Rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, violence and brief sexuality.
Directed by Kevin Smith (Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Clerks II, Dogma)
Starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan
Sure it’s a Cop Out to make an ’80s throwback buddy cop comedy, but I dare you not to laugh out loud while watching this one.
Cop Out is a comedy about a veteran NYPD cop, Jimmy Munroe (Bruce Willis), whose rare baseball card is stolen. That card is his only hope to pay for his daughter's upcoming wedding, so he recruits his dimwitted partner Paul Hodges (Tracy Morgan) to track down the gangster.
There are definitely some hilarious moments in this film. If you’ve seen the trailer, you have already seen a few…but trust me there are plenty more you haven’t. Bruce Willis is perfect as the straight man, while Tracy Morgan spews his lines (and sometimes a lot more) in rapid fire succession. The two make a prefect odd couple. Finally there is Seann William Scott, who perfectly plays a thief who happens to be into parkour (CLICK HERE for David R. Smith’s parkour article). Scott adds some hilarious icing on an already hilarious cake.
Yeah, it’s a familiar formula and I suspect it wasn’t a difficult film for cast or crew to make. Cop Out will remind you of Beverly Hills Cop and Lethal Weapon – I mean even the soundtrack is from the ’80s. Smith clearly loves the genre and pays outrageous homage (or as Tracy Morgan says “hommage”) to it. If it weren’t for the 100+ F-words, this would have been a ‘Theater Worthy’ movie for sure…but because Smith decided to make everyone a “potty-mouth” I have to go with a ‘rental.’
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
I wish they could. My kids have cracked up every time we see the trailer, but the language is way too much for their young ears.
Side Note:
As said above, we don’t recommend your kids see this film. But on the occasion that they actually have already seen it, you may want to dialogue about the film with them. These questions below may be a help to you.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
