Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.0

Let's Be Cops Blu-ray Movie Review

Let's not and say we did.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 10, 2014

In most major jurisdictions, impersonating a police officer is at least a misdemeanor, and in many places, it’s an outright felony, greeted with considerable jail time and massive fines. While that aspect plays at least a tangential role in the often frenetic but too seldom actually funny comedy Let’s Be Cops, it’s conveniently shuttled off to the side until it’s trotted out in one of many too convenient plot machinations. It’s already a bit hard to completely like the film’s two central characters, 30-somethings actor Ryan (Jake Johnson) and videogame creator Justin (Damon Wayans, Jr.), two affable enough guys who haven’t just failed to grasp the brass ring of career success, but who have seemed to give up trying. Too old to be slackers in the traditional sense, the pair is about to give up on life in Los Angeles since it’s obvious that (to purloin a phrase about the Big Apple) they have not been able to “make it there”, and so ironically “anywhere” is going to have to suffice for their future endeavors. Already obvious sad sacks if not outright losers, the two are initially cowed by a bunch of toughs (who of course turn out to be part of the film’s crew of “bad guys”), and then stumble into the film’s main “premise” when they dress up as policemen for a party. Suddenly afforded a degree of respect and recognition that has evaded them for most of their “real” adult lives, the two wonder if assuming these faux identities might be the answer to their pre-midlife crises. It’s out of this at least potentially amusing setup that Let’s Be Cops takes off on its manic but completely shapeless course, content to let its actors mug incessantly instead of creating real characters, while ticking off predictable plot points like they’re menu items at the local mob controlled diner.

There’s actually just the barest hint of some real human emotion early on in Let’s Be Cops as Justin and Ryan commiserate over their inabilities to realize the dreams of their twenties. A surprisingly well done scene has the pair showing up to a college reunion party, where they’ve donned cop outfits Justin utilized to (unsuccessfully) pitch a new videogame about a policeman. Ryan wanders into an anteroom where a bunch of people are gathered around a television watching an old tape of a football game, and it turns out it’s a record setting run by Ryan as his team’s quarterback that resulted in a big touchdown. Ryan’s thrill at seeing his youthful self actually doing something well, being cheered on by scores of people in the stands, plays as an unexpectedly effective counterpoint to what the character is currently experiencing. But as with so much else in Let’s Be Cops, it’s a small moment that unfortunately is overwhelmed by the frenetic chaos that surrounds it.

When the two leave the party they realize what a man in uniform means to the female population, and when later they’re able to have a bit of revenge on the thugs who harassed them earlier, a supposedly madcap plot is hatched, mostly by Ryan, to continue the charade. When Justin is finally able to catch the eye of pretty young waitress Josie (Nina Dobrev) while he’s clad as a cop, he reluctantly goes along with the plan. When the boys are able to get an old police cruiser to tool around in, the masquerade is complete.

That opens up the central section of the film, where the two engage in a series of dunderheaded police activities. Some, like a so-called “domestic”, have a few moments of hilarity, while others, including an attempted robbery which ultimately involves a real policeman played by Rob Riggle, start out well enough but then devolve into a totally lame raunchy gross out where a large, naked and fairly fat man pushes his groin into Justin’s face. This scene features full frontal nudity, though considering the level of intelligence on display, it might be better labeled full frontal lobotomy.

Things go both completely formulaic as well as tonally off the rails in the film’s third act, where those meddling hooligans turn out to be criminals with very dangerous intent. This of course ends up involving not just the boys, but Josie, the veritable damsel in distress. Andy Garcia shows up in a cameo as a crime lord that hopefully at least provided a healthy paycheck. But after an hour or so of generally juvenile humor, the film just takes a decided left turn toward more traditional thriller or action territory and it frankly falls completely flat in the process.

There are some good bits scattered throughout the film, but most of Let’s Be Cops plays like an ungainly skit on a B-level late night comedy show (think of those old, forgotten Saturday Night Live wannabes from days of yore). The generally genial enough performers are left to mug because they frankly don’t have much else to do, while the audience is left to consider whether forking over their hard earned cash to watch a mess like this might be considered highway robbery.

Let's Be Cops Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Let's Be Cops is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Shot digitally with Sony's CineAlta cameras, Let's Be Cops is decently sharp and well detailed, but rarely rises to the level where it really makes a strong impression. The image is expectedly sleek looking, especially in close-ups, where fine detail pops extremely well most of the time. But things can sometimes look surprisingly soft for a digitally shot feature, with midrange shots also suffering from anemic contrast. Colors are reasonably vivid, though the cops' uniforms have a tendency to look a bit oily at times.

Let's Be Cops Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Let's Be Cops is stuffed to the gills with source cues, and the use of tunes like "Rock Me Like a Hurricane" allow the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix to strut its stuff. While there are some requisite "action" sequence here that up the sonic ante, a lot of the film plays out in (relatively) restrained dialogue scenes, all of which are presented cleanly and clearly. Fidelity is excellent throughout this problem free track, and dynamic range is also very wide.

Let's Be Cops Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted and Alternate Scenes (1080p; 17:25)


• "Let's Be Cops" Camera Test (1080p; 6:11)


• Real Funny (1080p; 8:31) is all about how "real" the film is, helping it to be "funny".


• Brothers in Blue (1080p; 11:11) focuses on the central duo and includes interviews.


• Audio Commentary by Luke Greenfield


• Audio Commentary by Nicholas Thomas
• Gallery (1080p; 2:05) offers Auto Advance and Manual Advance options.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:06)

Let's Be Cops Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This "raunch-a-thon" probably has enough to recommend it to its target demographic, which seems to be younger (maybe teenage) males. There's a really unkempt feeling to most of this film, as if they were making it up on the spot as they went along, with an agreeable enough cast left to largely flounder. Yes, there are scattered laughs here, but they're surrounded by a lot of useless drivel. For those considering a purchase, technical merits are generally very good and the supplementary package is appealing.