There are films out there that are meant to be made to earn some quick cash with no real plans afterward. "Let's Be Cops" is one of those films that made quite a lot of money for its low budget of $17 million and completely vanished soon after. It made enough money that should allow the studio to make a cash-grab sequel, but they never did. Was it because critics panned it to oblivion or maybe the filmmakers felt that their film had a definitive conclusion? Would it be a surprise if I tell you that it's a bit of both? Well, let's go over the story. Justin Miller and Ryan O'Malley are two long-time friends who believe they are losers as they have not managed to accomplish anything in the city of LA. One night, Ryan has the silly idea for the two to wear police costumes for a masquerade college reunion. Despite the two embarrassing themselves, they quickly learn that in public, people actually believe they are police officers and start to take advantage of the uniform. Justin is extremely hesitant, despite the gig finally getting the girl he's into dating him, and Ryan feels like he has found something he's actually good at in his life. Regardless of their viewpoints, the two don't realize how much trouble they are in as they caught themselves in the crosshairs of an Albanian gang with their leader, Mossi, planning to kill the two for getting involved in his operations. The story suffers from the tropes in regards to the liar reveal cliche, but it's honestly kind of engaging for the most part. I will go over it more in the character segment, but it's the characters of Justin and Ryan, specifically the latter, that really make the story beats work to be fresh despite being quite generic. The tone actually works as the two characters serve as the over-the-top elements in the otherwise grounded city of LA. I also felt that the emotional moments were pretty strong with Ryan being particularly sympathetic as he feels that he has no goals or purpose in life. The humour on the other hand is kind of hit-and-miss. When the comedy is centred on the two leads, it works decently well. When it's only one of the leads working off with someone else, it can be quite cringe.
Damon Wayans, Jr and Jake Johnson as Justin and Ryan practically save this movie from being just a below-average comedy. Wayans does a good job at being the awkward straight-man that has to learn to stand up for himself, but Johnson's Ryan is just great at bringing life to what should be an annoying character. I think it's mainly due to Johnson's performance and his almost child-like excitement in impersonating a police officer. Not only that, but the chemistry between the two is really solid. It's great that the leads hold this movie, but everyone else is pretty average. There's Nina Dobrev's Josie, the love interest of Justin and waitress at a local diner harassed by the gang. Dobrev is decent, but I never got much chemistry between the two and just felt that she only dug Justin for being a cop. James D'Arcy plays Mossi, the ruthless leader of the Albanian mafia who is just so generic as hell that it's not even funny. D'Arcy is doing the job he's given, but he's just not a good villain in terms of memorability or even threatening for the main characters. There's Rob Riggles as Segars, a LAPD officer who aids his "superior officer" Ryan. Segars is a decent character, but I felt Riggles's performance was a bit too silly at times which shouldn't gel well with the lead actors being over-the-top to begin with. Last worth mentioning is Keegan Micheal-Key as Pupa, a Spanish truck driver for Mossi who is interrogated by Justin and Ryan. Honestly, Pupa is the only side character that's actually good and that's mainly due to Key as a comic actor. Aside from that, that's about it. Everyone else is either playing it straight or quirky, which is typical comedy flair. If it wasn't for Wayans and Johnson, I think the film would have been far less enjoyable.
Luke Greenfield is a director who hasn't made much in his career with this film being the second last he has made as of 2021. How is that possible, especially given the fact that this film was the highest-grossing title in his resume? The simple answer is that Greenfield is just not a good director or at least one with style. Sure, you can point at the budget and say that it was so low that there was no room for improvement. But if "The Invisible Man" can have excellent directing and flair at nearly half the budget, it's quite clear that it's just due to Greenfield as a filmmaker. The film just reeks of this cheap, Youtube skit presentation. One can say that it helps at making the film feel a bit realistic, but it still doesn't defend the lack of effort involved. The cinematography by Daryn Okada is also safe and standard with the overuse of medium shots and occasional variety with handheld cameras or point-of-view shots. The score by Christophe Beck and Jake Monaco is so generic that it can almost pass as royalty-free music. With the exception of the police siren dubstep music, every track feels like average background comedy music. All of the effort in the audio department might have been just to grab all of the licensed songs. There are so many famous songs, some of which are dated, that it begs the question of how much money from the budget went to these songs alone. At least the songs they got are well-placed in their respective scenes and leave a lasting impression, even the crappy songs such as Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball" and Martain Solveig's "Hello". As for the action sequences, they are actually fairly decent despite the overall laziness in the filmmaking. The fight with the bickering women was a good comedic set-piece, the chase between Ryan and the Albanian gang was intense, and the climatic shootout between Justin, Ryan and Mossi is effective due to the chemistry and characters of Justin and Ryan working off each other and sequence, even though the set-piece itself is quite generic in the police genre. I feel that Greenfield has the capabilities to be a good director, but considering his resume and lack of work since this film, it appears he's thrown in the towel.
"Let's Be Cops" is an average R-rated comedy that tends to work well for the most part. Its shortcomings involve some hit-and-miss comedy, the side characters are, for the most part, one-note or tonally off, Okada's cinematography is extremely bland aside from the action scenes, the original score by Beck and Monaco is forgettable and lazy, and the directing by Greenfield just shows how disinterested he is at his job in regards to having style or flair. Despite this, the story actually manages to work despite its cliched route, the tone is effective at being both silly and sincere, the comedy shines best when the leads are together, Wayans and Johnson as Justin and Ryan are doing their best at giving life to these characters and making each one relatable, the licensed soundtrack is pretty good and used throughout, and the few action sequences are actually well-put together despite amateur filmmaking. I honestly think that when the film focuses on Justin and Ryan, the story and comedy works, which is really thanks to Wayans and Johnson. Everything else though is pretty mediocre. I will still recommend it, especially if you love these actors or cop comedies in general, but it's not going to be a diamond in the rough.
Verdict: 5.5/10. Above average in part by some great leads and decent script, but hampered by poor filmmaking and an overall sense of laziness. Still worth a single viewing.
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