Film Reviews

Reno 911!: Miami

• Rating:
• Director: Ben Garent.
• Starring: Thomas Lennon, Ben Garant, Cedric Yarbough, Mary Birdsong.
• Details: US / 84mins (15A).

It's a tough one for writers of a hit comedy series: do you up the ante and do something different when presented with the opportunity of a feature and hope you don't alienate your faithful fans? Or do you stick with the usual if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it formula and hope you'll stretch a half-hour episode out over 84 minutes? Garent and Lennon went for the latter and although there are a lot of jokes in the movie, they seem to be reaching for every one. Lt. Jim Dangle (Lennon) surprises his inept crew of Reno cops with a trip to Miami for a law enforcement convention. Upon arrival, a bio-terrorist act forces the entire convention to be quarantined inside the convention hall, leaving only our shoddy excuses for cops to police the whole city of Miami. The plot isn't important, as it's just an excuse for the gang to do their thing in a different setting. And do their thing they do, as a whole host of odd jobs are tackled: an escaped alligator, dead whales on the beach and a noise disturbance at Suge Knight's mansion all appear at some stage. However, a patched together sub-plot involving Paul Rudd's Ethan The Druglord, is the standout running gag. The ad-lib approach we've seen in other mockumentaries like Trailer Park Boys and Christopher Guest's movies are always going to be hit-and-miss and Reno 911!: Miami is no different.

Review by Gavin Burke