Ferrell is Det. Gamble, a forensic accountant (promoted to detective, apparently), who's obsessed with a case involving scaffolding permits. His partner is Det. Hoitz (Wahlberg), a former beat cop (busted down/up to detective, apparently) who is the laughingstock of the precinct due to an embarrassing incident. When the two most popular detectives in the city, played by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, are taken out of commission in a scene that has to be seen to be believed (and then even you still won't believe it), Hoitz decides that this is the time to step up and take their place, even though Gamble doesn't like to leave his desk. Even though he's a detective. Or because he's an accountant. Really, try not to think about their rank or job descriptions, because it's not important, and it will only make your head hurt. All you need to know is that Michael Keaton plays their largely congenial captain, and he has a second job at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Pursuing their scaffolding permit lead, the pair get caught up in a conspiracy that involves embezzlement, fraud and the lottery, and none of that is important, either, just that the pair continue to clash and criticize each other's poor detective skills. Both of them are idiots in their own way: Gamble gets his gun taken away for safety reasons and replaced with a wooden one, while Hoitz continually tries to figure out how drugs factor into the case when there are no drugs anywhere near it. Both have ridiculous backstories, and both are also innately talented at random things (singing, dancing, etc.) This is old hat for Ferrell, but Wahlberg holds his own, playing his overly earnest delivery for comedy and getting almost as many hilariously nonsensical lines of dialogue as Ferrell. ("This peacock's gotta fly!") It makes one wonder if he was actually playing all of his laughably serious roles for comedy all these years; I may also need to revisit I Heart Huckabees to see what the hell happened there.

The film is getting some criticism for being anti-big business, but it isn't really, not any more than any other movie that has a banker as the bad guy. (Which is most of them.) Granted, the end credits give you animated charts and graphs showing how much money executives make now vs. 50 years ago, and how big the bailout of AIG was and how many of their execs got bonuses afterwards, but it's not like they're forcing you to stay there and watch it. (The bonus scene at the end is just a blooper.) Although, after the hilarious, preposterous movie I was just given, I'd be willing to sit through just about anything, up to and including a short presentation about timeshares.

Check out five action stars that are nowhere near as funny as Mark Wahlberg.

What did you think of the film? Let us know below, then see what actor pairs we think would make great odd-couple cops!

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