Review - "CHIPS"

CHIPS - directed by Dax Shepard

Starring: Dax Shepard, Michael Pena, Jessica McNamee, Adam Brody, Ryan Hansen, Vincent D'Onofrio, Kristen Bell, Rosa Salazar, Maya Rudolph, Richard T Jones, Adam Rodriguez, Jane Kaczmarek, Ben Falcone, Kelly Richardson, Merrin Dungey, Ben Falcone. Vida Guerra, Isiah Whitlock Jr, David Koechner, Josh Duhamel

Screenplay: Dax Shepard

Music Score by: Fil Eisler

Cinematography: Mitchell Amundsen

Edited by: Dan Lebental
Running Time: 101 minutes
Language: English
Rated: R16 - Violence, Profanity, Nudity 

Dax Shepard's debut feature as director "Hit & Run" was a decent amount of fun but for me it was ultimately disappointing (review).
It had a solid central premise and a few familiar faces but tonally it was all over the place and sadly so was the story.
With "Chips" I was hoping for a drastically improved second film - a "Desperado" after "El Mariachi" sort of quality bump signalling the arrival of a confident, talented new director.
But "Chips" fall victim to the very same things that stopped "Hit and Run" from working.
It is tonally all over the place with a story that makes no sense and a bunch of jokes that all fall flat.
And I mean ALL.... I don't think one joke produced a laugh from me.
Maybe a smile... perhaps one slight giggle....

Michael Pena and Dax Shepard

I have heard this movie compared to the Ben Stiller / Owen Wilson movie "Starsky and Hutch".
Both look to reinvent much loved seventies era TV shows as straight up comedies.
"Starsky and Hutch" worked because although it had some car chases and action scenes it never forgot that the intention is humour not excitement.
If "Chips" is trying the same thing it is failing in spectacular fashion.
There is a fair amount of action here and some of it is bloody including a decapitation, gunshot wounds and extreme finger trauma.

Where "Starsky and Hutch" was always a comedy that allowed for action "Chips" comes off as an action film that delves into comedy.

To give it credit the action scenes are well done but to paraphrase Ryan Gosling's Sebastian from "La La Land" - 'Pick one - do it right'.

Shepard tries to have it both ways and the net result is that the failure of the comedy side of the film lessens the enjoyment of the action bits.

The great supporting cast are almost entirely wasted

The story also becomes problematic when so much emphasis is put on the action.

Whatever plot there is collapses under a barrage of scenes intended to be funny while still furthering the plot.

Shepard's Jon Baker is granted entry into the California Highway Patrol because he can ride a motorcycle really well.

He can't hit a target ten feet away with an automatic pistol, navigate an obstacle course, gain proficiency in unarmed combat or any of the other requirements.

But he takes up a rookie role courtesy of a remarkably unfunny scene with Maya Rudolph as a CHP sergeant.  A joke is made about a cross eyed husband and disabled athletes shooting their girlfriends.

I don't mind tasteless jokes but they'd better be funny otherwise they come of as plain mean spirited.

Also a miserable failure is the idea that Pena's undercover FBI agent character is a sex addict.

Much is made of his reluctance to physically touch an often naked or close to it Shepard.

Pena is giving it his all too as he always does so the failure of the character is even more noticeable.

For his part Baker has a mysterious condition where he is effectively a cripple when it rains!

I don't know the medical veracity of this idea but regardless it is a plain stupid plot device.

There isn't a lot of chemistry between the leads either but in fairness they don't get much help from the script in this regard.

There are some decent action moments

So this film just chugs along being unfunny pausing only long enough to tease us with a moment or two of genuinely interesting action before returning to the barrage of flopping jokes and bizarre character moments.

Shepard's real life wife Kristen Bell appears here and there and looks utterly amazing playing a complete horror of a woman and Vincent D'Onofrio seems to be completely unaware that he is appearing in a comedy.

His performance indicates that he is under the impression that this more of a "Heat" kind of a crime movie and it really, really is not.

You have to dig pretty deep to find something to praise here beyond the occasional inspired action moment or a familiar face in the casting.

Even then it often backfires and we get to see normally very funny people like Jane Kaczmarek floundering under the mediocrity of the writing.

If you want an example of a comedy movie that strikes the right balance between humour and action violence in the way that "Chips" fails to then look at "Pineapple Express" or "21 Jump Street" or its sequel.

These re-imaginings can work and I'm sure that there is a good, very funny movie to be made from the Chips property but this one misses the mark spectacularly.

RATING: 62 / 100

CONCLUSION: Amazing that a film featuring Michael Pena, Maya Rudolph, David Koechner and Adam Brody could be almost completely devoid of jokes that work but here it is.  Some decent action scenes, while fun serve only to highlight the contrast in tone.  Not good.