The buddy cop genre gets a kick in the pants with Netflix's Coffee & Kareem, a delightfully raunchy combination of 48 Hrs. and Cop and a Half. Ed Helms stars as Officer Coffee, a bumbling Detroit cop who finds himself at odds with his girlfriend's son, Kareem, played by Terrence Little Gardenhigh, a foul-mouthed child who hates cops. After a misguided attempt to scare Coffee away leads to Kareem witnessing a murder, the two are forced to work together in order to survive and serve justice. Outrageous comic antics and surprisingly heartfelt character development ensue.
Coffee & Kareem feels like an old-school throwback to the 1980s action comedy genre, with bloody shootouts and filthy language galore, juxtaposed against timeless parables about masculinity and family. The standout cast also includes Taraji P. Henson, Betty Gilpin, and David Alan Grier. Still, the key piece in this puzzle is young Terrence Little Gardenhigh, who somehow manages to remain likable even while delivering profane dialogue that would make 1980s Eddie Murphy blush. His chemistry with Ed Helms is also noteworthy and goes a long way towards making Coffee & Kareem feel like more than an imitation of its obvious inspirations.
While promoting the release of Coffee & Kareem, Terrence Little Gardenhigh spoke to Screen Rant about working on the film. During the telephone interview, he discussed being starstruck by his co-stars (Mr. Ed and Mama T), and overcoming his fear of firing a taser. He also talks about the difficulty of screaming profanity-laden dialogue and his excitement towards the movie's more action-oriented moments.
Coffee & Kareem will be available April 3 on Netflix.
I watched your movie last night, and I was on the floor, dying of laughter!
Good, that's what we were going for! (Laughs)
First of all, you're fantastic in the movie. I hadn't seen your other stuff, so you kind of came out of nowhere for me. And you're 12 right?
Yes, I'm 12. I'm turning 13 in April!
Ooh, April what?
April 20.
Nice. Okay, let's address the big topic: you are sassy in this movie! You are foul-mouthed! Was that a conversation you had to have with your mom, like, "Hey, ma, there's some rough language in the movie..." Did you have to, like, get permission to say all the crazy things you say in the film?
No, I wouldn't say I had to get permission. My mom explained to me that the profanity I'm using in the movie isn't me. I'm playing a character. The only reason I'm able to say it is because it's in the script. But, I mean, I definitely had fun doing it! (Laughs)
Did they ever have to coax it out of you, were you ever on set and the director was like, "Tell Ed Helms that he's so-and-so," and you're like, "Oh man, I don't wanna!"
Oh yeah. All the time! See, I felt so bad! In the times where we would have to say things about each other, I would feel bad, but then I'd remember how much fun I get to have, and I'm able to use profanity and I'm not going to be able to do that forever, so I'm just like, okay, you've gotta do what you've gotta do. Sorry, Mr. Ed, but it is what it is!
Did you get to do any on-set bonding with Ed to build your chemistry? What was your relationship like, and what did you do to get comfortable with each other?
We definitely did. We had a lot of fun, on and off set. We would talk about acting and he'd give me tips that I really appreciated a lot. One of the tips he gave me was to follow my instincts, and that helps with a lot more than just acting. We definitely had a lot of fun. I felt like we connected!
Had you seen Ed in The Hangover or The Office or any of the other things he's done?
Oh yeah. I had already watched all those movies before I even got the audition and learned that he was in this, but then I watched them all over again and then started binge-watching The Office. Ed, he's a funny man.
A big part of the reason I have this job is so I can just ask people, "Hey, remember that movie you were in? That was awesome!" Did you ever carve out some time to do that with any of your co-stars, just geek out over their work?
I have fanned out before. But it was more like, "oh my gosh." And saying things that were kind of weird, like, "Uhhhhh, your color favorite?"
Sometimes when you're star struck it's hard to put a sentence together, I know the feeling! Tell me about working with Taraji P. Henson. She's amazing, one of my favorite actors, and it was so fun to see her here.
Ms. Taraji, or as I like to call her, Mama T. Just sitting next to her or eating lunch with her was just, like, crazy. I was fanning out on the inside so hard. I didn't know what to do! But somehow, I found it in myself to ask her questions and talk to her about things, and she's just so nice. She really is. That definitely helped me be able to talk to her.
It sounds like you had a great time on set! Were there any scenes that were particularly difficult for you, in terms of acting or just having trouble on the day?
Oh yeah. I had to shoot a taser! I was super scared, because I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't know if it was going to blow up in my hand, or if I would lose my fingers. I didn't know what was going to happen. And Ms. Taraji was actually going to be there, and I didn't know if I was actually going to be tasing her or not! It was actually scary. But they just wanted to see me shoot it. But when I read that I would be tasing someone, my mind just went crazy. I was like, wait, is this going to hurt?
But she was okay, though, right?
Yeah, she was okay. I didn't actually have to tase her.
There's also some good action in this movie, too. There's a lot of running around with explosions and gunfire. Most of it is Ed, but you definitely get a fair share. What was that like?
It was so fun. I wish I could have done all my stunts, but, I guess there's some stuff I can't do. It was super fun. My favorite was probably when I did a car scene where I was driving a cop car. That was so fun. It was like being on a roller coaster that I had control of... Well, I didn't really have control over it, but don't tell anyone.
Movie magic! Do you have any acting goals, in terms or roles you'd want to play or types of movies you'd want to appear in?
Actually, yes I do! I want to conquer my fear of doing a horror movie. I really want to do one, but I'm so scared. I'm such a chicken.
You know what? Me too. If it wasn't for the job lining me up with scary movies for stories or interviews, I probably wouldn't see any scary movies. But I actually really like them now! So I hope you get to star in the sickest, bloodiest, scariest horror movie really soon!
No... I mean, yay!
Coffee & Kareem will be available April 3 on Netflix.