Will Ferrell's been in a heap of funny movies, there's no doubt of that fact. When people tally up their favourites from his back catalogue, though, I sometimes think that one of my picks can get overlooked.
The Other Guys is a little different too some of his more openly absurd work, a big satire on crime dramas and detective procedurals that sees him team up with Mark Wahlberg as a straight man. The two of them play down-on-their-luck detectives who are used to playing second fiddle. Before I get on to why it's so fun, you have to know that the movie is only on Netflix for the remainder of today here in the UK – so this is an urgent appeal for you to watch it today while you're waiting for the bank holiday tomorrow.
At the start of The Other Guys, our two main characters are very much in the back row of their police precinct, and spend a lot of their days watching the outlandish success of an almost superhero-like pair of star officers. These two, played by The Rock and Samuel L Jackson, meet a sticky end in one of the funniest death scenes I can think of.
That means there's a gap for some new star officers, and our two "other guys" step into it to try to foil a massive conspiracy. That goes predictably complicatedly, but the real fun is all the little scenes and cameos along the way. There are so many great supporting actors in the cast, for example, from a standout scene where Eva Mendes is revealed to be someone's wife, or the wild references thrown out by Michael Keaton as the team's police captain.
As the movie unfolds it gets more and more ridiculous, but the chemistry between Ferrell and Wahlberg is really impressive, their comedic timing chiming together very nicely. That quality all adds up to a very solid Rotten Tomatoes score of 79% from critics, which is quite impressive given that crowd-pleasing comedies rarely review too well.
Again, though – the crucial information here is that you only have the rest of today to watch the movie for free on Netflix. It disappears at the end of 31 December, although you'll still be able to rent it from the likes of Prime Video. At that point you'll have to make your own mind up about which is the best streaming service, frankly.
