Wolfgang Petersen: Troy

Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Writers: Homer (poem), David Benioff (screenplay)

Cast                                       Character

Julian Glover             ...        Triopas
Brian Cox                  ...        Agamemnon
Nathan Jones             ...        Boagrius
Adoni Maropis          ...        Agamemnon's Officer
Jacob Smith              ...         Messenger Boy
Brad Pitt                   ...         Achilles
John Shrapnel            ...        Nestor
Brendan Gleeson       ...        Menelaus
Diane Kruger             ...        Helen
Eric Bana                   ...        Hector
Orlando Bloom          ...        Paris
Siri Svegler                ...        Polydora

Plot:

An adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved.    - IMDB.com

Storyline

It is the year 1250 B.C. during the late Bronze age. Two emerging nations begin to clash after Paris, the Trojan prince, convinces Helen, Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband, Menelaus, and sail with him back to Troy. After Menelaus finds out that his wife was taken by the Trojans, he asks his brother Agamemnon to help him get her back. Agamemnon sees this as an opportunity for power. So they set off with 1,000 ships holding 50,000 Greeks to Troy. With the help of Achilles, the Greeks are able to fight the never before defeated Trojans. But they come to a stop by Hector, Prince of Troy. The whole movie shows their battle struggles and the foreshadowing of fate in this remake by Wolfgang Petersen of Homer's "The Iliad."Written by Mensur Gjonbalaj (IMDB.com)

Thoughts:

Our story of Troy begins 3,200 years ago in Greece. Two opposing armies, the Trojans and Greeks, meet in Thessaly. Agamemnon taunts his enemy saying his opponents soldiers and land will belong to him. They agreed to have both sides fight with their best fighters. One against one.

When Achilles is found he tells his king, "Imagine a king would fight his own fights. Wouldn't that be the sight?" Very True. Achilles is the son of Peleus. Achilles doesn't respect his king. At Sparta there is a feast. Paris seduces a beautiful blonde woman named Helen. He sneaks her on boat with the Trojans and because of that Hector is mad. They have to return Helen to Troy.

Achilles is tempted by glory to fight in another war to have his name immortalized. His mother tells him he can have a family that loves him or eternal glory through war and death. She tells him, "The world will remember your name."

Menelaus wants to track Paris and Helen down. Achilles is on his way by boat to take Troy. Archers with fire arrows kill several of Achilles's men. Achilles after storming the beach says the men can take any treasure they can find. The Greeks and Trojans fight. To put it bluntly Achilles is not a humble soldier but he can fight and kill well.

Agamemnon shows the "spoils of war" which is a slave girl he found in the temple who tells Achilles, "If killing is your only talent, that's your curse."

The Greeks approach the city of Troy. Their army is massive. Paris fights Helen's former husband. Paris is beaten. He cowers to his brother like the coward he is. His opponent says, "This is not worthy of royalty." The Greeks charge for Troy and the Trojan archers kill a lot of Greeks. Eventually the Greeks retreat. The Greeks put a coin on the dead's eyes. "Greek and Latin sources specify the coin as an obol, and explain it as payment or bribe to Charon, the ferryman who conveyed souls across the river that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead." (Wikipedia) Hector fights for his country. Achilles fights only for himself.

Because Achilles desecrated a Trojan god the Trojans feel the Greeks are cursed and should be attacked. Hector attacks and kills Achilles's cousin thinking t was him. Hector is challenged by Achilles at the city gate. Hector goes to meet him. Achilles kills him within minutes. Achilles told him he would cut out his eyes and ears so he would be blind and deaf in the underworld.

Priam goes to Achilles and begs him to get the body of Hector in order to give him a proper burial. The face is mutilated of Hector. Achilles cries out of guilt to what he did to Hector's face. Priam and Paris burn the body.

A wooden horse is given to the Trojans. People celebrate the gift. A Trojan scout sees that the ships of Greece are still there. He is killed by arrows. Inside the horse the Greeks and Achilles emerge at night. They open the gate and the Greeks enter Troy.

