Kevin Smith's "Cop Out" (aka "A Couple of Dicks")

[Gerald]

The one where Jim Norton plays a tattooed street thug. Also the first Smith film where he had no hand in the screenwriting.

Trailer:

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[Fallon]

Ehhhhh... not a super strong trailer. I'll still see it because of the cast. But that didn't get more any more excited.

[Tenbatsuzen]

The one where Jim Norton plays a tattooed street thug. Also the first Smith film where he had no hand in the screenwriting.

Trailer:

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Wait, WHAT?

Someone hired Smith to direct yet not write a film?

I thought Smith's strengths and weaknesses were reversed - good writer, lousy director.

[Kevin]

Wait, WHAT?

Someone hired Smith to direct yet not write a film?

I thought Smith's strengths and weaknesses were reversed - good writer, lousy director.



He isnt good at any of those.

[epo]

Either way I think getting Smith to fragment his work is a very good thing. He seems incapable of doing "full process" film work at this point in his career.

[TheGameHHH]

this kind of looks like it sucks

[epo]

this kind of looks like it sucks

That's saying it nicely.

[underdog]

Either way I think getting Smith to fragment his work is a very good thing. He seems incapable of doing "full process" film work at this point in his career.

He's the Mike Holmgren of the film industry.

[underdog]

It's like they took every actor that can only act one way and put them all into a movie.

[Kevin]

He's the Mike Holmgren of the film industry.



He only can succeed when his actors are just having fun out there.

[Dirtbag]

I don't get Tracy Morgan.

[SP1!]

I don't get Tracy Morgan.

Hes not funny and hes usually annoying but for some reason people love him

[sailor]

I don't get Tracy Morgan.

i love him

[Chigworthy]

Hes not funny and hes usually annoying but for some reason people love him

But, he's that crazy, over-the-top black guy who straddles the line of ghetto and harmless so as to make him accessible to white people.

[KingGeno]

I will not see this movie.

[Tall_James]

Smith has his own zombies that will see anything with his name attached to it. Don't think the producers don't realize that.

[pennington]

Smith has his own zombies that will see anything with his name attached to it.

Only if Jay & Silent Bob are in it.

[opie's twisted balls]

I don't get Tracy Morgan.
I think his sweet spot is in something like 30 Rock. Short segments where he can act like a doorknob and be kind of funny. Definitely not strong enough to pull off being the star or leading character in a full length film.

[burrben]

i'll see this, i dont care what you nerds say

[drusilla]

Saw the trailer tonight before Sherlock Holmes...not well received.

[Gerald]

I hope the softening of the title doesn't mean that they're trying for a PG-13 rating on the theatrical release (which would then almost certainly be followed by a TOO HOT 4 THEATRES unrated dvd). The last time KS went down the PG-13 route on Jersey Girl, his street cred took a major hit. The PG-13 vibe I detected from the trailer bothers me more than the generic nature of what appears to be standard material of mismatched cops who, over the course of a pivotal case, overcome their differences to become buddies.

I don't worship at the altar of Smith, but I've enjoyed everything he's done to varying degrees except for Clerks II, which I thought came off like a desperate attempt to appease his disgruntled fans after he subjected them to Ben Affleck being a widowed dad. Racial epithets and bestiality just seemed so forced. Ultimate fatal flaw in that film for me was the fantasy element of Rosario Dawson working in a fast food joint and being attracted to a loser coworker like Dante. The best thing about the great, original Clerks was in its observational humor of a convenience store atmosphere, and I thought in the sequel the onus drifted too far away from workplace comedy.

[ScottFromGA]

Hes not funny and hes usually annoying but for some reason people love him

cause dat nigga is funny, yo!


no seriously, he really is a funny man....I loved when he was on O&A and he had to leave cause he couldn't take what they were doing. What was it, the bees on the sack bit?

[SP1!]

But, he's that crazy, over-the-top black guy who straddles the line of ghetto and harmless so as to make him accessible to white people.
Yeah, thats not funny and it makes him look like a caricature of black men.

I think his sweet spot is in something like 30 Rock. Short segments where he can act like a doorknob and be kind of funny. Definitely not strong enough to pull off being the star or leading character in a full length film.
I think this is it, hes funny in small doses but after 15mins or so he needs to stfu, there have been many times when he was on OnA where he ruined the flow of the show.

[pennington]

Ultimate fatal flaw in that film for me was the fantasy element of Rosario Dawson working in a fast food joint and being attracted to a loser coworker like Dante.

It's been a while since I saw Clerks II but wasn't Rosario Dawson's uncle the owner of the franchise and she was temporarily running it because he was sick or recovering from something?

