Summary

• The Other Guys quotes deliver consistent humor throughout the movie, making it one of the funniest films in the McKay-Ferrell era.
• The opening voice-over narration by Ice-T sets the ironic tone of the film, contrasting the over-the-top characters of Danson and Highsmith.
• The running jokes, such as Captain Gene unintentionally quoting TLC songs and Allen's secret past as a pimp, add to the comedic moments in the movie.

Adam McKay and Will Ferrell took aim at the buddy cop genre and The Other Guys quotes from the 2010 comedy remain as funny now as they did when the movie hit theaters. The Other Guys stars Ferrell as a mild-mannered forensic accountant and Mark Wahlberg as a hot-headed cop who was benched after accidentally shooting New York Yankees' star Derek Jeter. However, after the department's top cops die, they find themselves in the middle of trying to take down a mercenary organization.

This is more of a comedy than a cop movie, as Ferrell and Wahlberg are on top form while seeing talented comic actors like Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Rob Riggle, and Damon Wayans Jr. along for the ride. From the moment that Wahlberg realizes what kind of person his partner is to the mishaps and frustration that creep up during their investigation, The Other Guys quotes kept delivering from the start to the finish and made this one of the funniest movies in the McKay-Ferrell era.

15 "There's A Fine Line Between Law And Chaos."

Ice-T

The Other Guys quotes start from the very opening of the movie with one of the most ironic voice-over narrations kicking off the movie. As the film opens, a familiar voice introduces the movie's world, and he does it in a manner that plays off Law & Order. The most ironic thing is that this actor was not in the movie, and he is one of the biggest stars in the Law & Order franchise.

As the movie starts, Ice-T opens up by saying, “In New York City there's a fine line between law and chaos. On that line live Danson and Highsmith.” It was strikingly similar to Law & Order, but what followed was anything but as Danson and Highsmith were ridiculously over the top.

14 “Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls.”

Captain Gene Mauch

There’s a running joke throughout The Other Guys involving Captain Gene, played by Michael Keaton, unintentionally quoting TLC songs. When he uses phrases like “I don’t want no scrubs,” and “Don’t go chasing waterfalls,” Allen and Terry assume he’s quoting TLC, but he has no idea what they’re talking about. According to McKay, “We came up with a whole backstory that he drove his son to college and his son played a TLC greatest hits CD the whole time, but the captain was never aware what he was listening to” (via MTV).

13 "You Learned To Dance Like That Sarcastically?"

Detective Allen "Gator" Gamble

One of the running gags throughout the movie saw Mark Wahlberg's angry cop dancing to release his tension. After shooting Derek Jeter by accident, he ends up seeing a police therapist and has to find an outlet to release his tension, so he won't keep hurting people. His outlet is dancing, and particularly ballet. This amazes Allen, who asks how he learned to dance like that. Terry says he used to make fun of kids by dancing like them in high school, which causes Allen to realize Terry became a great dancer by doing it sarcastically.

12 "The Best Way To Tell A Story Is Starting At The End."

Sir David Ershon

Steve Coogan plays the villain of the movie, Sir David Ershon. He is arrogant and annoyingly pompous. When Terry asks what is going on, he explains how he likes to tell stories. Terry asks him to take it from the top, but David says it is better to start at the end, before going back to the beginning, and then flipping to the end from another character's perspective. He does this to "give it a bit of dynamism, otherwise, it's just sort of a linear story.” These The Other Guys meta-quotes even frustrate Allen, who told him to get on with it.

11 "At Age 11, I Audited My Parents."

Detective Allen "Gator" Gamble

Allen explains how his life in accounting went back to his childhood. While Terry couldn't understand why anyone would want to work with finances in the police force instead of fighting bad guys, Terry talks about what he is best at. He explains he wanted to do this as a child, and it got him in trouble in his younger years. "At age 11, I audited my parents. Believe me, there were some discrepancies, and I was grounded.” It shows he is so serious about doing the right thing, that he even investigated his parents.

10 “You Turned My Beautiful Prius Into A Nightmare!”

Detective Allen "Gator" Gamble

When Allen and Terry first try to arrest David Ershon, his goons stop them in the street and take their shoes, their perp, and Allen’s new Prius. Eventually, his Prius is discovered containing a note from a group called “Dirty Mike and the boys,” thanking the driver for providing a location for their orgy. Allen later bumps into Dirty Mike and complains that they turned his prized hybrid car into “a nightmare.” For somebody as seemingly prudish and mild-mannered as Allen, these The Other Guys quotes show his worst-case scenario.

9 “I’m A Peacock, You Gotta Let Me Fly!”

Detective Terry Hoitz

Allen specifically chose a desk job to avoid danger. Terry is stuck behind a desk because he’s been suspended. He’s desperate to get back out into the field and constantly tells his superiors, “I’m a peacock, you gotta let me fly!” After Terry has used the peacock metaphor a handful of times throughout the movie, Captain Gene finally delivers a gem, saying, “Terry, peacocks don’t fly!” Allen claims they might if they get a running start. For Terry, it was crushing, and even Allen was there to help support him.

