"Cop Out" opens this weekend

A new Kevin Smith movie opens this weekend, and while such an occasion excited me in the past, this time it's not such a big deal. Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan in a buddy cop comedy would have ruled 17 3/4 years ago (you have to respect my precision)...if it had Eddie Murphy instead of Morgan. And if it didn't have Seann William Scott at all. I'm not big on Scott today, so I doubt a 15-year-old version would score comedy points.

Besides, this isn't even marketed as "a Kevin Smith movie." Every ad I've seen conspicuously avoided mentioning him. Hmm. Plus, Smith didn't write this one, "only" directing it, so perhaps even HE doesn't consider it "a Kevin Smith movie." Why in the world when someone hire the guy to shoot someone else's script? You have a filmmaker whose shtick is about 45% self-deprecating humor about how crappy he is as a visual director. Someone gets a generic cop movie script and says, "You know who would bring a lot to the table on this? Kevin Smith!" It's interesting--not interesting in a makes me want to see it way, though.

Here's something else that doesn't make me want to see "Cop Out" (How can this title be available for major motion picture in 2010? This is as stunning a debut of a generic title as TNT's "Raising the Bar" a few years ago): An airline booting Smith off its craft for being too fat just weeks before the movie opens. This is the worst publicity stunt ever, as well as a sad indicator of where American culture is today. I miss the good old days when a director would drum up some pub by getting caught doing Bolivian marching powder with a tranny hooker (In fact, I miss the term "Bolivian marching powder").

"Cop Out" might be a good rental in 5 or 6 months, but it just isn't bringing it right now.