The problem with Kevin Smith is when he gets away from his fan base. He built up a community of characters that he can weave through his films to keep his loyal fan base amused but still make sense to everyone else (Jay & Silent Bob in Dogma were perfect). Then he walks away from the View Askew universe he created to do something "original". His other problem is his seeming obsession with toilets and bowel movements (how many times did we have to see that little girl sitting on the toilet in Jersey Girl?).

I'll rent Cop Out when it comes out on DVD. It looks like Kevin Smith directed because he needed a pay check. Bruce Willis has a new young wife and an expensive lifestyle so it's a paycheck for him too. Tracy Morgan is probably thinking this is his chance to break into the big time (and they probably got him cheap). I agree with others in this thread, Tracy gets fatiguing quickly and should be used in small doses. I'm not optimistic, I would be happy, though, if this turned out to be a good comedy.

[Willmore]

Didn't they change the name back to "A Couple of Dicks" after the outrage of changing it to "Cop Out"?

[KingModem]

Awful.

[Gerald]

Oh snap!

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[pennington]

Oh snap!

It was nicely directed, though.

[Gerald]

It was nicely directed, though.

Yeah, I guess. Maybe this film will be a bridge toward Kevin excelling in both areas of writing and direction in the future. I'm going to see it to continue the habit of seeing everything he does, and I'm relieved that it's not PG-13, but I'm honestly not expecting much. Hopefully it'll surprise.

[pennington]

Yeah, I guess. Maybe this film will be a bridge toward Kevin excelling in both areas of writing and direction in the future. I'm going to see it to continue the habit of seeing everything he does, and I'm relieved that it's not PG-13, but I'm honestly not expecting much. Hopefully it'll surprise.

I'll probably wait and rent it. I'm a fan but I don't consider this a "Kevin Smith" movie since he didn't write it.

I've said this is other threads but the problem for me with Smith is he created this unique universe with recurring characters, actors and themes. Then he threw it away and said he doesn't want to do that anymore. He's now just a so-so director and writer of other people's films.

[KnoxHarrington]

Every time I see an ad for this disaster, I hate it a little more.

If Southwest had just said they kicked Smtih off that flight for being a hack, not for being fat, no one would say a word to them.

[Sue_Bender]

Every time I see an ad for this disaster, I hate it a little more.

If Southwest had just said they kicked Smtih off that flight for being a hack, not for being fat, no one would say a word to them.

:clap:

[Crispy123]

Every time I see an ad for this disaster, I hate it a little more.

If Southwest had just said they kicked Smtih off that flight for being a hack, not for being fat, no one would say a word to them.

Although I want to see this movie based only on my love of 30 Rock, I agree that SouthWest would have been better served to "tweet" something about the captain kicking him off for Jersey Girl instead of responding to his pussy ass tirade.

I have little to no sympathy for fatties bitching about anything, much less rich Hollywood fatties.

[Gerald]

Bravo @thatkevinsmith LOVED! Cop Out! Congrats my friend.



Cop Out was fanny as fuck. Really good. Here's my pal Bruce. I didn't want to bother him. http://moby.to/so4zyh


.

[Gerald]

It's getting brutalized by critics. 10 of the 12 reviews on the Tomatometer so far are total pans.

I suppose it's possible O&A singing the praises of it was a matter of them wanting to do a solid for their pal Kevin Smith since he hooked them up with access to the New York premiere party.

[danner1515]

I really like Kevin Smith, but it seems like he's really hit a rough patch lately. This one looks pretty bad. I've also noticed how it seems the studio is going out of their way to not market this as a Kevin Smith movie.

[OGC]

It's getting brutalized by critics. 10 of the 12 reviews on the Tomatometer so far are total pans.

I suppose it's possible O&A singing the praises of it was a matter of them wanting to do a solid for their pal Kevin Smith since he hooked them up with access to the New York premiere party.

I haven't listened to this morning's show yet. Have O&A mentioned the Rotten Tomato rate of this movie yet or are they still praising it ?

[sailor]

I haven't listened to this morning's show yet. Have O&A mentioned the Rotten Tomato rate of this movie yet or are they still praising it ?

not saying it'll be great, but you know there are a whopping 12 people who've reviewed it on there so far?

[Gerald]

I haven't listened to this morning's show yet. Have O&A mentioned the Rotten Tomato rate of this movie yet or are they still praising it ?

Something tells me they'll be ixnay on the Tomatometer for this one if the downward trend continues, even though this percentage is something they usually bring up for the new releases. I get it, though...they're friendly with the guy and they're not going to cast anything he does in a negative light. It's understandable. On their broadcast after the premiere, they kicked things off by sarcastically saying the movie sucked, laughing nervously, and then commenting that it'd be hard to objectively analyze it after the pomp and circumstance of seeing it with the cast and crew. So at least a little frankness was inserted into the Cop Out dialogue.

you know there are a whopping 12 people who've reviewed it on there so far?

