Reno 911!: Miami has a weak and ridiculous storyline, much like its characters. Photo / Darren Michaels
Herald rating: 1 out of 5
The trailer for Reno 911!: Miami implies that this film is very funny.
Unfortunately, the trailer is a cleverly edited slice of action which includes practically each and every good moment, although to be fair to this popular underground Comedy Central TV
show, it probably would be fine as half-hour TV shows and viewed one short burst at a time.
Reno 911 is a cop show parody and you don't need to be familiar with the TV series to get your head around a pretty simple concept.
It takes some of the most stupid cops - or as their leader, Lieutenant Dingle, describes them "the dumbest group of family who aren't legally retarded" - and throws them into a situation where they are in well over their heads.
That situation is a Miami police conference that the Reno team try to gatecrash, only to find that every cop in town is inside the conference and has been quarantined because of a terrorist biological attack.
Unfortunately for the people of Miami, the Reno cops are the only ones available to keep their city safe.
Shot fly-on-the-wall documentary style, the storyline is as weak and ridiculous as the characters.
While not a smart lot, the cops from Reno make up for it by being sexually charged and aren't afraid to make fools of themselves. No opportunity has been missed to throw in gratuitous masturbation, sex, and topless women.
There are a few very funny moments in this thankfully short 77 minutes, but nowhere near enough ideas or gags to sustain a feature-length version of this TV show.
Even cameos from the Rock, and Danny DeVito aren't enough to raise a smile.
Cast: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon, Niecy Nash, Mary Birdsong, Cedric Yarbrough
Director: Robert Ben Garant
Running time: 77 mins
Rating: M, contains violence, offensive language, drug use & sexual themes
Screening: SkyCity, Hoyts and Berkeley
Verdict: Some television shows should just remain television shows, and this is one of them