Helen and others escape by the secret tunnel. The Greeks show no class in desecrating the gods. Achilles's heel is hit by Paris's arrow. He shoots Achilles in the stomach as well. Achilles tells Briseis, "You gave me peace in a lifetime of war." She is devastated. Achilles dies as does Troy. The Trojans bury the body of Achilles with class without mutilating the body like Achilles did to Hector. 

Rob Marshall: Nine

Nine 

Director: Rob Marshall

Writers: Michael Tolkin, Anthony Minghella, Arthur Kopit, Maury Yeston and Mario Fratti

Cast:

Daniel Day-Lewis         …            Guido Contini 

Sandro Dori                    …           Studio Superintendent

Nicole Kidman              …           Claudia

Marion Cotillard          …            Luisa Contini

Penelope Cruz.            …            Carla

Judi Dench                     …           Lilli

Sophia Loren                …           Mamma

Kate Hudson                 …            Stephanie

Fergie                             …            Saraghina

I'm just a storyteller, and the cinema happens to be my medium. I like it because it recreates life in movement, enlarges it, enhances it, distills it. For me, it's far closer to the miraculous creation of life than, say, a painting or music or even literature. It's not just an art form; it's actually a new form of life, with its own rhythms, cadences, perspectives and transparencies. It's my way of telling a story. 

-Federico Fellini 

             GUIDO
            You kill your film several times,
            mostly by talking about it. A film is
            a dream. You kill it writing it down,
            you kill it with a camera; the film
            might come to life for a moment or two
            when your actors breathe life back
            into it - but then it dies again,
            buried in film cans. Mysteriously,
            sometimes, in the editing room, a
            miracle happens when you place one
            image next to another so that when,
            finally, an audience sits in the dark,
            if you're lucky -- very lucky - and
            sometimes I've been lucky - the dream
            flickers back to life again. That's
            why I'm secretive.

                         REPORTER (O.S.)
            So what's your favorite pasta?

                         GUIDO
            Finally, a serious question.

Guido in Nine is our Federico Fellini. He is both tormented and enamored by women. There are many in this film that get to him. Contini enters Cinecitta Film Studios in Rome 1965. Claudia enters in, one of his muses and many others. The sets are pretty incredible in this film. Everyone hounds Contini for solutions to the problems of filmmaking. He is stressed and busy. Lilli tells him a director's job is just to say yes or no to everything. The Italian scenery is quite picturesque. A banker called Fausto hounds Contini over a plan and budget for the film.

Guido Contini sings he wants everything arranged for him. Earlier at the press conference is a reporter who asks if he has anything left to say. I am sure this is a fear and reality many film directors have. At the hotel he wants his wife, Luisa to be with him. In his room Carla calls and sings all sorts of sexual innuendo she wants to do to him raising his heart beat worrying his doctors. 

Carla arrives by train wearing red like temptation itself and is Contini's mistress. "Penelope Cruz's character, Carla Albanese, is based on Giovannini, the long-time mistress of director Federico Fellini." -IMDB.com After sex Guido puts the crucifix in the nightstand perhaps out of guilt. Contini is suffering from writer's block and being distracted by a bunch of women doesn't help. 

Guido Contini talks to a priest and is asked if he is a Catholic. Guido says not as much as would like to be. The priest says to try harder. The priest asks do people need to see so much sex in Contini's films. It's not necessary. He tells Contini, imagination is God's garden. Don't let the Devil play in it. He tells Contini, "Teach our Italian women to be wives, not whores."

Later the producer tries to calm people at dinner because Contini, the director, doesn't have a script yet. This Segways to Luisa singing about Guido having dreams about some romantic theme. She sings he can't distinguish what's his work and what's his home. She sings she is his number one fan. This is sad because Guido loves her when it is convenient for him and is frequently cheating on her in one form or another. 

