Cop Out

[Advocate]

This week, there will be no news, only trailers! Kevin Smith has always written his own movies, until now. When he signed on to direct A Couple of Dicks, for Warner Bros., eventually retitled Cop Out, the project was an interesting move, if nothing else. Could Smith work purely as a director for hire and channel the energy of Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan into something that might resemble a film he’d make on his own? The just-released trailer isn’t making much of an argument for ‘yes’. Check it out after the break.


This is one unfunny trailer. The “smarter than Batman” line got a giggle, and…yeah. That’s about it. Though not generally a fan of Smith’s I liked Zack and Miri and was hoping this might end up being a turning point for the director.


But what I see here looks like a bad in-character 30 Rock sketch where Tracy Jordan is allowed to go way overboard and run roughshod over everything. Willis looks mostly disengaged and Morgan is mugging like he took acting lessons from Jackie Chan. I really hope the final film is a lot better than this implies. If not, it could be ideal double-feature material with Hollywood Homicide. (Now I need to track down the A Couple of Dicks script and see how much of this was on the page.)


If anything, this could be a visual step forward for Smith. He’s joked before about the fact that his films are pretty flat, and this certainly looks more like a studio movie. But it had a studio backing, so that’s not a serious surprise. And really, I’d rather have the material work well than see some gloss.


What isn’t highlighted here? The fact that Kevin Smith directed. The trailer opens by jokingly invoking the names of “acclaimed police dramas” like Dirty Harry, Training Day and The Departed, and uses music and image to suggest echoes of The Dark Knight. Not until the small credit cards at the end do we see Smith’s name, and then it flies by pretty quick.

permanent vid link:


http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/copout/

[Despair]

MEH. Willis looked ok, but the Morgan was HORRIBLE.

[Advocate]

BTW this looks fucking terrible.

[Dolemite]

Oh, goody. Another unfunny piece of shit Kevin Smith film.

[BerringerX]

At least he didn't write this one. I'm sure he'll still get the lion's share of the hate when it tanks.

[Drewbacca]

This movie used to be called A Couple of DICs. The ratings board or whoever made them change it. Fags. I don't particularly like any Kevin Smith movies. I find them all too stoner apathetic for my liking. This one looks like the best of all the ones I've seen. I'll catch it OnDemand in 2 years.

[ElCapichan]

I hear the screenings got really great feedback, not unlike Zack and Miri did. Zack and Miri also did amazing at film festivals, yet it still tanked in theaters. I'll be interested to see how this turns out. Zack and Miri was one of the best movies he has ever done, but the fact that he didn't write this and doesn't have as much control as he did with his other films has me worried.

Also, why all the Kevin Smith hate?

This movie used to be called A Couple of DICs. The ratings board or whoever made them change it. Fags.

Actually, the reason they changed it was because either a certain network or many networks refused to air any advertising if it was called A Couple of DICS, so the studios went with a name change to get the advertising,

[Advocate]

He wanted to do a Studio film one with a big budget. That's why he gave up some control.

In the end it looks shitty as fuck.

[ElCapichan]

People need to give Kevin Smith more credit. Mother fucker is hilarious as fuck. Stupid as shit though when it comes to common sense, but still hilarious. Just listen to Smodcast.

[Drewbacca]

People judge a director on his films. Not on his ability to podcast interweb radio shows, or bake a mean souffle. And it's a legitimate criticism. Zach and Miri Make A Porno was not a good movie. It had huge plot issues, the dialogue seemed like it was people reading from a script trying waaay too hard to be witty and it had a Hollywood ending shoe-horned in to it. It also seemed to suffer from the current trend of "going too far" with male nudity.

This movie seems way more marketable, but much more focused. Bruce fucking Willis is a cop in it. Not inducing moments of Die Hard is impossible, and I doubt Kevin Smith will squander the opportunity. (in a good way)