This Review Contains No Spoilers

The red carpet was rolled out at the storied Ziegfield Theater on Monday night for the premiere of “The Other Guys,” starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.  As one of the most highly anticipated releases of the summer, the not-so-buddy cop, action-comedy brought in some of Hollywood’s biggest names, and LocalBozo.com was fortunate enough to snag a few passes of our own.  The opposite side of the street was blocked off by a barricade, which did not prevent fans from lining up with cameras.  Some  of which were fortunate enough to snag a picture with the incredibly beautiful Eva Mendes, who greeted the fans and posed for some pictures as soon as she arrived.

Once we picked up our hard tickets from will call and strolled passed the red carpet section, it was up the stairs and into the theater lobby for complimentary popcorn, soda, pretzels, and water.  We were then ushered to our seats and waited for the movie to begin while gazing round the room, determining if Person A or Person B was an actor.  Evidently, a man that looked just like Luke Wilson was at the premiere, but it was definitely not him.  About five minutes before the film began, the big time stars all paraded down the aisle in front of us to take their seats.  Mendes.  Wahlberg.  Ferrell.  All just a few feet from us.  Admittedly, we were star-struck.

If you’ve never been to a premiere before (and we haven’t), it’s unlike any other event you’ve ever attended.  Everyone in the theater seems to know each other- making shallow banter, giving hugs and kisses to acquaintances, and perhaps most importantly- schmoozing the hell out of each other, knowing how the game is played.  The lights lowered and the film began, and essentially every name in the opening credits (literally, even the casting director) got a loud applause from the audience.

The film itself certainly had its moments, even though it admittedly did not provide the consistent gut-busting laughter that we were hoping for.  Typically movies that try to combine action sequences with comedy can spread themselves too thin on each front- i.e. a jack of all trades, yet a master of none- but I think The Other Guys was able to find a happy medium to make both work appropriately.  The premise surrounds Ferrell and Wahlberg as mismatched detectives, ill-equipped yet forced to team up together.  While Ferrell is content as a cop working a desk job at headquarters, Wahlberg yearns to be a superstar detective, and is relentless in his pursuit.  The backdrop for the story involves multinational corporation embezzlement and the detriment of big business to the everyday Main Street employee, a story which is literally ripped from the headlines.  Ferrell steals virtually every scene he appears in, and more than holds his own as the straight man to Wahlberg’s aggressive, short-tempered self.  It’s uncertain what it is about Ferrell playing a rational, reasoning, ordinary character that makes him so uncontrollably hilarious.  Perhaps it’s because he’s so damn likable.  Wahlberg’s performance was adequate, but he was clearly at his best when playing off of Ferrell’s comic foibles.  At a manageable one hour and forty minute run time, and with a cast including Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Rob Riggle, Ice-T, and Steve Coogan, to name a few, and Michael Keaton’s fantastic performance as the police Captain, “The Other Guys” is an entertaining, if not completely memorable movie that caters to Ferrell’s greatest comedic competencies and also provides a hell of a cameo that we won’t spoil for you here.

Post-movie, we boarded coach buses for transport to the official invite-only after-party at The Park on 18^th Street and Tenth Avenue.  Complete with appetizers, a buffet station, and a full open bar, it was a mere thirty minutes before the celebrities started arriving.  Aside from the entire cast (sans The Rock), singer Rob Thomas, 30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer, Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans, Jr (who has a nice role in the film), the still completely stunning Brooke Shields, SNL alum Ana Gasteyer, and Andy Buckley i.e. David Wallace from The Office, all made the rounds at the party.  All in all the after party was incredible, the movie was very good, and the excitement of the evening was unforgettable.

-  Jane Van Arsdale