The Reno Sheriff's Department takes its incompetence to Florida in "Reno 911!: Miami," a film version of the hit Comedy Central series. Why Miami? A national police convention is being held there. Why the Reno Sheriff's Department? According to Lt. Dangle, "They invited everybody."
Reno's finest arrive in Miami to discover they are not on the list of attendees for the convention after all. With no place to go, they settle for a rundown motel, which, as the motel manager so hilariously puts it over and over again, is home to many a "suck fest." This leads into a night of heavy drinking and even heavier masturbation. In one of the few cinematic scenes, the camera pans from encounter to encounter outside the motel rooms, concluding with a strangely beautiful shot of much of the cast playing with themselves in separate rooms.
Cast member Robert Ben Garant, who portrays Dep. Travis Junior, directed the film. Even though it hardly deviates from the visual style of the television series, he does a sufficient and satisfying job. At times a tad sloppy, the film is cinematic enough when it needs to be but uses the handheld otherwise.
The following day, the police convention becomes the target of a chemical terrorist attack, quarantining every police officer in Miami inside the convention center. This means the only mobile police force in the city of Miami is, you guessed it, the severely hung-over but ready-for-action Reno Sheriff's Department.
Consequently, they are placed in the position of Miami police by default. This storyline is understandably forced and practically irrelevant, but it does give way to a string of minor investigations reminiscent of the "Cops" parodies seen on the television show. Plus, thanks to being on the big screen, there is more profanity, vulgarity, nudity and death than one would ever see on commercial TV. Finally, the way "Reno 911!" was meant to be seen.
The movie is consistently funny enough to keep the audience's attention, but not so unbelievable as to make them run out and tell all their friends to run out and see it. Still, even the iffiest bits have their charm.
Paul Rudd ("The 40-Year-Old Virgin") nearly steals the show as Ethan, a Tony Montana-like drug lord, whose goons repeatedly kidnap Dep. S. Jones (Cedric Yarbrough) and Dep. James Garcia (Carlos Alazraqui), humorously believing they are somehow part of an ambiguous plot against him. Some of the other strong moments include an alligator in a shallow backyard pool, a beached whale and a response to a noise complaint for a party held by Suge Knight (who does not appear in the picture).
However, the movie does boast a bunch of cameos with some of the most notable including Danny DeVito, David Koechner, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Paul "Pee-Wee Herman" Reubens. The movie even finds a way to get Terry (comedian Nick Swardson, "Grandma's Boy") into some amusing Miami mischief.
Also noteworthy is the appearance of every member of "The State," the sketch comedy troupe from which "Reno" cast members Thomas Lennon (the ridiculously short shorts-clad Lt. Jim Dangle), Kerry Kenney-Silver (Dep. Trudy Wiegel), and Garant got their start. The remaining "State" members serve as various tattoo parlor employees and patrons throughout a somewhat tiresome quest to decipher a tattoo Dep. Clementine Johnson (Wendi McLendon-Covey) got on her chest during her drunken first night in Miami. Their cameos are sort of wasted in this plotline, but it is interesting for fans of "The State" to finally see them all in one project nonetheless.
"Reno 911!: Miami" is good, but not great. It does not exceed expectations, but it lives up to them. Fans of the "Reno 911!" series will be thoroughly entertained, while newcomers will probably only chuckle a bit. The main thing is, the movie does not disappoint, and it definitely is not a suck fest.
Grade: 3 out of 5
