The Other Guys parents guide

The Other Guys Parent Guide

Without spoiling what little surprise this movie has to offer, don't expect to get your money's worth from seeing these two celebs.

Overall D+

Some cops are big, tough and scary, like Highsmith and Danson (Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson). Then there are the other guys, the ones who do the paper work. Sadly, Detectives Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz (Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg) fit in the later category. Tired of pushing pencils, the pair decides to become real policemen -- with dangerous results for both the criminals and themselves.

Release date August 6, 2010

Violence C-
Sexual Content C
Profanity D+
Substance Use C-

Why is The Other Guys rated PG-13? The MPAA rated The Other Guys PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language, violence and some drug material.

Run Time: 107 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

During the dog days of summer, cinemas usually host a variety of low-ball comedies that play best to audiences seeking a cool, relaxing place to rest their brains. In the case of this movie, you may need to go a step further and completely shutdown your cerebrum in order to survive.

The fact the film stars Will Ferrell (who also appears in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Semi-Pro) should be an immediate indication of what to expect. Here he plays a policeman named Allen Gamble, a nerd anxious to fit into the cop culture. This desire to be a real toughie instead of one of the wimpy "other guys" makes him a prime target for his coworker’s practical jokes and insults. He’s teamed up with a hot-tempered desk jockey, which begs the question: Why has Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) been saddled with Gamble and office duty?

Desperate to get back on the streets and doing some exciting police work, Hoitz convinces his partner in law to go out on a call. Cruising in Gamble’s Prius (one of many in-your-face product placements), the impetuous act inadvertently leads the pair into a major crime investigation… and the ongoing wrath of their Captain (Michael Keaton).

The opening half hour fires off a fair number of reasonably funny lines, but the comedic bullets are quickly exhausted. Increasingly long scenes of stupidity, unwarranted action sequences and needless script detours hamper this movie’s artistic merit. Most parents will not appreciate the frequent sexual jokes, crude remarks and profanities. Nor are they likely to approve of the generous depictions of violence, including a suicide, all of which are played for humor.

Finally, if the names of Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson on the marquee are enticing you to still give this film a shot, all I can say is "buyer beware." Without spoiling what little “surprise” this movie has to offer, don’t expect to get your money’s worth from seeing these two celebs. Instead, you’ll find yourself stuck with the other guys for a very tedious two hours.

Directed by Adam McKay. Starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson. Running time: 107 minutes. Theatrical release August 6, 2010. Updated

The Other Guys
Rating & Content Info

Why is The Other Guys rated PG-13? The Other Guys is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for crude and sexual content, language, violence and some drug material.

Violence: Frequent altercations involving guns are depicted in this film. People are shot on screen. Some hand-to-hand conflict is also seen. A suicide (by jumping from a building) is explicitly portrayed. Verbal abuse is rampant, with employees frequently making demeaning remarks toward each other as well as towards the few female characters in this film. One man continually belittles his wife. A man runs a car over a corpse covered in a bloodied sheet. A bomb explodes in a building, injuring two people. A man uses a wrecking ball to cause major property damage. Virtually all of the violence is presented for comedic effect, with little or no consequence.

Sexual Content: Frequent sexual remarks are heard (some of which are demeaning toward other characters) and the script includes explicit sexual conversations. A recurring joke is heard about homeless men having an orgy in a car. A married couple is seen embracing prior to implied sex. A woman is seen wearing a low-cut dress.

Language: A single sexual expletive is included in the film’s soundtrack. Another crude term for sex is used in dialogue. Scatological, crude and sexual anatomical terms, along with moderate and mild profanities are used frequently.

Drugs/Alcohol Use: After driving erratically, a car’s exterior is covered in cocaine. Two police officers become heavily intoxicated and one is vomiting the next day—all within a comedic context.

Page last updated

The Other Guys Parents' Guide

Why do you think the writers of this script selected police officers as the profession for the main characters? What possible satisfaction does the audience derive from this choice?

Do you think sexual jokes and dialogue are overused in comedies today? Why do you think so many scripts utilize the type of comedy found in this movie?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of The Other Guys movie is December 14, 2010. Here are some details…

The Other Guys is releasing on DVD and Blu-ray on December 14, 2010.

The Other Guys releases on DVD (Theatrical Cut) includes:

- Deleted and Extended Scenes

- Featurettes: Bed Bath and Way Beyond and Crash and Burn!

The Other Guys releases on DVD (Unrated Edition) includes:

- Both Theatrical and Unrated film versions

- Deleted and Extended Scenes

- Bonus Featurettes: Bed Bath and Way Beyond and Crash and Burn!

The Other Guys releases on Blu-ray (Combo Pack) also offers:

- Theatrical and Unrated film versions

- The “Mom”-mentary- Unrated Version

- Additional Deletedand Extended Scenes

- Line-O-Rama

- Gag reel

- Music Video: Pimps Don’t Cry

- Alternate Action

- Bonus Featurettes: Extreme Close Up, Everyone Hates The DVD Guy, Wasn’t That???, Why Are There Brits On This Movie?, Rob Riggle Likes To Party, We Shouldn’t Kiss a Chicken, Mark Walberg’s Eating Contest Entourage and Lendl Global Commercial.

- movieIQ;+sync and BD-Live

- Digital Copy of the film

Related home video titles:

Actor Mark Wahlberg plays a much tougher guy in The Italian Job, while Will Ferrell stars as another bookish man in Stranger Than Fiction. In Get Smart, a spy with a desk job desperately wants a field assignment, but when he gets his chance he’s not quiet as suave as he had hoped. (Dwayne Johnson also appears in this movie—as a super cool sleuth).