The Whole Delivery

That was a needed one for Will Ferrell, to have a good week to go along with very good reviews for his movie . The Other Guys (Sony) expectedly knocked off Inception as the #1 domestic movie with a right-on-target $13.2 million Friday and $12.6 million Saturday and an estimated $9.8 million today from 3,651 theaters. That was a very big $35.6M opening weekend for the $90M budget buddy cop comedy. Sony Pictures' summer hit streak (Karate Kid - $173M, Grown Ups - $152M, Salt - $78M) continues with what the studio believes will be another strong performer this weekend. Opening weekend exit surveys showed the gender breakdown for the film skewed male (56%) and somewhat younger with 55% under 25, including 18% under 17. Inception continued its strong effort with another impressive weekend at #2, while Step Up 3D knew that it was in trouble finishing behind the Chris Nolan powerhouse movie in 3rd with just $15.5 million garnered. And for sure, we can all say that "Charlie ...

Indeed so, as "The Other Guys" produces an unexpected tweet for the masses, and is certainly Will Ferrell's best effort in several years. Him and Mark Wahlberg show fine and fun chemistry, and Adam McKay directs this movie away from the usual run of the mill crap that permeates our movie comedy culture now. The Roeper man says Kevin Smith should take notes on how to make a fun cop buddy film: It's a smart perspective, focusing on the low end hapless guys on the force instead of the headliners. And as the astute James Berardinelli says, McKay is able to get the best out of Ferrell : It's like a Batman movie that tracks one of Commissioner Gordon's underlings. Also, the filmmakers don't overplay their hand. Once they have milked the idea for maximum comedic value, they switch up things. As with many action-comedies, this one expends a little too much running time on narrative and the comedic momentum flags during the final half hour as the more tradit...