'Cop Out'

'Cop Out' (R) *1/2

Writers: Robb Cullen and Mark Cullen
Director: Kevin Smith
Starring: Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Seann William Scott, Adam Brody, Rashida Jones, Kevin Pollack, Guillermo Diaz, Ana de la Reguera

After watching the very unfunny and messy 'Cop Out' by Kevin Smith all I could think was what the hell were you thinking Kevin Smith? This is like a bad amateur film maker with a video camera trying to shoot a cop movie in his backyard. Now I have heard from countless friends over the years who say Kevin Smith was always a bad director but I defended his brilliant writing. Heck I love "Clerks 2" better than anyone in the World! The problem is that this screenplay not written by Smith should have been spit on and thrown away by Smith himself. Think of the worst Bruce Willis movie you ever saw and this one might top them all, yes even "Hudson Hawk". I thought this was going to be a spoof on cop movies but except for maybe two winks to the genre this is trying to be a serious cop action film. It is also one of the worst ever made! Okay ready for the brilliant plot? Willis and Tracy Morgan play two cop partners who are suspended and when Willis can't pay for his daughter's wedding he tries to sell a Andy Pafko baseball card worth thousands. When he tries to sell it two men come in to rob the collector's store and they take the card. Willis and Morgan then try to track down the card while suspended and tangle with Mexican drug dealers. What is also frustrating is these drug dealers are such offensive stereotypes that Smith might have some new controversy to face besides his plane seat ordeal. I smell an anti-defamation league coming to talk to Smith pretty soon. I wouldn't mind that if this movie were funny but it isn't, actually the only laugh is in the end credits. This is provided by the only amusing performance in the cast Seann William Scott who at least is awake and trying. Tracy Morgan is the actor I was looking forward to seeing in some leading roles in comic films. The problem is Morgan is only funny with good writing ("30 Rock") and deadly unfunny with bad writing as in this movie. This movie is boring, badly acted, clumsy and the action scenes are terrible. Kevin Smith is a brilliant writer to me and I hope this is only paying for his next screenplay. This is the writer who wrote one of my favorite movies of the 90's in "Chasing Amy". Besides this airplane fiasco he is involved in I think Smith has some explaining to do!