“Let’s Be Cops” trails
down-on-luck best buddies Justin Miller (Damon Wayans, Jr.) and Ryan O’Malley
(Jake Johnson) have been languishing since their school days ended. Justin
toils at a videogame company, where his bosses prefer zombie antics instead of
Justin’s recent game proposal that features real-life cops. Ryan, still
reveling in his glory days as a college quarterback, bounces from job to job –
his appearance in a herpes drug commercial was a career highlight – without
success. Until a wrong turn at a
masquerade party where they dressed as cops turn out to be their best night
ever.
“The two lead characters have no money and their
self-worth is gone,” says director/co-writer Luke Greenfield. “Then, all of a
sudden, they are street heroes. Their fun masquerade escalates to the point
where it starts getting dangerous and they mess with the wrong people.”
The first thing the filmmakers did after getting the
production green light was cast the lead characters, Justin and Ryan. They
chose two comic actors who were actually close pals.
During
pre-production, Greenfield encouraged both actors to get some police training,
but to avoid a boot camp-like, ultra-realistic experience. “I wanted them to
know just enough about being police officers to get by, just like their
characters,” says the director. “They
went on a ride-along with police and learned how to fire a gun. Damon is pretty
athletic and he became a very good shot. Jake went out with our police advisor
and fired shotguns and pistols, while Rob Riggle, who is a former Marine,
already knew how to handle weaponry.”
The actors spent a lot of time under the supervision
of ace stunt coordinator Steven Ritzi (“Prisoners,” “12 Years a Slave”) to
ensure that the film’s pratfalls and gunplay were as realistic – and/or funny –
as possible. One of the film’s memorable
action scenes sees Johnson and Wayans responding to a police call at a hardware
store in the middle of the night. There, the faux cops Justin and Ryan have a
run-in with a 350-pound Samoan burglar running amok – wearing nothing but a
fierce grin.
“This guy is
running at me butt naked,” says Wayans. “I take him down but he lands right on
top of me and is climbing all over, putting his behind right in my face. Let me
tell you, I took a long shower after that scene.”
But with all the crazy stunts
and action, the most important component of the movie is the close relationship
between Justin and Ryan, lifetime buddies who may bicker non-stop, but always
have each other’s backs.
Wayans describes their characters as, “These guys
fight like brothers, and then they make up like brothers. It is their
friendship that stood out for me and made me want to do this movie. Luke
Greenfield also saw that this film walked a fine line between comedy and
action, and he was always great in blending the two while Jake and I ran
around, crazily.”
“Let’s
Be Cops” opens November 5 in theatres nationwide from 20th Century
Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.
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