When thinking ofWill Ferrell’s collaborators, most people would immediately think ofPaul Rudd,Adam McKay, andSteve Carell, and it is no coincidence that these allusions come fromAnchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. However, it is arguablyMark Wahlbergwho has brought the best out of Ferrell in all of his performances, and vice versa, and this is clearest in Adam McKay’s buddy cop filmThe Other Guys. The duo works together perfectly. InThe Other Guys, Wahlberg playsTerry, an overly serious detective who thinks everything is linked to drug crime, whereas Ferrell plays Allen, a stuffy nerd with a dark past who ran a prostitution ring in college.
Whilst both actors deliver great one-liners and bounce off each other naturally, it is the refreshing twists on the archetypal characters Wahlberg and Ferrell play that makes these two so much fun to watch inThe Other Guys, fourteen years since its release.Both Terry and Allen have strengths and flaws within their characters that keep the power dynamic constantly shiftingback and forth between the two, something that their later team-up comedy,Daddy’s Home, would fail to replicate as successfully. From great action, to hilarious kidnappings, and even novelty mugs,The Other Guysstill holds up as one of Wahlberg and Ferrell’s best performances over their long careers, and aturning point in Adam McKay’s filmography.
The Other Guys
Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell’s Characters Aren’t One-Dimensional
Watching Will Ferrell play a slightly more serious comedic role instead of a bumbling buffoon, like inAnchormanorStep Brothers. Ferrell’s portrayal of a genuinely intelligent yet lacking in common sense Allen allows for Ferrell to come up with truly witty and funny comebacks to Wahlberg’s mocking. When Allen flipsTerry’s lion and tuna scenarioon its head, we are left with our jaws on the floor, wanting to cheer Allen on — before laughing when Terry throws coffee over Allen.This wouldn’t happen inAnchorman. Even the jazz flute scene is so ridiculous that it doesn’t play as genuine talent, and we’d have to wait for the climax ofStep BrothersandBlades of Glorybefore applauding the actions of Ferrell’s characters in those films.
Equally, Mark Wahlberg’s comedic chops are on full display, despitesome people claiming Wahlberg himself isn’t funny in the film. Wahlberg has shined in comedic roles before, including bringing comedy to more dramatic roles.TedandPain & Gainare undoubtedly some of his best comedic performances. However, it’sThe Other Guysthat elevates Wahlberg. Rather than simply playing a “loser” as he is inTed, or anasty piece of work likePain & Game,Wahlberg’s Terry is a satisfying mesh of positive and negative components. He has great hand-to-hand moments yet is clearly unstable. He has “nerdy moments,” like sticking up for Star Wars, but also “cool guy” moments, like sliding on a table firing pistols.
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These juxtapositions and idiosyncrasies help to craft more intriguing characters to watch and give Ferrell and Wahlberg different character traits to pull from in their back-and-forths. The duo bickers and belittles each other, mostly Wahlberg getting tired of Ferrell’s nerdy niceties or sensibilities, such as when Ferrell hands Wahlberg a novelty mug on their way to New Jersey, only for Wahlberg to throw it out the window. But, crucially,there’s always a new string the characters get to pull onto wind the other up, from feminine farts, to voting records, to a cocaine-covered Prius.
‘Daddy’s Home’ Doesn’t Capture Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg’s Chemistry
Another Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, and Mark Wahlberg team up, this time with McKay producing andSean Andersdirecting, would come in 2015 in the form of buddy comedyDaddy’s Home.The roles are similar toThe Other Guys. Ferrell plays Brad, a mild-mannered step-dad battling Wahlberg’s Dusty, a cool guy with all the charm and the biological father to Ferrell’s step-kids. However, despiteDaddy’s Home’s larger box office return, making $70 million more thanThe Other Guysworldwide, critics appeared to preferThe Other Guys. Arguably, the main reason for this is the different waysWahlberg and Ferrell’s characters play with the power dynamicbetween the two.
What makesThe Other Guys’ dynamic more prolific than Ferrell and Wahlberg inDaddy’s Homeis that neither character has that combination of flaws and strengths in the latter. Wahlberg is always cool, and Ferrell is always a dork, and they mostly stick to these roles, only switching at the end when Dusty takes a leaf out of Brad’s parenting book. Whereas inThe Other Guys,the power dynamic is constantly flipped backwards and forwards; either Wahlberg is kidnapping Ferrell with a real gun, or the roles are reversed with a wooden gun.
‘The Other Guys’ Isn’t Predictable
In doing so,McKay, Ferrell, and Wahlberg follow the classic storytelling rule of subverting expectations, especially in comedy, as well as highlightingFerrell’s strength in uplifting his co-stars. We can never predict who will come out on top in Ferrell and Wahlberg’s verbal spars, not because we don’t know the characters, but because we know them so well that we know either of them could get the other hand on the other. Whether through Ferrell’s intelligence or letting out his Gator side, or Wahlberg’s street sense or hand-to-hand combat, both characters' flaws and strengths make for hilarious viewing inThe Other Guys.
Nearly fifteen years later, it’s no surprise whyThe Other Guysis one of Mark Wahlberg andWill Ferrell’s best movies. It’s not just their chemistry and clever directing by Adam McKay. It is the fact that Ferrell and Wahlberg played against type to a degree, providing refreshing twists on their classic acting styles. While it certainly set the groundwork for it,Daddy’s Homewould not replicate the duo’s successful dynamic, as the characters Ferrell and Wahlberg play, Brad and Dusty, are simply not as complex or interesting as Allen and Terry, otherwise known asThe Other Guys.
The Other Guysis available to watch on Netflix in the U.S.
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