Cop Out is a humorless retread of the buddy cop trope. Directed by Kevin Smith, though not written by him, it lacks the key ingredient to this tried and true formula—charismatic leads.
Bruce Willis, as Jimmy, sleepwalks through the entire film. Tracy Morgan, as his partner Paul, tries dutifully to carry his lifeless husk across the finish line. But, alas, he cannot. No amount of improv or overacting can inject life into the flat script.
More than likely, Willis' on-set tantrums and open disdain for Smith's direction played a role in Cop Out's failures. He just didn't commit to the material, which forced Morgan to overcompensate.
It should come as no surprise then that critics and audiences hated it. It sits at 19% (163 reviews) and 39% with them respectively. And, like Andy Pafko did 477 times in his career, it struck out at the box office. It earned just $55.6 million on a budget of $40 million.
Yet, in the end, Cop Out's biggest sin is how negatively it affected Smith. The experience shook him, nearly causing him to abandon making movies all together. Thanks, Bruno.
Now sit back, pound several Summer Ales from Brooklyn Brewery, and stop spying on people with a nanny cam! I, the Thunderous Wizard (@WriterTLK), Chumpzilla, and Capt. Cash are on a stakeout dressed as cellphones!
This Week’s Segments:
And, as always, hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids—the on-set turmoil and more—from this week’s episode!
You can find this episode of Hops and Box Office Flops on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, Acast, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Vurbl, and Amazon Music!
Speed Racer – Go, Speed, Go!
Alita: Battle Angel – Panzer Kunst!
GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra – Send it to the Slaughter House
The Last Airbender – Burn the Footage
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – Tangbro and Splash
Madame Web – Ms. Spider-Cleo
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – Shrinking Returns
The Flash – A Hop, Skip, and a Tomato Can
Blue Beetle – Batman's a Fascist
Half Past Dead – Sentenced to Death Row
Expend4bles – Time to Retire
Killing Gunther – Earthquake Love
Hollywood Homicide – Stella!
The Great Christmas Movie Debate – Die Hard vs Lethal Weapon
Just Friends – Simply Hopsy
Palm Springs – Life on Repeat
So I Married an Axe Murderer – Head, Pod Now!
Summer Catch – Strike’s Out Looking
Werewolves Within – Guess Wholf?
Renfield – Wiccan Tumblr for the Win
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Cinema: A to B
I Finally Watched...
Star Wars Escape Pod
Pod Meets World
Pop Culture Happy Hour