When Carla comes Luisa leaves angrily at Guido. She is angry at his lies and cheating. 

Stephanie sees Guido at the bar and says she's seen his movies like a million time. This starts the song and dance scene. He meets her at her hotel room with the key he is given. He leaves instead and goes to his wife. Getting a phone call Guido is called to Carla's room who makes herself sick by taking 5 or 6 pills. The doctor says this is a sordid business with movie people concerning having a mistress. 

Claudia wants a script for the movie as everyone else. She reveals he doesn't know how to love and that he has a wife who loves him. 

Luisa in a dance and song shows her inner desire to get back at Guido by being provocative with other men. She thinks he is just an appetite and greedy. She is upset the ways he flirts with the ladies on his film set. Luisa says it's hopeless. Their marriage is over. 

Guido tells his film crew there is no movie. Luisa is later shown with another man after being split from Guido two years later. He meets with Lilli and tells her the only movie he could do now is about a man trying to win back his wife. He begins working on his next film called "Nine."

Final Thoughts:

All in all Nine is a good movie and a fun one at that. The only thing is the film lacks a depth that the film 8 1/2 has which it is based on. The sets aregreat and the singing too.  

Works Cited:

www.imdb.com

https://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Nine.html

Terry George: The Promise

Director – Terry George

Writers – Terry George, Robin Swicord

Plot: Set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, The Promise

follows a love triangle between Michael, a brilliant medical student,

the beautiful and sophisticated Ana, and Chris - a renowned American

journalist based in Paris. – IMDB.com

Cast                                                    Characters

Oscar Isaac                  …                Mikael Boghosian

Charlotte Le Bon        …                  Ana Khesarian

Christian Bale              …                Chris Myers

Daniel Giménez Cacho      …        Reverend Dikran Antreassian

Shohreh  Aghdashloo        …        Marta Boghosian

Marwan Kenzari            ---            Emre Ogan

Angela Sarafyan            …            Maral

Tom Hollander              …              Garin

Numan Acar                  …            Mustafa

Igal Naor                        …            Mesrob

Milene Mayer                …            Yeva

Tamer Hassan                …            Faruk Pasha

Alicia Borrachero          …          Lena

Abel Folk                      …            Harut

Jean Reno                      ---            Admiral Fournet

Thoughts –  The movie starts saying “On the eve of World War I, the

once vast Ottoman Turk Empire was on the brink of collapse. The fate

of the Empire’s Greek, Assyrian, and Armenian minorities lay in the

balance”

We begin in Siroun, Southern Turkey 1914. It is half Turk, half

Armenian. Mikael Boghosian is a man who prepares and sells medicines.

The narrator tells us “For 200 years the  Boghosians made medicines

using formulas handed down from our ancestors. We treated everyone

alike, Muslim and Christian, rich and poor.” Harut, Mikael’s father in

law, gives him 400 gold coins as a dowry. He says he will grow to love

her so it is a marriage for money so he can go to school in

Constantinople to study medicine.

At the Imperial Medical School Mikael begins classes. This is his

dream come true.  Mikael notices and talks to Ana Khesarian who is an

artist. We are introduced to Christopher Myers played by Christian

Bale who sis a Paris based American journalist. They agree the place

is boring where they are drinking and they go to a bar to drink

absinthe.

Ana tells Mikael she’s done sketches for Parisian magazines and

American newspapers. Ana is with Christopher but a love triangle is

brewing. Chris apologies for insulting the Turk and German armies at

the party to Ana.  Turkey enters the war October 29, 1914. Mikael

avoids a military draft when his friend pays off a soldier who enlists

people. That was a close call.  Chris tells Ana it’s not safe for

Armenians right now so he wants to get her an American visa. Mikael’s

uncle recognizes that Ana likes Mikael and that things are not good

between her and Chris. He suggests to Mikael he get divorced and pay

back the dowry of 400 gold coins plus 200 to ease the anger. Mikael

says no he made a promise. Chris witnesses Armenian’s being marched to

their deaths, The Armenian Genocide, and one woman weak is shot. Turks

are assaulting Armenians and setting fire to their shops.