I understand there's still plenty of time for the tide to turn. I only brought it up because I looked at the names of those going negative, and a lot of them were top critics with credibility. Not many "Wake Up Winnipeg!" type sources have chimed in so far.

I'm still seeing it. I hope I like it. I never walk into anything wanting either to hate it or to be in lockstep with whatever the critical consensus is.

[thepaulo]

my take on this is simple.
Kevin Smith says fuck the fanboys.
He's friends with Bruce Willis after Die Hard 4.
Bruce says look I get a load of crap scripts. He brings Smith in to just fuck with the whole system. They make the film as a goof. As a result it is a very loose and fun and retarded and juvenile take on 80's buddy cop movies. Harold Faltermeyer does the music for fuck sake.
The biggest question mark is Tracey Morgan as a saggy mutant form of Eddie Murphy.
I'm betting this will be one of Bruce's biggest non sequel movies in years and Smith's biggest hit ever. Again fuck the fanboys.

[dereckfishboy]

my take on this is simple.
Kevin Smith says fuck the fanboys.
He's friends with Bruce Willis after Die Hard 4.
Bruce says look I get a load of crap scripts. He brings Smith in to just fuck with the whole system. They make the film as a goof. As a result it is a very loose and fun and retarded and juvenile take on 80's buddy cop movies. Harold Faltermeyer does the music for fuck sake.
The biggest question mark is Tracey Morgan as a saggy mutant form of Eddie Murphy.
I'm betting this will be one of Bruce's biggest non sequel movies in years and Smith's biggest hit ever. Again fuck the fanboys.

I love you, paul

[thepaulo]

I love you, paul


I love you fishboy

[mikeyboy]

get a room

[thepaulo]

I thought ronfez.net had special rooms.

[Gerald]

O&A acknowledged the brutal reviews today after Tracy Morgan blew them off for Howard. Apparently Warner Bros. has shielded anyone associated with the film from appearing on 202, even regulars like Kevin and Stiffler.

Here's Ebert's scathing critique btw:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100224/REVIEWS/100229988


Jimmy and Paul are cops hunkered down across the street from a stakeout when they see a mysterious figure run across rooftops and break into a house. Seconds later, he can clearly be seen in an upper window, sitting on a toilet and reading a magazine. "What kind of a guy breaks into a house and takes a crap?" asks Paul, or words to that effect.

Paul explains he always delays this elementary function until he gets home. He's not relaxed until then. But once he's home -- ooohhh boy! Then he lets loose. He describes the results in great detail. The walls, the ceilings. All right! I'm thinking, all right, already! I got it! Mudslide! Paul isn't finished. Now he's talking about the reaction of the neighbors.

How do you know this is a scene from a Kevin Smith film? The imitation of a 9-year-old describing bodily functions might be a clue. But the clincher is when that mysterious guy runs across the rooftops. Paul (Tracy Morgan) explains to his partner Jimmy (Bruce Willis): "That's known as parkour. It's a new martial art."

Well, thanks, Paul. I didn't know that until yesterday, when it was explained in "District 13: Ultimatum." What synchronicity. That other movie co-stars the man who gave parkour its name. The movie is filled with it. I suspect its presence as a brief walk-on in "Cop Out" can be explained this way: Kevin found out about it, thought it was cool and slipped in a little quick parkour for fun.

If you combine the enthusiasms of a geek with the toilet humor of a third grader, you'll be pretty close to defining the art of Kevin Smith. Hey, I'm not complaining. If we lose our inner third grader, we begin to die. When the muse visits him, Smith gets inspired and makes fun movies like "Zack and Miri Make a Porno." Alas, "Cop Out" is not one of those movies. With his clueless cop, Tracy Morgan is forced to go way over the top; Bruce Willis seems eager to have a long, sad talk with his agent, and Kevin Pollak, who gets co-star billing, does at least appear for longer than a quark at Fermilab.

"Cop Out" tells your standard idiotic story about buddy cops who screw up, get suspended by the captain and redeem themselves by overthrowing a drug operation while searching for the valuable baseball card Jimmy wants to sell to pay for his daughter's wedding. Paul spends an unreasonable amount of time dressed as a cell phone, considering there is nothing to prevent him from taking it off.

A lot of the dialogue is intended as funny, but man, is it lame. Many of the gags possibly looked good on paper, but watching Willis and Morgan struggle with them is like watching third graders do Noel Coward, if Noel Coward had been rewritten by Kevin Smith.

