Cop Out

New York City Police Officers Jimmy Monroe (Bruce Willis) and Paul Hodges (Tracy Morgan) have been together as partners for nine years and pretty much have settled into their styles as cops: Jimmy is the straight shooting “to the point” wisecracking tough cop (think John McClane from the “Die Hard…” series) and Paul plays his “not as serious,” movie obsessed, highly jealous, but comical, partner.

When Jimmy’s daughter, his ex-wife and her new husband arrive to discuss the expensive wedding plans for his daughter, he decides to sell his rarest baseball card, valued at over $80,000, to pay for it all.

Unfortunately, when he brings the card to a collectible shop, he finds both himself and the store being robbed. Desperate to get the card back, the trail brings the duo to the underbelly of one of New York’s most dangerous Mexican gangs run by “Poh Boy” (Guillermo Diaz), who also happens to be a baseball aficionado.

Even though the guys are on his turf, Poh Boy agrees to trade the card in exchange for Jimmy finding his stolen Mercedes Benz. As Jimmy and Paul set out to find the car, they end up discovering why it’s so important, what plans “Poh Boy” has in New York and whether or not Paul’s wife, Debbie (Rashida Jones), is really having an affair.

Objectionable Content

The obscenities and profanity are very heavy and includes over 100 uses of the “f” word, 29 of s###, 10+ of a###, 8 uses of b### and SOB, 14 vulgar sexual references and over a dozen times our Lord’s names are dishonored. Running just under 2-hours, it is impossible to ignore the many curses, including, sadly, a disturbing string of profanities by a 10-year old car thief.

The sexual content includes numerous disturbing sexual remarks and scenes that are too lewd and vulgar to describe here. There is implied oral sex, and Paul talks about animal sexual practices (chimpanzees), comparing them to his own, and he describes vividly his suspicions of his wife being unfaithful. Nudity is moderate, including immodest dress, two women shown suggestively dressed in underwear with one seen repeatedly on video, and Jimmy draws a penis on fogged glass.

The violence includes multiple bloody shoot-outs—with people being shot in the head and elsewhere. Poh Boy is seen torturing a man by batting him into submission, and audiences witness some victims kneeling before being killed execution style. An electrical needle is held to the eye of a tatoo artist by Jimmy and Paul to coerce information from him. A crook crashes through a windwhield an into a gravestone, killing him.

Lessons

Paul is in constant fear of his wife straying, and since his character, as a husband, is never developed, we can only go by his own words, which indicate their relationship is a purely carnal one. The Word of God tells us that, as followers of Christ, we should no longer live this way. Rather, we are taught what true love looks like:

“It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Cor. 13:7).

While in church, Poh Boy orders a man killed, but first takes the time to kneel and pray, “Bless me father for I am about to sin.” This turn of phrase of a Catholic confessional prayer is a blasphemy, but one that most will understand is clearly wrong. We would do well to remember that the final book of the Bible speaks of his ultimate fate, as well as those of believers:

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood (Rev. 22:14-15).

Ironically, Jimmy did not have to sell his baseball card, at all. His daughters’ stepfather offered to pay for the wedding himself, but Jimmy’s pride got in the way. Although the stepfather may have been using the occasion to humiliate him, Jimmy’s own pride would prove the catalyst for all the problems that came after. Certainly an example of the proverb:

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

Final Thoughts

“Cop Out” is a formulaic buddy movie, full of offensive stereotypes, within a storyline all too familiar. At times, I thought it was laugh out loud hilarious. But, the “R” rating is certainly earned, and, because of the abundant language and crude sexual content, it is NOT a film I can recommend for teens or Christians. While I laughed, I was simultaneously appalled by much of its content.

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Extreme / Sex: Extreme

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