An affair starts with Ana and Mikael. As a journalist Chris wires a

message to New York that Armenians are being murdered. The Turks don’t

like this when they hear him aloud. He is also mad because he knows

Ana cheated on him with Mikael. Emre, a Turk, tries to help his

Armenian friend, Mikael. Mikael tries to bribe someone in the prison

but is tricked and imprisoned himself. Emre’s relative tells him he is

to join the army to restore their family name. Chris looks at his wife

Ana and knows she cheated on him. The Turks are building a railroad

and the Armenians are doing all the manual labor. The Turks are

brutal. They shoot someone if they are injured.

Mikael escapes the work camp. He gets help from some Armenian

peasants. Maral and Mikael get married in an Armenian ceremony. Mikael

is given refuge b his family. He sleeps with Maral. All in all he is

lucky. Chris tells a pastor he wants to record the orphans escaping

for posterity. The pastor agrees to it. Maral thinks she is pregnant

with Mikael’s child. Ana and Mikael reunite at the mission. They cry

seeing each other.

Chris asks how Mikael is going to introduce Ana to his wife, Maral. He

is threatening him. Mikael doesn’t like this. Mikael sees his family

captured by the Turks. The Turks kill a load of people by the river

and leave them there. Among them is Maral and Mikael’s father.

Turks come and find the survivors, Mikael’s mother and a little girl.

A Turk kicks Chris in the testicles and he is emasculated once again.

Chris Myers tells a Turk official, Faruk Pasha, he is reporting on the

war. The man says there is no war here just a civilian relocation.

Chris rips up a confession he gets in prison he is suppose to sign. It

shocks Emre. They find out Emre sent out information about Chris and

he is executed. Marta dies and they bury her under rocks. This was

Mikael’s mother.

Turks start firing canon balls on the mountain where the Armenians are

hiding. They head toward the beach. Admiral Fournet of the French Navy

sends help to the Armenians. They fight alongside the Armenians. Ana

and Mikael kiss and she says she loves him. Chris sees this.  Yeva and

Ana are tossed from the boat evacuating the Armenians. Ana drowns.

Chris finds out and he is devastated. Chris dies while reporting on

the Spanish Civil War.

The movie tells us, “One and a half million, men, women, and children

perished during the Armenian genocide. To this day the Turkish

government refuses to acknowledge this crime.”

Works Cited:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Promise_%282016_film%29

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4776998/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Jean-Luc Godard: Breathless

Director– Jean-Luc Godard

Writer - François Truffaut

Cast                                          Characters

Jean Seburg              …            Patricia Franchini

Jean-Paul Belmondo      …      Michel Poiccard / Laszlo Kovacs

Daniel Boulanger           …      Police Inspector Vital

Henri-Jacques Huet        …      Antonio Berrutti

Roger Hanin                  …       Carl Zubart

Van Doude                    …        Himself

Claude Mansard             …        Claudius Mansard

Plot

A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he reunites with a hip American journalism student and attempts to persuade her to run away with him to Italy. –IMDB.com

Introduction to French New Wave Facts

The French New Wave was consisted of two parts: the Cahiers group of critics-turned-directors (Claude Chabrol, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Eric Rohmer, and Francois Truffaut) and the “Left Bank” group has often been characterized as taking literature, philosophy, politics, and the possibilities of documentary more seriously than the Cahiers group. They were also more professionally experienced filmmakers, and Varda’s La Pointe Courte (shot and privately premiered in 1954, released in 1956 and edited by Resnais) has been called by some the first New Wave film; it is certainly the precursor, as Ossessione prepared the way for Neorealism. (Mast Kawin 347)

Furthermore “To like Godard for Breathless is perhaps to wish he were another Truffaut. But even in Breathless the unique Godard devices – the logical assault against logic, the sudden and abrupt event, the detachment of the viewer from the illusion of the film – control the work. As Michel drives the stolen car, his lengthy monologue on life and the countryside is addressed directly to us, an artifice that Godard emphasizes with his jump cutting, which destroys – or excitingly charges the visual continuity of time and space. (Mast Kawin 352)

One technique that Godard is famous for is that of Breaking the Fourth Wall. This is seen is his film Band of Outsiders. It is jarring and abrasive and gets your attention. 

