Wrong Cops is the latest feature from Quentin
Dupieux, following his cult hit Rubber
in 2010, and the similarly titled Wrong
from 2012. Despite the similarities in titles, Wrong Cops is not a sequel to Wrong,
despite a brief cameo from Dolph Springer (Jack Plotnick) and his dog. This new
sub-genre of extreme comedic irreverence in independent films is carried out
with confidence by writer/director Dupieux. These films feel like a
marriage between David Lynch and Jared Hess, what might happen if the random
carnage and dreamlike narrative were to take place in a world of awkward
character actors.
Although Dupieux may be at the
forefront of this bizarre world of irreverent comedic violence, he is not the
only one making this type of entertainment. Eric Wareheim and Tim Heidecker
have been making ‘Tim and Eric’ productions in this vein for years, in any
number of formats, and 2012 they released Tim
and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie. Eric Wareheim joins the cast of Wrong Cops as an officer with a
disturbing way of using his power, not to mention eating a sandwich.
Wareheim plays only one of many
characters that make up the ensemble cast of Wrong Cops. Marilyn Manson is one of the most bizarre casting
choices in the film, and also the most inspired. He plays a reclusive teenager
with a little bit of an attitude and braces on his upper teeth, and it is a
breakout performance which steals many scenes of the film.
Trying to describe the plot of Wrong Cops would be, well, simply wrong.
This isn’t a movie about things that happen, and at times it feels as though
nothing of significance actually occurs in the plot. Everything about the film
is absurd, and intentionally so. Part of me thinks that Dupieux
creates films that will only sound more ridiculous when described, and for that
reason I encourage brave viewers to experiment on their own. You may love it,
you may hate it. It may bore you or captivate you, but nearly everyone is bound
to be united in an inability to define Wrong
Cops in any established cinematic parameters.
The DVD includes
a commentary track with Dupieux, along with actors Wareheim, Mark Burnham and
Arden Myrin. Also included is the short film which ultimately led to this
feature, Wrong Cops: Chapter 1.
Entertainment Value:
4.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 4/10
Historical
Significance: 5/10
Special Features: 7/10
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