Mark Wahlberg’s $170M Action Comedy Hits Paramount+ Streaming Charts, 16 Years Later

The prevalence of streaming makes it so box office disappointments can find new life in homes (see: Channing Tatum’s Roofman). It also makes it easier for titles from yesteryear to find their way back into the rotation. Streaming services are constantly updating their libraries, giving subscribers a plethora of offerings to check out. Understandably, people are going to gravitate to the new releases that they might have missed in theaters, but sometimes an older movie or show catches on as well. Right now, a fun action comedy starring Mark Wahlberg is leaving an impression on Paramount+ subscribers.

According to FlixPatrol, which measures the popularity of titles on various streaming services, The Other Guys ranks as the No. 9 film on Paramount+, ahead of Guns Up. As of this writing, The Other Guys has maintained that position for the last few days.

Why The Other Guys Is Worth Watching on Paramount+

Released in 2010, The Other Guys stars Wahlberg and Will Ferrell as Terry Hoitz and Allen Gamble, a pair of NYPD detectives who spend their days working in the office while other officers, such as Christopher Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and P.K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) relish in the excitement of chasing down criminals on the streets. Directed by Ferrell’s frequent collaborator Adam McKay, The Other Guys is an underrated action comedy that acts as an amusing riff on buddy cop films. The main story revolves around Hoitz and Gamble taking on a case to prove they have what it takes to work in New York’s police force. The humor stems from the fact they are not typical action movie leads — hence, the film’s title.

Before McKay shifted to making politically minded awards contenders like The Big Short, Vice, and Don’t Look Up, he established himself as one of his generation’s defining comedic filmmaking voices. His partnership with Ferrell proved to be quite fruitful, as the two teamed up for modern classics like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby. The Other Guys arguably isn’t as iconic as those works, but it fits well alongside them as a great example of Ferrell and McKay lampooning a popular film genre. On Rotten Tomatoes, it’s actually the highest rated of the McKay/Ferrell comedies (78% critics score), as people enjoyed its fresh and hilarious takedown of action flicks.

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The premise of The Other Guys is enough to recommend it, but the film also gets a boost from its impressive cast. Ferrell and Wahlberg have tremendous chemistry with each other as an unlikely buddy cop duo, but there’s so much more to enjoy in the ensemble. Everyone is at the top of their games, including Johnson and Jackson as the famed action heroes the rest of the department idolizes. Because of its nature as a comedy, the set pieces and performances have the leeway to be over-the-top, and Johnson and Jackson have a ton of fun leaning into their typical screen personas and dialing things up to 11. The Other Guys also features amusing cameos from the likes of Derek Jeter, Tracy Morgan, and more, adding to its entertainment factor.

Ferrell hasn’t starred in a McKay-directed movie since 2013’s Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (though McKay has produced a handful of Ferrell vehicles since then). For comedy fans, it’s disappointing it’s been so long since the two worked together since they clearly had a strong rapport and knew how to make audiences laugh. The Other Guys re-emerging on streaming is a reminder of that era from both of their careers, making a watch (or rewatch) a fun trip down memory lane. Hopefully Ferrell and McKay will find a way to make a new film together again, but if not, at least they left an indelible mark on big-screen comedy, with The Other Guys arguably the best of the bunch.

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