Review: In "CHIPS," Blown-Up Cars Overshadow Buddy Cops

CHiPs Official Trailer #1 (2017) Dax Shepard, Michael Peña Comedy Movie HD

A fascination with posteriors both human and feline isnt the worst thing about CHIPS, but its up there. Borderline incoherent and unrepentantly lewd, this buddy-cop comedy (based on the 1977-83 television series of the same name) substitutes cars, copters and motorcycles for actual characters. The language might be mature, but dont be misled: Theres nothing here that rises above the level of the playground.

Video Movie Review: CHIPS

The Times critic Jeannette Catsoulis reviews CHIPS."

By MEG FELLING and ROBIN LINDSAY on Publish Date March 23, 2017. Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures.

And thats too bad, because had there been, the talented Michael Pea wouldnt have had to work so hard to hold this minimally amusing mess together. As Ponch, an undercover federal agent investigating corruption in the California Highway Patrol, Mr. Pea struggles to make his character more than a walking erection. Thats tough when your new partner, Jon (Dax Shepard, who also wrote and directed), seems so fixated on his own equipment that he keeps forcing you to look at it. The mixed messages are clamorous.

Exhibitionism aside, Jon is a battle-scarred motocross rider who has joined the patrol to impress his estranged wife (Kristen Bell, Mr. Shepards real-life spouse). Together, the partners chase unidentifiable men in full-face helmets and converse about what constitutes an acceptable masturbation schedule. A corpulent and clearly embarrassed Vincent DOnofrio slips in and out of the frame as a dirty cop, and the delightful Rosa Salazar, playing a sexily competent colleague, deserves much more attention than the hardware-obsessed script is willing to give her.

I dont think we went more than three days on this movie without blowing something up, Mr. Shepard says in the publicity notes, betraying the pictures true intent. Yet beyond checking genre boxes, the action sequences, while undeniably flashy, often have debatable narrative utility. The accomplished cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen brings what context he can to the pyrotechnics, but not even he can perk up the movies drearily staged indoor setups. Focusing his camera intently on a cats backside, he must surely have been questioning his life choices.

CHIPS

• Director Dax Shepard

• Writer Dax Shepard

• Stars Michael Pea, Dax Shepard, Jessica McNamee, Adam Brody, Ryan Hansen

• Rating R

• Running Time 1h 40m

• Genres Action, Comedy, Crime

• Movie data powered by IMDb.comLast updated: Mar 24, 2017

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