Thoughts

The film Breathless begins with Jean-Paul Belmondo looking at a sexy pin-up in a tabloid newspaper. You’ll see him stroke his lips a habit supposedly Humphrey Bogart had. “Breathless uses the famous techniques of the French New Wave: location shooting, improvised dialogue, and a loose narrative form. In addition Godard uses his characteristic jump cuts, deliberate “mismatches” between shots, and references to the history of cinema, art, and music. Much of the film’s vigor comes from collisions between popular and high culture: Godard shows us pinups and portraits of women by Picasso and Renoir, and the soundtrack includes both Mozart’s clarinet concerto and snippets of French pop radio.” (ThePirateBay)

“Breathless (À Bout de Souffle) was a “New Wave” film released in 1960 France and was directed by Jean-Luc Godard. The script was written by Godard and François Truffaut, both of whom were writers for the Cahiers du Cinéma, a journal for cinema.” (Film…And All Its Goodness)

Michel steals a car and is off. He breaks the fourth wall by talking to camera. He says if you don’t like the shore, mountains or city then get stuffed. He aims to the sun with his gun and we hear gunshots. The gunshots are not from the gun itself. As the editing continues as he is driving there is a cut on sound which gets your attention.  The cops chase him and he kills one escaping on foot through a field. When Michel is at a girlfriend’s apartment there is natural lighting and a wall light but it is shot seemingly without key, fill lights and back lighting. This gives it a rawer more individual and auteur look. “A tiny room in the Hotel de Suede was used as the room where Patricia lived. It was so small there was only about eight inches of floor space around the bed. Jean-Luc Godard, Raoul Coutard, and the actors all had to cram into the space, with the focus puller standing on the bed and the script supervisor watching through the door. "It was a relief not to have lights," Coutard later said.” (IMDB.com)

An interesting trivia fact is that “the story is based on the real life criminal, Michel Portail, who Truffaut had collected clippings back in 1952” (IMDB.com) Michel goes to a movie theatre and sees a picture of Humphrey Bogart and strokes his lips the way that Bogart seemingly does. Humphrey Bogart was a symbol of masculine power and Michel tries to emulate that. 

Godard’s status was cemented with the greats as this movie came out despite it’s unorthodox editing. This parodic re-appropriation of a classical thriller (dedicated to Monogram Pictures, the American B-movie production company) turned budgetary constraints to its advantage by using outdoor locations, natural lighting, a hand-held camera and a crew reduced to a minimum to create the impression of a more authentic, if stylized, approach to reality.” (Fotiade 12)

What is basically said in the last citation is that the budgetary constraints were an asset to the film adding forced methods of creativity for Godard to use. These are part of the reasons that this is a landmark film.

On a technical note “Coutard had no difficulties in adapting to Godard’s unconventional methods, and went along with the young director’s suggestion of using hypersensitive film stock (Ilford HPS and Agfa Record) for night shoots, which up until then had been the preserve of still photographers and documentary filmmakers. A different stock (Gervaert 36) was used for day shooting.” (Fotiade 32)

