LET’S BE COPS (AND LET’S IMPROVE THE SCRIPT)

When you have an idea for a comedy film it’s important to make sure that what you have is enough for a film and not just a TV sketch. Two friends pretending to be cops is not a film, it’s a starting point for an idea. This is a shame because leads Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans JR actually have quite good chemistry and with a stronger script this could have been so much more. After our have-a-go-heroes don their cop uniforms and go out on the town for the first time, it quickly becomes apparent that the writers are about to run out of ideas. The rest of the film lurches from sketch to sketch while trying to keep a semblance of a plot. “But Paul”, I hear you say in my head, “it’s just a silly comedy, don’t take it so seriously”. It may be a “silly comedy” but the premise is strong enough that had some actual effort been expended then it could have been so much more (even the title shows a lack of effort). By the time we get to the last twenty minutes, and the film struggles to pull itself together, it’s just kind of sad. We get the usual “what have we learned today” stuff that seems required and a pretty flat ending. Let’s be clear, it’s not that there are no laughs in Lets be Cops, it’s just that they’re the exception rather than the rule FINAL VERDICT 4/10 Potential concept wasted.