Search - Reno 911! - Miami on DVD

""What the ****, man?""

Mike Zimmerman | Danville, PA United States | 02/24/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The dim-bulb cops of the Reno Police Department, lead by flamboyant lieutenant Jim Dangle (Thomas Lennon), have been recently invited to a convention of Miami. While partying and getting dirty, they're called upon to stop recent acts of terrorism. Aided by various law enforcement figures (David Koechner, Patton Oswalt), they unwittingly find themselves butting heads with a local drug lord (Paul Rudd), reuniting with cokeheaded prostitute Terry (Nick Swardson), and getting into all kinds of crazy situations.



Combine "Saturday Night Live" with Cops and you get the "Comedy Central" cult favorite "Reno 911!" This Emmy-nominated, heavy-on-improv parody of the FOX reality show has garnered quite a following, starring a bevy of actors capable of laughs. Director Ben Garant (who plays deputy Travis Jr.) also is offered the chance to bring the whole gang to the big screen, as well as set their sights on wrecking havoc in the southeastern coast. Enter "Reno 911!: Miami."



Armed with the single-shot, Indie-patented camera shooting from the TV show, "Miami" does what the original does best: getting laughs. Now, on the big screen, and rated R no less, Garant takes a page from last year's success story "Borat" and crams the movie adaptation with gross-out gags, gratuitous nudity, and violence (some played for laughs) that will have the FCC frantic.



If there's one scene that is classic, it's 1/3 into the movie. It's where the deputies are in their hotel rooms, either masturbating or - even wilder - having sex. It's hard to find a filmmaker to have the gusto to include a scene like that in a film (well, unless it's "Borat"), yet Lennon proves to be the right boy for the job. Besides, any scene like that is worth $5.50.



There's a bunch of other memorable gags: an ode to buddy comedies in where Raineesha teaches Trudy how to talk black (while they walk around in somewhat-skimpy bathing suits) the deputies blowing up a whale after failed attempts (including Jones falling into the whale), a guy getting ate up by a crocodile in his neighborhood pool, a SWAT leader (played by wrestler The Rock) gets blown to bits while trying to disarm a grenade, Dangle often trying to hem new outfits (he's often nude in these scenes), two of our boys crashing a hip-hop party looking for Death Row CEO Suge Knight (like that won't happen), and plenty more.



As we said earlier, the whole cast is in this film: Thomas Lennon (Lt. Jim Dangle), Ben Garant (Dep. Travis Jr.), Niecy Nash (Dep. Raineesha Williams), Mary Birdsong (Cherisha Kimball), Kerry-Kenney-Silver (Dep. Trudy Wiegel), Wendi McLendon-Covey (Dep. Clementine Johnson), Carlos Alazraqui (Dep. James Garcia), and Cedric Yarbrough (Dep. S. Jones). All are in top form, and improving like no tomorrow, even if some of the jokes are hit-and-miss (the joke about Kimball being a lesbian runs dry, and there's a slapsticky chase across a bridge).



There are also some new faces in the cast. Sure, we got some familiar faces there, such as funnyman Nick Swardson reprising his role as Terry and a brief cameo by Kathryn Fiore going from a Peace Corps rep to playing a helicopter model. But there are other surprises: producer Danny Devito as a lietenant in a dream sequence that mirrors a Jerry Bruckheimer movie, Patton Oswalt as the deputy mayor and, highlight of the film, Paul Rudd as a druglord who watched "Scarface" too many times. Sure, "SNL"'s Bill Hader would've nailed the part, but Rudd's almost dead-on impersonation of Al Pacino's character from the 80's cult film gets the film's browny points.



This is a highly-enjoyable comedy. While not matching the button-pushing or gut-busting hilarity of "Borat", it's a nice little film that is sure to turn on a few kids to the hit Comedy Central show."

Not as good as the show, but HILARIOUS still

R. Bullock | Phila, PA | 09/13/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I almost wish I'd never heard of Reno: 911! before I saw this movie. That way I probably would never have known that it wouldn't be as good as the TV show. Oh make no mistake - it's still outrageously hilarious, but even extra running time and the gift of not being censored can't fully restore this to its Comedy Central glory.



The hapless Sheriff's Department of Washoe County is invited to a Law Enforcement convention in Miami. Taking a bus (yes, a bus!) across the country, they arrive only to discover they aren't located on the paperwork, and must stay at a no-tell motel with a rude, seedy desk clerk (Toby Huss, as always, perfect). Their first night in Miami doesn't quite go as well as planned, and each officer ends up, um...let's just say alone.



In the morning they arrive at the convention center only to find that ALL of the other officers have been poisoned and are under quarantine, and they are the only unaffected group. Therefore, they are the defacto protectors of Miami.



Scary, huh? There are some wonderful cameos in this movie: Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) has a small role as a SWAT agent, as well as Patton Oswalt, Mindy Sterling, Paul Rudd, and my favorite - Nick Swardson, reprising his role as Terry the roller skating hustler - in Miami to make a record.



Now the movie was funny, but you have got to do yourself a huge favor and watch the Special Features. There are Public Service Announcements that are a hoot, as well as three feature commentaries: one with several of the actors as themselves, and then two different additional commentaries with the actors playing their characters.



Also, my favorite part of movies like this is just letting the comedians loose and seeing what they come up with. The extended scenes are un-freaking-real. The scene with Patton Oswalt and Mindy Sterling was hysterical - and it was all one take. The bus scene was also definitely worth watching."