlemen. Which is why I put this ascot and top hat on a kitty.
Slight correction: kitty refuses to wear ascot
The Other Guys became the first new release in four weeks to take the top spot from Inception, earning an estimated $35.6 million. It looks to play strongly, while the other broad comedy, Dinner for Schmucks, dropped all the way to number five, and looks like it may not earn out. Analysts are saying that may have something to do with The Other Guys being funny and Dinner for Schmucks feeling like it was written by fifth graders. …What’s that? Oh, so you’re saying I don’t qualify as an “analyst” now? Whatever.
Even in its fourth weekend, Inception‘s 32% fall from the previous weekend was the softest of all the major releases. It’s a throwback to the days when blockbusters would hold their spots for two or three months at a time, and also to the days when movies weren’t as sucky. Or something like that. Look, I’m not good with good news, okay?
Meanwhile, Step Up 3D wasn’t nearly the hit that some people no one was predicting it was going to be. It made five million less than the first Step Up, three million less than the second, and would’ve done far worse if it hadn’t made 81% of its money on more expensive 3D showings. Attendance was bad. But what did you expect? You can’t just replace Channing Tatum with some other mumbly wigger and expect that no one will notice. This is just like when The Fast and the Furious tried to replace Paul Walker. Uh uh, son, you can’t buy that kind of charisma off the rack. If the analogy holds true, C-Tates better start getting in shape for 5tep Up to the 5treet5, when they give him a big paycheck to reunite the original cast. I for one can’t wait.
After the jump, you can watch Will Ferrell’s new NYPD recruitment video, created for Funny or Die as promotion for The Other Guys. I would’ve put it at the beginning of this post, but I really wanted to use that screen cap as the banner image. Fat guy dancing, gratuitous crotch bulge, leotards — it really has everything. As for the video, SPOILER ALERT: it’s funny.
In newsier news, The Wrap is reporting that Ferrell has signed on to star in a Spanish-language comedy called “Casa de mi Padre,” which, if my Spanish serves me, roughly translates to “The Snakes of the Toilet.” Wait, did I say Spanish? I did indeed. Like with subtitles and everything.
Ferrell is attached to star in and produce a Spanish-language comedy titled “Casa de mi padre,” an individual familiar with the project has told TheWrap.
Ferrell will produce through his company Gary Sanchez Productions, where the project is in development.
Ferrell’s publicist would neither confirm nor deny his involvement to TheWrap.
Based on what I know of Spanish TV, I assume Ferrell will play either a busty socialite or a giant baby licking a lollipop. Play me off, accordion cat. (*paints zebra stripes on a donkey*)
The early word I’m hearing on Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s The Other Guys is that it’s pants-sh*ttingly funny. It opens this weekend and my hope is to pay using the refund I demanded after Dinner for Schmucks. It’s got a great cast, including last week’s Frotcast guest Rob Huebel, and this four-minute clip will introduce you to most of them. I only watched the first minute or so, because I’m trying not to ruin all the jokes in this before I see it. You guys can watch it though. Not like I care what you do. Anyway, the reviews are starting to trickle in today, and my favorite part is how many people are praising it by pointing out that it’s not like Cop Out. I’m still waiting for someone to use “Not produced, written, or directed by M. Night Shyamalan” in an opening credit sequence. I think it’d be effective.
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