8 “If I Wanna Hear You Talk, I’ll Shove My Arm Up Your A** And Work Your Mouth Like A Puppet!”

Detective P.K. Highsmith

The opening scenes of The Other Guys introduce hot-shot detectives Danson and Highsmith, played by Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson. Danson and Highsmith are high-octane renegades seen in action movies. Allen, Terry, and everybody else are just “the other guys.” When Highsmith thanks the other guys for their contributions, Allen kindly says, “And we’d do it again and again.” Highsmith suddenly snaps into signature Samuel L. Jackson rage in this funny The Other Guys scene, yelling, “Hey, you shut your face!”

7 “Christinith! You Idiot! You Come To Our House, You Get My Wife’s Name Right!”

Hal, Christinith's Husband

There’s a running joke throughout the movie that every woman Allen has ever dated is out of his league. During the investigation, Allen and Terry have to pay a visit to Allen’s ex-girlfriend Christinith, played by Justified’s Natalie Zea. Her husband, played by Stranger Things’ Brett Gelman, makes Allen and Terry very uncomfortable. He also takes Terry by surprise when he blows up on them. He wants Allen to sleep with his wife, and he erupts in a fit of rage when Terry mispronounces Christinith’s name.

6 “Pimps Don’t Cry.”

Dr. Sheila Ramos Gamble

Allen met his wife Sheila during his early life as a pimp who went by the pseudonym “Gator.” When his pimping days come back to haunt him, Sheila cradles Allen and softly sings a song called “Pimps Don’t Cry.” This musical number has a great juxtaposition of lullaby-style singing and illicit subject matter. Eva Mendes recorded a studio version of this song with CeeLo Green and shot a music video to promote the movie. It was ridiculous, yet touching, and showed how strange her life with Allen had to be.

5 “You D***! I’m Derek Jeter, You Shot Me!”

Derek Jeter

Throughout The Other Guys, Terry attends therapy sessions for officers who accidentally fire their guns on duty. He shot Derek Jeter while working security at a Yankees World Series game. Everybody is annoyed with him because they lost money on the game and Jeter is a New York icon. In a flashback to the incident, Terry nervously pulls his weapon on a figure lurking around the stadium. When the person doesn’t respond, Terry fires. As it turns out, it’s just Derek Jeter listening to music. He bluntly says, “I’m Derek Jeter, you shot me!”

4 "Whose Baby Is That? Who's The Man Who Did That To You?"

Detective Allen "Gator" Gamble

While Allen is a mild-mannered police accountant, he has a secret past. The reason he wants to stay out of fights and danger is that he is scared that his past will creep back up. This shocks Terry, who has no idea there is a dangerous man under the business suit. However, Sheila knows her husband's past. Allen isn't the smartest man in the room, and when Sheila breaks the news that she is pregnant with their child, Allen snaps back into the pimp, Gator, and demands to know whose baby it is.

3 “Aim For The Bushes.”

Detective Christopher Danson

After the opening scenes of The Other Guys establish Danson and Highsmith are the best cops in New York, they chase some perps onto the roof of a skyscraper. The bad guys have a zip-line to get them down to the ground. When they cut the zipline, Danson and Highsmith’s options are limited. Danson says, “Aim for the bushes,” and the two both jump to their deaths when they land on the sidewalk. Sam Jackson and Dwayne Johnson die because Danson and Highsmith avoided doom so many times that they thought they were invincible.

2 “Bye, Sheila!”

Detective Terry Hoitz

When Terry meets Sheila, he doesn’t believe she’s Allen’s wife. Even after they’ve told him countless times, he believes she’s too beautiful to be married to Allen and he’s being pranked. Terry takes much more of a liking to Sheila than he does to Allen. When he leaves their house, he only says goodbye to Sheila. Allen keeps trying to say goodbye, but his partner just replies, “Bye, Sheila!” Allen thinks Terry can’t hear him, so he keeps saying goodbye even louder, but Terry just responds, “Bye, Sheila!”

1 “I Think We All Experienced Our Own Ballet Today. A Ballet Of Emotion.”

Detective Allen "Gator" Gamble

When Terry goes down to Francine’s ballet studio to win her back, Allen tries to help. Terry thinks the ballet studio is a strip club and reveals he learned to be a master ballerina when he was a boy to make fun of another kid. Every time Allen tries to help out his partner with The Other Guys quotes – like saying, “We all experienced our own ballet today” – he hurts Terry’s chances of getting back with Francine. She even points this out: “You’re kind of making things worse.” As usual, Ferrell nails the character’s cluelessness.

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  The Other Guys

  Director:

  Adam McKay

  Release Date:

  2010-08-05

  Cast:

  Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Adam McKay, Eva Mendes, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton

  Writers:

  Adam McKay, Will Ferrell

  Rating:

  PG-13

  Runtime:

  107minutes

  Genres:

  Comedy, Action

  Budget:

  $100 million

  Studio(s):

  Sony

  Distributor(s):

  Sony