High-speed car chases, bio-terrorism, gunfights and vulgar one-liners. This is the average checklist for any screenwriter hoping to fill seats with yet another generic “shoot ’em up” explosive Schwarzenegger-esque action pic. Recently, though, the good people at “Reno 911!” did us all a huge favor by breathing new life into this tired formula with the adaptation of the TV series to the screen in “Reno 911!: Miami.”
Even though I’m a fan of the show, I’ll admit I was extremely skeptical at first of the writers’ ability to translate their trademark faux-reality show spoof on “Cops” into a legitimately funny movie. But luckily, I was proven wrong.
In “Reno 911!: Miami,” directed by Ben Garant, the off-beat, lovably dysfunctional officers of the Reno sheriff’s department find themselves bestowed with an honor they never dreamed possible:They’ve been invited to the national police convention in Miami. The officers are filled with glee at the recognition of excellence until one asks the question they’ve all been thinking: “How did we get invited?” The answer: They invited everyone.
Initially, the premise seems like a bit of a cop-out (excuse the pun), but the writing of Ben Garant (Deputy Travis Junior), Thomas Lennon (Lieutenant Jim Dangle) and Kerri Kenney (Deputy Trudy Wiegel) does wonders for the film. That’s not to say that the performances alone don’t carry their weight, though. The characters have never been shown in such a three-dimensional light before. And they’ve never been funnier.
While it’s almost always unclear exactly what is improv and what is scripted, that’s partially what makes the movie such a success. Many TV shows employ the same technique (“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “The Office”) when trying to squeeze genuine and fresh comedy out of their actors, but I’ve yet to see it work quite as well as it does in “Reno 911!: Miami.”
And of course, like any good TV spin-off, cameos abound. Everyone from Paul Rudd (“Clueless,” “Anchorman”) to Danny DeVito make appearances as well as the comedy trio “Stella” from the criminally underrated Comedy Central series of the same name.
When the officers get to Miami, they find themselves in situations that are overwhelmingly complex compared to their previous duties in Reno (especially since the most taxing drama they’d ever gotten into involved accidentally getting Kenny Rogers shot). Forced to cope with actually having to do their jobs because of a bio-terrorism incident at the hotel they couldn’t get into – the one housing all other available police – the officers are Miami’s last hope. And they couldn’t be happier.
Performing their jobs as Miami’s premier police force like kids on “Take Your Child To Work Day,” Deputy Jones (Cedric Yarbrough) and the gang waste no time in getting to their duties: finding a cure for the afflicted police, moving beached whales, crashing police cars and, of course, masturbation.
“Reno 911!: Miami” will no doubt divide audiences. As with most TV shows that have cult-like followings, fans will either hate it or love it (although in this case it will most likely be the latter).
And there will be plenty of people who just don’t get the irreverent and often crude humor that characterize the show and movie. But as with most things, if you can’t take a joke about male prostitution or appreciate the intricacy behind a scene that finds Deputy Travis Junior drinking a Pepto Bismol/tequila cocktail, you should probably just stick to comedies like “White Chicks.”
Cole Hill is a sophomore CCPA major. He can be reached for further questions or comments at [email protected].
