Movie Review: Reno 911!: Miami

What can I say? This is a dumb movie, funny, but dumb. If you like the television show, you are most likely going to like the movie. For the rest of the cinema going public, your threshold for dumb comedy, lack of plot, and sheer zaniness will have to be assessed prior to entering the darkened theater. This is a movie not about plot, or about any type of social message, it is about watching these inept police officers muddle their way through and somehow get everything right in the end. Think of it as a Police Academy for a new generation.

The story, such as it is, has the Reno Sheriff's Department invited to a convention in Miami. Of course, they did nothing to merit the invite, as all of the Sheriff's Departments were asked to attend. Still, this is a momentous occasion for the group. They head off to enjoy some fun in the sun, but before they can get their passes straightened out, the convention hall is the victim of a chemical attack. This leaves the Reno gang as the only police force outside of the building able to patrol the city and keep order. While they do their best to keep the city safe, they are also involved with finding those responsible for the attack at the convention.

With that thin premise in place, the 80 minute runtime is then filled with the type of humor you would find on the small screen version, although there are a few distinct differences. The big screen offers them the freedom to make the jokes a bit more crude, the language a little more rough, and the skin a little more visible. All of which adds up to spotty humor for its brief runtime.

If you are a fan of the show, you already know what to expect. The gang shows their complete ineptitude as crime fighters in a number of different ways, from their inability to operate the latest crime fighting equipment, to their questionable dealing with an alligator, to run ins with Paul Rudd doing a delightfully bad impression of Al Pacino doing Scarface.

A movie like this is nearly impossible to review, you will either like it or you won't. I know that is a little easy to say as it can be applied to any and every movie out there, but this just defies attempts to properly review. It lives and dies by the strength of its jokes, and the skit like execution does not allow for an easy narrative flow. Fortunately, the cast work very well together and are able to make most of the scenes work, leading to a funny experience with a few laugh out loud moments.

Peppered throughout the film are cameos by recognizable faces, famous and not so famous, Danny DeVito to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter. Each coming in, doing their riff and then getting out of the inept officers way.

Bottomline. What can I say? This movie made me laugh. It was dumb, it was vulgar, it had no story, and did not offer anything to society. Wait, I take that back, it offered up 80 minutes of laughter, a time to escape the troubles of the real world and just make you shake your head in bemusement as the Reno sheriff's department fumbles their way through Miami beach.

Recommended.