When Michel insists that Patricia sleep with him that night she basically turns him down. In the car there are many jump cuts probably to eliminate boring dialogue between Patricia and Michel as stated by Fotiade. The dolly shots I read were accomplished by a cameraman being pushed on a wheelchair. Creative. He scene in which Patricia and Michel talk in her room has natural lighting which gives the film a documentary type look. It adds realism as well as the outside location shooting. Patricia presumably sleeps with the man giving her articles to write which angers Michel understandably. Michel philosophizes women and what they want and is angry that Patricia doesn’t know if she loves him yet. He asks her if she thinks about death. He says he does all the time.  Fitting since death will await him at the end of the film. She tells him she’s pregnant. Every time he touches her butt she slaps him. Patricia says she wants to know what’s behind his face. Michel says he’s not much of a looker but he is quite the boxer. Jean-Paul Belmondo was a amateur boxer in real life. “The scene establishes an idiosyncratic non-verbal bond between characters that are otherwise constantly plagued by cultural misperceptions and linguistic quid pro quo.” (Fotiade 47)

Michel steals a Ford which he likes. Jean-Luc Godard can be seen spotting Michel and he is the one who informs the police on him. Michel takes the car to a chop shop but they rip him off on the price of the car. “Cutting between dialogue and splicing the shots of only one interlocutor ‘as if it was a single take’ (during Michel’s conversation with Patricia in the car) provides an example of stylistic innovation that helped solve a practical editing problem.” (Fotiade 63) These jump cuts make for a fluid conversation and scene as Michel asks her question and a time lapse is not really detected. 

Jump cut after jump cut of Michel cursing the taxi driver to speed up and pass cars shows his rude side as he now knows police are pursuing him. Antonio Berruti owes him money and he left 5 minutes ago as Michel tries to find him. 

Continuity was a funny thing in the film. “At times Godard’s resentment of classical continuity rules went as far as to exclude Susanne Faye (the continuity girl) from the shooting, which led to glaring inconsistencies in the actors’ costumes, such as Patricia’s sudden change from a short-sleeved striped top to a long-sleeved sailor top in consecutive shots during the bedroom sequence.” (Fotiade 74)

Inspector Vital asks Patricia if she’s seen the man on the front page, Michel. She says no. The guy warns her not to mess with Paris Police. 

“It is worthwhile noting in this context that the American thriller and film noir genre was, generally speaking, a male preserve, with the occasional intervention of leading female characters who acted as temptresses, double agents or objects of desire (if not combinations of such roles), deflecting the protagonist from his course and, in some cases, determining his downfall.” (Fotiade 77) It can be said that the masculine and feminine are always fighting with each other in the film even in seduction. Patricia is chased to the movies where she tries to hide. It is clever that the cinema a form of escapism is physically an escape for Patricia. They steal a Cadillac and search for Antonio to get some money he owes Michel. He meets with him and agrees to call him tomorrow. At the hideout Patricia and Michel stay the night. The next on Michel’s orders she buys some milk and a newspaper. She then calls the police on Michel, the one who gave Patricia his number. His name is Inspector Vital. She tells Michel she doesn’t want to be in love with him. That is why she called the police. Instead of running they both philosophize about love. On the street Antonio throws Michel a gun and the police shoot him. He calls Patricia a louse.

At the end of the movie there is “Patricia impersonating Bogart (a sign of complicity with Michel). (Fotiade 83)

Works Cited

Fotiade, Ramona. A bout de soufflé. New York: I.B. Tauris, 2013

Mast, Gerald and Kawin, Bruce. A Short History of the Movies. 2000

Thepiratebay.org

http://shauney.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/2010/12/10/film-analysis-breathless

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053472/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2

Proud, Alexandra. Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless: The revelation of

filmmaking as cinephilia. Edith Cowan University

imdb.com

Adam McKay: The Other Guys

Director – Adam McKay
Writers – Adam McKay, Chris Henchy

Plot – Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to
step up like the city’s top cops, whom they idolize, only things don’t
quite go as planned.

