Blu-ray Review: COP OUT: Oddly plodding, and plays to Kevin Smith's biggest weaknesses

Say what you want about Kevin Smith, he knows how to make entertaining, mostly very funny films that appeal to people of fundamental levels without ever really getting too pre-occupied with grand notions or militant messages. And I thank him for everything he has brought to screen so far: his sub-culture commentaries are always nailed on - especially when you're talking about Clerks and Clerks II- and you know you're doing something right when you encourage as much vocal criticism (and occasionally apoplectic rage) as you do praise.

Smith's writing is always hilarious, and always more than the collection of dick and shit jokes that it is perpetually called out as by the critically opposed sections of his audiences. It has been two years since Zack and Miri Make A Porno hit screens, and I for one have waited with baited breath to see what the unofficial lord of the slackers, king of Generation What For? would bring to the table next. And the initial signs were good for Smith fans - his punned title Cop Out referring to having to change from the original title A Couple of Dicks hinting at that usual Smith naughtiness that appeals to his fans.

Trouble is, Cop Out isn't really Kevin Smith's work: it is the first feature that Smith has directed without also penning it - that duty being shared between brothers Robb and Mark Cullen, so it is also a bit of an unknown quality. There's also the fact that the film is more a meta-film, or a pastiche than anything else, and Smith hasn't really faired so well with critics or audiences when he has strayed too far from what he knows best.

Bruce Willis stars as Jimmy, a veteran cop who is robbed by a parkour specialist (Seann William Scott) while attempting to sell an $80,000 baseball card to pay for his daughter's wedding. Inevitably, he is forced to rope in the help of his wise-cracking, streetwise partner Paul (Tracy Morgan) with whom he has shared a nine year professional relationship, despite them being chalk and cheese. If you ignore the whole baseball card crime, everything is pretty familiar, and it's even possible to imagine that Bruce Willis has already starred in something with exactly the same dynamic in his actioner past. Maybe that's why he looks mildly displeased...

At its heart Cop Out is a pastiche - a faithful parody of every buddy cop movie that has ever been released that at first looks like an attempt to reinvigorate the genre, until you realise it's just poking gentle fun at the genre. The dynamic is familiar, but the premise is so silly as to appear to be no more than a flimsy narrative to drive the self-conscious parody. Unfortunately the comedy that underpins the parody just isn't funny enough, and you can't really ever shake off the feeling that the writing team spent far too much time trying to be like Smith, but not doing enough homework and simply reducing his formula for success to its basest elements and assuming aping them would work.

As a Kevin Smith fan, it is pretty difficult to admit this, but Cop Out simply isn't good enough. And at the root of the problem are two key elements:

Problem #1: Seann William Scott. I just don't think he should be encouraged to make any more films where he plays mangled versions of his Stiffler character. And shame on anyone who gives him a chance to perpetuate his rubber-faced, moronic goonery.

Problem #2: The script feels like it has been written by fans of Kevin Smith who are seeking to recreate his writing style and his sense of humour, but like Inception tells us someone else's idea is never going to feel completely authentic in pretending to belong to someone else. You have to believe that the employment of the brothers Cullen was a conscious attempt to retain the overall Smithness that would inevitably be lost from his withdrawal from wholesale film-maker to mere director, otherwise it looks like a grand case of narcissism on Smith's part.

The second problem is proportionally more to blame of course (though I still cant get over my annoyance that the first one had to be an issue at all). I think the greatest issue is not just that Smith did not write Cop Out, it's that you can't ever imagine that he would write it- the tone of the humour might suggest a Smithian world view, and a love of the grotesque that he would certainly be proud of, but Cop Out will never feel anything like a View Askew production.

Another reason for the film not fitting in with the rest of Smith's View Askew canon of work is the atypical use of ad-libbing: usually a crime punishable by death on a Smith production, it's all over the place in Cop Out, which perhaps says something about the director's confidence in his script-writers. The problem is that every time the actors stray from the script it' s all too patently obvious, and there is very little finesse at all. Such is the tale of the entire movie in fact: apparently to make up for its lack of genuine quality or humour, the film simply goes for the jugular with its frenetic speed, bombarding us with jokes and action but with little of the technical finesse that could have made it infinitely better. It's films like this that make you appreciate the restraint that went into making the Beverley Hills Cop trilogy.

I've already mentioned Willis' apparent disinterest in his performance (I'd fundamentally question the decision behind his involvement) and the film simply cannot hope to recover from such an ambivalence of its lead man, especially when all it has to fall back on is a Tracy Morgan performance that is almost as bad as his show in the US version of Death At A Funeral (I am yet to see 30 Rock, but if what I've seen of him on the big screen is anything to go by, I really don't understand the hype). Elsewhere Stiffler is just as teeth-grindingly infuriating as usual, and it's getting to the point where I fear that I am the only one sane enough to recognise the fact that he cannot act, and definitely shouldn't ever be charged with the heady duty of providing balance to Bruce Willis.

Again, as a Smith fan it is rather difficult to say this, but I don't think Smith has ever been a particularly good director. As a film-maker, especially of indie flicks, he was a real talent (though most would suggest his star faded almost a decade ago), but that talent was inherently linked to his script-writing. He has a way with words (most of them dirty) that combined with his ability as a story-teller make his films enormously endearing to the point where it's quite possible to forgive and to even ignore his lack of directing finesse. Robbing him of the writing duties is robbing him of his grip on the film, and is, dare I say it, playing to his weaknesses. That's why Cop Out feels oddly plodding; that's why there is just something essentially missing from its heart; and that's what I want Smith to return to his writing desk sooner rather than later.

Quality

If it weren't for some dips in quality, the transfer would be immaculate. But, those dips- chiefly instances of noise invasion- are very noticeable, considering the overall quality of most of the film. Having said that, detail throughout is strong, most visible edges are strongly defined and textures are faithfully retained despite a little softness in places. The sound in comparison is consistent, but even then it is simply sufficient without ever being a world-beater: crucially for any Kevin Smith production, the dialogue is all clean and crisp, which I'm sure would satisfy the big man considering his apparent dialogue fetish.

Extras

This is all about the Maximum Comedy Mode, which will be the major draw for Kevin Smith fans as it offers nearly 70 minutes of additional Smith footage as he pops up in the middle of scenes and interacts with them. It is definitively the most immersive feature yet offered to Smith fans on any of his home video releases so far, it's just a shame that it had to come with my least favourite of his films. The least said about the "Wisdom" from the Shit Bandit the better- it's basically just Stiffler popping up and interrupting the action with "hilarious" one-liners, and is exactly as good as you'd imagine a dribbling buffoon interrupting your film with nonsense and annoyance to be.

Maximum Comedy Mode, including picture in picture commentary, deleted scenes and outtakes. Focus Points (21 mins) Wisdom from the Shit Bandit (4 mins) Digital Copy DVD Copy Cop Out is released to Blu-ray, DVD and Duel-Format today. We are still giving away copies of the Blu-ray, so get your entries in!!