*Minor Spoilers Ahead* An FBI agent (Michael Pena) is facing discipline from his superiors at the Miami office. He worked as an undercover operative in a gang that robbed a bank but while they were being rounded up, they took one of the agents Clay Allen (Adam Brody) hostage. Instead of dealing with the criminal, he shoots him through Allen. He also mentions that he banged the guy's wife while the criminal is being arrested. Back at the office, he's berated by his boss Peterson (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) for being reckless and possibly being a sex addict. He tells him that he needs some time away from Miami and that they'd been contacted by the California Highway Patrol about getting some help from the Bureau. There's been a rash of armoured car robberies by gangs on motorcycles in Los Angeles. They think there's some inside help for the gang and they could possibly be looking for a mole. The agent seems excited until he finds out his undercover name is Francis Poncherello.
His partner is a rookie named Jon Baker (Dax Shepard). Baker's impressive riding a motorcycle (he's a former competitive motocross champion and he's had several surgeries from crashing to prove it) but he's not very good at much else. He means well and his earnestness wins over the department into graduating him into the CHP on a probationary period. He's excited to tell his wife Karen (Kristen Bell) but they've been separated for more than a year and she doesn't seem too interested in what he's up to. Between the two of them, they have to solve these robberies and root out the corruption plaguing the CHP.
Most people know Dax as an actor (I remember him from Without a Paddle) but he's actually directed movies before (Brother's Justice and Hit and Run). I really didn't like Hit and Run but the note I took from that movie was that he knew how to create some gorgeous shots of cars and car chases. He continues that here and while the action scenes aren't superhero flashy, they feature some pretty solid riding and some almost pornographic sequences of these beautiful motorcycles and what they can do. It was one of the better parts of the movie and it shows that you don't have to have a gigantic budget to entertain action movie junkies.
You don't really expect extensive character development in a comedy. It can be one of those things that's a nice touch but it's rarely essential. CHIPS wasn't an especially deep movie but I did like the friendship that eventually formed between Ponch and Baker. I actually felt sorry for Baker despite the fact he was useless in essential functions of his job. He's oblivious to the situation he faces and it takes someone like Ponch to open his eyes just enough to comprehend what's going on. Shepherd and Pena play off each other well enough and you don't mind following them through this story.
I'm a really big fan of some of the actors/actresses in this cast. Michael Pena is one of those guys that can cross genres and always improves the quality of something he's in. Shepherd also has his own kind of laid-back charm. I think that neither of them are bad in this movie but their performances suffer from the tonal inconsistencies that CHIPS has. Neither of them are really "the straight man" or the normal person you see in a buddy-cop movie. They both go from regular guys to goofy bros on a dime and it fluctuates completely from scene to scene. Both of them are funny here but neither of them are consistent or really hilarious. I did like some of the actors/actresses in the supporting parts. Rosa Salazar, Jessica McNamee, Adam Brody and Isiah Whitlock are all decent in their respective parts. Kristen Bell was good in here small part as well. I really like Vincent D'Onofrio and I felt bad for him. He showed up to work and delivers a solid dramatic performance but he seems like he's in a different movie. He's completely serious when everyone else is cracking d!@% jokes.
Other than the flip-floppy tone of CHIPS, the other reason I didn't spot it more points is that it wasn't that funny. I did laugh a little throughout the movie but there wasn't anything really memorable about the comedy or lines I'm going to be quoting later. Most of the funny bits are spoiled in the trailer and while I never got angry, the humour gets pretty juvenile (the movie comments on homophobia but it has a few gay jokes that seem questionable). They also play certain jokes out a little too long like Ponch's weakness for yoga pants or the fact that John can't deal with the smell of someone else's house.
I wanted to see this movie but it was hard not to get scared off by the other reviews that people were putting online. Having seen CHIPS, this could have been a lot worse. It's hard to organically weave real drama into a movie that's trying to be funny and vice-versa so I appreciate the movie trying but it came up a little short. I do think this is a step up for Shepherd and his movies seem to be getting better as he continues his career as a director. The movie this reminds me of is Keeping Up With the Joneses. There are better comedies out there but if you can keep expectations low, you might end up liking this.
His partner is a rookie named Jon Baker (Dax Shepard). Baker's impressive riding a motorcycle (he's a former competitive motocross champion and he's had several surgeries from crashing to prove it) but he's not very good at much else. He means well and his earnestness wins over the department into graduating him into the CHP on a probationary period. He's excited to tell his wife Karen (Kristen Bell) but they've been separated for more than a year and she doesn't seem too interested in what he's up to. Between the two of them, they have to solve these robberies and root out the corruption plaguing the CHP.
Most people know Dax as an actor (I remember him from Without a Paddle) but he's actually directed movies before (Brother's Justice and Hit and Run). I really didn't like Hit and Run but the note I took from that movie was that he knew how to create some gorgeous shots of cars and car chases. He continues that here and while the action scenes aren't superhero flashy, they feature some pretty solid riding and some almost pornographic sequences of these beautiful motorcycles and what they can do. It was one of the better parts of the movie and it shows that you don't have to have a gigantic budget to entertain action movie junkies.
You don't really expect extensive character development in a comedy. It can be one of those things that's a nice touch but it's rarely essential. CHIPS wasn't an especially deep movie but I did like the friendship that eventually formed between Ponch and Baker. I actually felt sorry for Baker despite the fact he was useless in essential functions of his job. He's oblivious to the situation he faces and it takes someone like Ponch to open his eyes just enough to comprehend what's going on. Shepherd and Pena play off each other well enough and you don't mind following them through this story.
I'm a really big fan of some of the actors/actresses in this cast. Michael Pena is one of those guys that can cross genres and always improves the quality of something he's in. Shepherd also has his own kind of laid-back charm. I think that neither of them are bad in this movie but their performances suffer from the tonal inconsistencies that CHIPS has. Neither of them are really "the straight man" or the normal person you see in a buddy-cop movie. They both go from regular guys to goofy bros on a dime and it fluctuates completely from scene to scene. Both of them are funny here but neither of them are consistent or really hilarious. I did like some of the actors/actresses in the supporting parts. Rosa Salazar, Jessica McNamee, Adam Brody and Isiah Whitlock are all decent in their respective parts. Kristen Bell was good in here small part as well. I really like Vincent D'Onofrio and I felt bad for him. He showed up to work and delivers a solid dramatic performance but he seems like he's in a different movie. He's completely serious when everyone else is cracking d!@% jokes.
Other than the flip-floppy tone of CHIPS, the other reason I didn't spot it more points is that it wasn't that funny. I did laugh a little throughout the movie but there wasn't anything really memorable about the comedy or lines I'm going to be quoting later. Most of the funny bits are spoiled in the trailer and while I never got angry, the humour gets pretty juvenile (the movie comments on homophobia but it has a few gay jokes that seem questionable). They also play certain jokes out a little too long like Ponch's weakness for yoga pants or the fact that John can't deal with the smell of someone else's house.
I wanted to see this movie but it was hard not to get scared off by the other reviews that people were putting online. Having seen CHIPS, this could have been a lot worse. It's hard to organically weave real drama into a movie that's trying to be funny and vice-versa so I appreciate the movie trying but it came up a little short. I do think this is a step up for Shepherd and his movies seem to be getting better as he continues his career as a director. The movie this reminds me of is Keeping Up With the Joneses. There are better comedies out there but if you can keep expectations low, you might end up liking this.