Copping Out
My hand hurts. I penciled 40 rows of comics on Tuesday, and did a real number on the old money-maker (yes, Daddy can "shake his money-maker" in public and not get arrested, but I digress) so on Friday I decided I was going to take the day off and not draw anything. 
This may be seen by some as something of a cop-out. So I decided to cop all the way out and go SEE Cop Out opening day.
Some of what I'd heard about the film lowered my expectations, especially since one reviewer, Eric D. Snider, is a friend of mine. I was planning to hate the movie and warn all of you away from it. I had already come to grips with the possibility that Kevin Smith (the director) could be clever and fail to entertain me.
While that remains a possibility, it remains only potentially energetic. Cop Out was both clever and entertaining. Of course, it was also crass, risque, and really stupid.
Clever AND stupid. How? Clever dialog, stupid plot.
Since the film is a comedy whose premise is one of the comedic elements, it just begs for stupid. For some people, and in some genres, that's unforgivable. But I was entertained. Here, then, are my updated 2010 rankings:
1) The Wolfman
2) Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
3) Cop Out
4) Book of Eli
1 jillionty-five) Legion
Should you see this in theaters? I bet there are better places for you to drop $20. Like, back into your wallet, or into a savings account. For me, though, at 11:00am on a Friday when I've decided that my right hand needs to not draw, mouse, type, paint, or play video games, this movie was the perfect place. I held a cold soda in that hand, deliberately numbing myself. It was therapeutic. (Note to the reader: I'm not a good choice for therapy advice. I'm something of an enabler.)
One of the freshest bits about the film? Harold Faltermeyer did a lot of the music. He's the guy who gave us the "Axel F" tune from Beverly Hills Cop back in 1984. I know, I know... an identifiable 80's sound may not seem "fresh" to you kids, but I really dug it. I mentioned "genre" earlier. I think the best description of Cop Out is that it's a send-up of buddy-cop movies, but without the fourth-wall-breaking self-awareness that most send-ups will have. That, in and of itself, is almost artistic. But I'm going to stop writing in part because that's starting to sound pretentious, and mostly because as I also mentioned earlier, my hand hurts. It's too bad there's nothing else playing now that interests me enough to use as an excuse to wrap my hand around a cold soda.