Cast                                             Characters
Will Ferrell              …              Allen Gamble
Derek Jeter               …             Himself
Mark Wahlberg       …             Terry Hoitz
Eva Mendes             …              Dr. Sheila Gamble
Michael Keaton        …            Captain Gene Mauch
Larnell Stovall           …           Rasta
Jailil Jay Lynch          …             Rasta
Roy T. Anderson        …            Rasta
Ray Stevenson            …           Roger Wesley
Samual L. Jackson      …           P.K. Highsmith
Andrew Secunda       …            Press Conference Reporter
Sara Chase                    …            Press Conference Reporter
Dwayne Johnson         …            Christopher Danson
David Gideon                 …           Mayor

Thoughts –  There is a shot early in this movie which is the only one
I disagree with and shake my head at. It is when P.K. Highsmith
crashes his car into our great leader’s Trump Tower. Now I voted for
Trump and I still support him so maybe they didn’t know what a great
leader he’d become. Onward.  Allen and Terry are introduced as the
other guys and in a funny shot Allen takes a picture of his heroes
P.K. Highsmith and Christopher Danson which Terry tries to stop. Terry
is clearly jealous of the rockstar cops.


Terry (Mark Wahlberg) yells at Allen (Will Ferrell) for humming and
smiling at his desk doing the rockstar’s paperwork for them.  David
Ershon, an investment banker, is introduced and he is the antagonist
in the film.

Some of the other detectives come over and ask Allen how come he’s
never fire his gun in the office before. They tell it’s called a desk
pop. He does it and Captain Gene Mauch takes away his gun. They treat
the desk pop like it’s an investigation.

Dansen and Highsmith try to stop three thieves who robbed jewelry
store. They jump off a building hoping to aim for the bushes and of
course die. Terry and another guy get in a fight at a funeral. Trashy,
yet funny.  Terry wants to get pumped up so he puts on some Heavy
Metal but Allen switches to Easy Listening. Terry doesn’t like Allen
cause he doesn’t think he’s a real cop. He also thinks he’s feminine.
Women respond very well to Allen in this movie as every one flirts
with him.

At Allen’s house he and Terry discuss David Ershon.  Terry is stunned
that Allen’s wife, Sheila, is so beautiful. Allen treats his wife like
garbage. It is hinted that Allen used to be a pimp later.  The cops
find Allen’s Prius and say a bunch of homeless dudes had sex in the
car called a soup kitchen. Classic.

David Ershon is doing some sort of investment fraud. Thirty two
billion dollars are being invested by the Lottery fund. Allen says he
got in a fight with his wife because he doesn’t have the money to pay
for his wife to take a class called “The Art of Oral Sex.” The luck
this guy has. Even Terry looks at him in disbelief. He reveals to
Terry in college he would schedule dates, provide transportation and
get a percentage. He was a pimp.

David Ershon gets two Russian waters for Terry and Allen. Allen goes
on and on about how good the water is and how the cucumber accents the
water. I think only Will Ferrell could make this funny. They both get
stupidly bribed by accepting court side tickets to a Knicks game. They
get bribed again by going to a Jersey Boys play. Later Allen thinks
Ershon is targeting the lottery to cover his losses.
At dinner Allen tells Sheila about his dark days in college pimping.
She talks about how pimps don’t cry when Allen was crying because of a
poison ivy infection in his asshole.

When Allen is invited by Terry to do some drinking to ease their lady
trouble. There is a really cool slow motion shot going around the bar
where everyone is frozen in time. I don’t know how they did it but it
looks good.  Allen and Terry are forced to hand over evidence of
Ershon to the SEC. It turns out the only connection Ershon had with
the lottery was that he was hooking up with the Powerball girl.
Allen and Terry are demoed to traffic and walking the beat downtown.
Allen tries drinking hard liquor but then steps down to Mike’s Hard
Lemonade. Classic stuff.

During a shootout in the building where they are talking about
investing a deal, a White Stripes song comes on called “Icky Thump.”
It’s a good song and I suggest you check them out.  Later to avoid
their pensions being screwed they go to the bank to stop the transfer.
Francine and Terry makeup and get married and Terry and Allen get a
new assignment from Derek Jeter.
The whole movie is great and Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg make a
great comedy team.