Years ago, at St. Joseph's Boys' Camp, there was this Chicago kid named Bob Calvano who was naturally hilarious around the campfire every night. Then I'd get up and flop with my memorized bits from Buddy Hackett records. "Ebert," he advised me kindly, "it isn't funny if you act like it's supposed to be funny. Act like you don't know." All I can do is pass along Calvano's advice.

[K.C.]

Apparently Warner Bros. has shielded anyone associated with the film from appearing on 202, even regulars like Kevin and Stiffler.


The only one that's done any radio is Tracy, and why they think he would go against what the publicists set up and demand to go on O&A is beyond me.

The funny thing is that Kevin actually likes them, put Jimmy in the movie, called them from the set, invited them to the set and invited them to the premiere...what the hell more do they possibly want?

[Contra]

O&A acknowledged the brutal reviews today after Tracy Morgan blew them off for Howard. Apparently Warner Bros. has shielded anyone associated with the film from appearing on 202, even regulars like Kevin and Stiffler.

Here's Ebert's scathing critique btw:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100224/REVIEWS/100229988

I miss Siskel

[Furtherman]

I miss Ebert's jaw.

[KnoxHarrington]

I think the Pentagon doesn't hide nuke secrets as completely as the advertising for this turd hide the fact Kevin Smith directed it.

[Meataball23]

I miss Siskel

He was the best

[thepaulo]

I miss Siskel


The damm cancer made him miss so many movies.

[Gerald]

Having seen Cop Out, I can say the only thing associated with the film that's funny to me is Kevin Smith's response to its merciless critical drubbing. He's hilariously resorted to the defense that the opinions of internet denizens matter more than people who get paid to analyze films professionally. This rings more than a little hollow considering that it's coming from a guy who's obsessively mocked and ridiculed online inhabitants for a lot of his career. He fashioned an entire film in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back around this obsession, for Pete's sake.

Kevin, you made a shit film. It happens to the best, it happens to the rest. I don't doubt that the making of it was a blast for everyone involved, especially for you since you got way outside your comfort zone and tried something radically different, but the revelry failed to translate to the screen and the end result was fairly disastrous. Take your lumps like a man and stop embarrassing yourself by going with the defense that your work is above professional criticism.

For a guy awash in masochistic self-deprecation about his physical appearance, he's awfully prone to extreme intervals of hypersensitivity about anyone criticizing his cinematic output. The self-important warpath he went on against Joel Siegel comes to mind in this regard.

[Chigworthy]

I miss Ebert's jaw.

I don't.

[thepaulo]

I don't.

It was too jowly.

[thepaulo]

Cop out is the biggest opening weekend of Kevin Smith's career. I called it.

Scorsese's doing good too.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ia1FPSxXY_CtWNU2djwNxRbGiU3wD9E59HQG0

[pennington]

Opening in third was the "The Crazies" with $16.5 million. The horror movie is a remake of George Romero's 1970s fright flick about a small town hit with an epidemic of insanity.

That's more surprising than the Bruce Willis/Tracy Morgan numbers.

[WampusCrandle]

i saw it and thought it was pretty funny and entertaining.

[brettmojo]

Cop out is the biggest opening weekend of Kevin Smith's career. I called it.

Scorsese's doing good too.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ia1FPSxXY_CtWNU (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ia1FPSxXY_CtWNU2djwNxRbGiU3wD9E59HQG0)2djwNx RbGiU3wD9E59HQG0 (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ia1FPSxXY_CtWNU2djwNxRbGiU3wD9E59HQG0)

Directed by Kevin Smith, "Cop Out" stars Willis and Morgan as veteran detectives trying to retrieve a stolen baseball card from a memorabilia-obsessed gangster.Wow... Really?

[Contra]

I'm still holding out hope, although I'm sure it's no Last Boy Scout.

[Dan 'Hampton]

It's getting about 60% posistive on RT community. For what that's worth.

[JohnGacysCrawlSpace]

I saw Cop Out on Saturday night and it was nothing special. A few laughs here and there. Mostly, it just killed an hour and a half and made my $10.50 disappear. Don't kill yourself to go see it.

[Contra]

I saw Cop Out on Saturday night and it was nothing special. A few laughs here and there. Mostly, it just killed an hour and a half and made my $10.50 disappear. Don't kill yourself to go see it.

I'm worried about killing myself after seeing it.

[S0S]

Kevin Smith called into Opie & Anthony today to plug the DVD coming out and the commentary track.

[S0S]

^ Commentary is only in the blu-ray version.

[Serpico1103]

Saw Cop Out last night. Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis were great together. Movie was too cheesy to not be a spoof, but not cheesy enough to be a good one. Worth watching, but I think Kevin was the wrong choice for this type of movie.