Police back with a bang,
Bon Cop, Bad Cop 2
(out of 4) Starring Patrick Huard, Colm Feore, Mariana Mazza, Lucie Laurier, SarahJeanne Labrosse, Noam Jenkins and Marc Beaupré. Directed by Alain DesRochers. Opens Friday at major theatres. 126 minutes. 14A Near the end of the first Bon Cop, Bad Cop movie, straitlaced OPP detective Martin Ward tells his wild-man Sûreté du Québec counterpart David Bouchard to let a fleeing suspect run.
“All good things come to those who wait,” he shrewdly advises, as a “KABOOM!” punctuates his thought.
This seems in hindsight like prophecy, as the long-awaited sequel Bon Cop, Bad Cop 2finally arrives in theatres, more than a decade after the first film profitably proved that a Canadian movie — in both official languages, no less — can draw big Canadian audiences.
The sequel, directed by Quebec journeyman Alain Desrochers, may not be as volatile as the original encounter between Ward, played by Colm Feore, and Bouchard, played by Patrick Huard. But it’s a good thing that was well worth waiting for. Rather than ignore the intervening years, the film works them into a story that deepens character and fellowship, while enjoying a few laughs mainly at the expense of our neighbours to the south. Both lawmen are greyer, but haven’t slowed much, as Bouchard demonstrates off the top when he heists a sporty Mustang from a chi-chi event and then leads its furious owners on a merry highway chase.
He’s working undercover, infiltrating a gang of Montreal auto thieves, who are part of an international crime ring led by a nasty dude named Sylvio DiPietro (Noam Jenkins). There’s more going on here than meets the eye, or l’oeil. The story will cross not just provincial limits but also the Canada-U.S. border, as a hitech 21st-century terror plot unfolds, making this comedy also a thriller. Expanded boundaries explain why Bouchard is reunited with his old frenemy Ward, who is now with the RCMP. Ward seems to have also elevated his general air of disdain toward his old sparring partner.
“You’ve changed, man,” Bouchard tells Ward. “You haven’t changed at all,” Ward rejoins.
In fact, they’ve both changed, in interesting ways. They’re still the proverbial odd couple: buttoneddown Ward prefers strict procedure while the scruffy Bouchard chooses rough expediency. But they’ve developed a grudging respect for each other that may even pass for friendship.
Their lives have gotten more complicated, and more serious. Ward, long divorced, is unhappily coping with life issues that include estrangement from his adult son Jonathan (Erik Knudsen). Bouchard, divorced in the first film, has happily reunited with his wife Suzie (Lucie Laurier), but their daughter Gabrielle (SarahJeanne Labrosse) worrisomely aspires to be a cop.
The sequel is at once more polished and less sophisticated than its predecessor. The characters move effortlessly between English and French.
The cinematography is super, with lenser Ronald Plante making full use of the rainbow rather than resorting to the first film’s greenish gloom, which seemed like a hangover from 1990s genre pics. Too bad the generic rock soundtrack didn’t also get an upgrade. The comedy sometimes strays into sitcom territory.
The cops across the border in Maine are more Barney Fife than Barney Miller, at least until guns are drawn. They figure Bouchard has to be Swedish because they’ve apparently never met a Quebecer before. But how many times have we seen a Hollywood movie mocking Canadians for being hockey-loving hosers who always say “aboot” — and we don’t, eh? Turnabout is fair play, and also makes for a movie that’s not just very good, but also très bien.