‘Let’s Be Cops:’ Let’s have no sequel

Jake Johnson, left, and Daymon Wayans Jr., take their Halloween costumes to a new level in ‘Let’s Be Cops.’ (Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox)

This happens sometimes. You get halfway through a film, usually a comedy, and you realize that all the best bits were in the trailer you started seeing three months ago.

Actually, “Let’s Be Cops” does have a couple of moments that were not revealed in the previews which work really well (that hardware store scene is especially humorous), but 90 percent of the funniest materials have been playing in theaters for sometime now.

“Let’s Be Cops” tells the story of two friends who are struggling financially. One wants to design video games but currently is just an office assistant for a software company. The other cannot hold down a job. So he spends his days playing football with children in a park.

One night, they attend what they think is a costume party dressed as cops. While in uniform they receive more respect from men and more attention from the ladies than they normally do, so they decide to continue the masquerade. Yes, the premise is nearly impossible to imagine, but it is a comedy, so the reality check is not as strict.

Whether the film exists in the real world is the least of the movie’s problems. First, neither of the leads is very likable. Jake Johnson’s Blake is loud and obnoxious all the way through the film. I am not sure if there is anything about this character that makes him likable at all. Damon Wayans Jr. plays Justin as far too meek and mild to ever go along with Blake’s plan that they pretend to be cops, and yet in the film he reluctantly agrees over and over again. Also, Justin’s romance with the very attractive Nina Dobrev as Josie only exists to further the plot rather than add any passion to the narrative.

Sadly, the most interesting characters in this film are the villains, which is odd since the villains are part of the serious dramatic element of this comedy.

This brings up another issue with this film; “Let’s Be Cops” turns very serious though it is not always successful as a drama. I would compare it to “Beverly Hills Cop” from the 1980s, which was a much better film than this one due largely to the performance by Eddie Murphy and a more creative script.

Both films deal with truly evil people whose lives intertwine with the main characters. Both films have persons acting as cops inappropriately. In “Let’s Be Cops” the two lead characters are pretending to be police officers when they are clearly unqualified. In “Beverly Hills Cop,” Murphy’s Axel Foley is a cop who travels to Beverly Hills to solve a case, even though he has no jurisdiction there.

“Beverly Hills Cop” balances the humor and drama successfully; “Let’s Be Cops,” not so much.

Another distraction of the film is that many of the jokes concern guns or drugs. Considering the target audience of this film, which is most likely teenage boys, neither of these subjects really seem appropriate. Perhaps if the other content had been stronger, this would not be an issue.

“Let’s Be Cops” is not the worst film in the multiplex this summer, but there are many more one should see first. “Let’s Be Cops” is just an occasionally humorous, often times sloppy or dull simple comedy with a few shining moments. Much of the plot is predictable, and the payoff is nothing unique.

Following the tidy conclusion, the scenes that follow made one thought run through my mind: Are the filmmakers setting this up for a sequel? I actually think they might be.

If they are going to do this, I would suggest telling a new story with better writers and a different cast. They can title it “Let’s Be Better Cops Than Those Other Guys.”