Review
'Reno 911!' goes from TV screen to movie screen
March 2, 2007
Another Comedy Central favorite-turned-movie is another failed attempt to recreate the show on the big screen. “Reno 911!,” the television version, is a satire of the show “Cops,” with a crooked police force. Laid out in segments of various 911 calls, from domestic disturbance to prostitution, the film uses this style very little. Instead it consists of random events that don’t make any sense.
The movie is set in Miami at an annual police convention. “Reno’s finest” are forced to stay in a cheap motel when their passes for the convention are not found.
The building of honest cops becomes quarantined and the Reno force is the only police authority in the whole country. Their job is to keep the city of Miami in line, and they also have the responsibility of obtaining the antidote.
“Reno 911!” is generally only funny because they almost always succeed, but in the most half-assed, nearly-illegal way. The cast of seven give their comedic performances on the big screen to reflect the comedy of the show.
Paul Rudd played Ethan the drug lord, a Scarface replica. Other cameos of B-list actors and comedians include David Koechner, Paul Reuben (Peewee Herman), Michael Ian Black, The Rock and Minnesota native Nick Schwardson as the infamous Terry.
For those who are unfamiliar with Terry, he is best known as the flamboyant guy on rollerblades who repeatedly gets arrested for various illicit things.
In the film, his response was typical Terry, but still hilarious as ever. “Lewd acts? I don’t even know what ‘lewd’ means. Is it ‘lube’ or ‘lewd’?” as he is covered in “apple martini and lube” and wearing short shorts that read “South Biatch” across his bum.
Terry, who never has believable stories, wows the audience in the end with a typical major character development necessary to fit the cliché of adapted films.
The anticipation for the movie was high, but only delivered bad jokes that made the 15- year-old skater boy sitting next to me roll over with laughter. It tried too hard to appeal to a younger, simpler audience with cheesy slapstick.
Occasionally, I had a good laugh like when Lieutenant Jim Dangle, the gay leader of the crew, got his watch stuck in the pubic hair of Deputy Trudy Wiegal, the awkward female who makes everyone feel uncomfortable, while attempting a “pity screw.” Another mediocre funny part came from a scene of Wiegal at a shoot-acop carnival-like game in which she assumingly aimed her gun at a cop’s bullet-proof vest. Instead she shoots him in the arm. Other noteworthy laughs were during a scene with a beached whale and also a freefor- all shooting spree on a single chicken.
Disappointment usually leads to a loss of words so I will use Deputy Clementine’s last words as my own: “Umm...legalize it.”
Teresa Aviles is a student at UW-River Falls.