A throwback to the classic buddy cop movie

MANILA, Philippines - Warner Bros.’ new crime comedy Cop Out stars Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as Brooklyn-based N.Y.P.D. detectives Jimmy Monroe and Paul Hodges. They’re partners on the trail of a stolen piece of valuable memorabilia. And this time, it’s personal: The collectible, a rare baseball card, belongs to Jimmy, and is his only hope to pay for his daughter’s upcoming wedding. Along the way, however, the duo stumbles into the path of a seriously dangerous neighborhood gang leader looking to expand his trade.

From director Kevin Smith, Cop Out is in many ways a throwback to the classic buddy cop movie — one of cinema’s most popular film genres — with Smith’s own slightly skewed view. Directing for the first time from someone else’s script, Smith’s initial reaction to the screenplay was that it was “steeped in movie cop heritage. When I read it, I thought, ‘Wow, if I’d ever written a buddy cop movie, it would be like this.’”

Producer Marc Platt says, “One of the things Kevin does so well in his films is the relationships, particularly between the guys. There’s an honesty to it, a relatability to it, they feel like guys that we all know.”

Producer Michael Tadross agrees. “Bruce, as Jimmy, is the straight man and Tracy , as Paul, is this crazy guy, and it just works.”

“The script just made me laugh out loud when I read it,” says Willis. “It was really funny… the kind of film you tell your friends to go see.”

Having previously worked with Smith nearly a decade ago, Morgan says of the director, “He knows it, he gets it. He’s a comedian’s comedian. He directs in a way where you think you know the scene, but he’ll say, ‘Yo, do this or do that, say this or say that,’ and it gives it a whole different spin. I love the way he directs.”

Cop Out opens March 3 in theaters.