Reno 911!: Miami

It's a bit like last year's Miami Vice movie, except there are more breasts and the laughs are intentional.Think of the original, funny Police Academy if it had been made by the creators of The Office and laden with celebrity cameos (an uncredited surprise appearance by a big-name action star is one of the highlights).

By Luke Y. Thompson Feb 27, 2007 12:12 AMTags

Review in a Hurry: It's a bit like last year's Miami Vice movie, except there are more breasts and the laughs are intentional.

The Bigger Picture: When a terrorist bio-attack forces every single officer at a Miami police convention into quarantine, the only cops left to defend the city are the Reno Sheriff's Department, who were unable to secure passes to the event. If you're not familiar with the gang from Comedy Central's Cops parody, suffice it to say that they're not exactly the best men and women for the job. But don't worry if you don't know the show—each character's particular quirks and many flaws are on display from the get-go.

Deputy Travis Junior (Thomas Ben Garant) gets a bit less face time than usual, but that's probably because Garant is also the director of the movie.

The studio declined to screen this movie for the press, which is particularly odd considering that the TV show is both popular and critically acclaimed, and the movie is simply more of the same, but with unpixelized nudity and unbleeped curse words. Whatever the reason for their lack of confidence, it isn't the quality. Think of the original, funny Police Academy if it had been made by the creators of The Office and laden with celebrity cameos (an uncredited surprise appearance by a big-name action star is one of the highlights).

If there's a criticism to be made, it's that reality-TV parodies play better on the small screen, so there's no harm in waiting for DVD—especially since the disc will probably be loaded with extra outtakes too.

The 180—A Second Opinion: If you're one of the people who made Epic Movie and Norbit tops at the box office in recent weeks, this is too subtle for you. Really—you'll hate it.