There are a few different ways to look at the new buddy cop film “Cop Out,” and unfortunately for the movie, it only works as one of them.
The film follows two long-term detective partners who are struggling with their own personal issues. Jimmy (Bruce Willis) is dealing with a bitter ex-wife who wants her new, rich husband to pay for their daughter’s wedding. Paul (Tracy Morgan) is a bumbling junior partner who fears that his hot wife is cheating on him. When Jimmy tries to sell a rare baseball card to pay for his daughter’s wedding, the store is robbed, and the thieves take the card. Jimmy and Paul try to recover the stolen card, which leads them to a conspiracy with a local Mexican gang.
On the surface, one might be tempted to think this is a good cop film with Bruce Willis as the centerpiece. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t work that way at all. With Tracy Morgan as the goofy character, that leaves Willis as the straight man. The problem with that is that Willis just brings a different version of John McClane from “Die Hard,” and that really isn’t a straight man to anyone’s Jerry Lewis.
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