In 'Central Intelligence,' Dwayne Johnson is a once-bullied CIA agent who enlists the former "big" man on campus from his high school, played by Kevin Hart, to help him on a case. Hijinks ensue! Let's look at other movies in which cops and civilians team up for wacky adventures.
Ride Along (2014)
Another Kevin Hart movie. Here he plays a security guard who helps a hard-nosed police detective (Ice Cube) take down Atlanta’s most notorious criminal during a 24-hour ride along. The catch? He wants to marry Cube's sister. The sequel found them tracking a drug dealer in Atlanta.
48 Hrs. (1982)
One cop. One con. And the rest is action comedy history! Nick Nolte is a gruff police detective who teams with Eddie Murphy’s wise-cracking convict to track down a pair of vicious cop killers. The result is nearly '2 Hrs.' (okay, okay) of entertainment.
Foul Play (1978)
In this classic ’70s comedy, Goldie Hawn plays a shy San Francisco librarian who helps Chevy Chase’s bumbling PD solve a crime involving albinos, dwarves and a plot to assassinate the Pope. Complicating matters is their budding romance.
Turner & Hooch (1989)
Long before Tom Hanks started winning Oscars for more serious dramatic roles, he did the buddy comedy thing -- first on TV ('Bosom Buddies') and then in films like 'Dragnet.' Here, Hanks is partnered with his first non-human buddy, a drooling junkyard dog named Hooch, whose canine instincts help Hanks’ uptight police detective solve a murder case.
The Hard Way (1991)
At the height of his late ‘80s/early ‘90s fame, Michael J. Fox spoofed his movie star image playing a spoiled actor who hires a hard-boiled NYC police detective (James Woods) to teach him how to convincingly play a cop on-screen. What begins with a simple ride-along escalates into a full-blown partnership as the two try and stop a demented serial killer called the “Party Crasher.”
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1991)
Although it was a notorious box office dud, this offbeat comedy gets a few laughs out of the pairing of Sylvester Stallone as a tough guy police detective and 'Golden Girls' star Estelle Getty as the meddling mother who helps him solve crimes. (It was her first costarring feature role at age 69.)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
At this point in his career, Bruce Willis was famous for fighting crime solo in the 'Die Hard' films but here he gets a worthy on-screen partner in 'In Living Color' sketch comedy star Damon Wayans, who bulked up to play an ex-quarterback who teams up with Willis’ cynical detective to solve a murder case involving a pro football team and a politician.
Cop and a Half (1993)
Burt Reynolds plays a cranky veteran cop forced to partner with an 8-year-old murder witness (Devon Butler) who agrees to help the police with their investigation on the condition he’s made a cop. Together, the two team up for a series of comic misadventures as they try and bring the killer to justice.
Shanghai Noon (2000)
In this period Western, Jackie Chan is the Chinese equivalent of a cop playing an Imperial Guard sent to retrieve a princess kidnapped and taken to America. He finds an unlikely partner in Owen Wilson’s small-time robber, who joins him for a rescue mission packed with cross-cultural laughs and Chan’s signature high-kicking moves.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
'The Last Boy Scout' screenwriter Shane Black (writer-director of 2016 buddy cop team-up 'The Nice Guys') riffs on genre conventions in his directorial debut. It stars Robert Downey Jr. as an NYC crook who stumbles into an acting career and moves out to Hollywood, where he receives training on how to play a police detective from Val Kilmer’s aptly named gay private detective, Gay Perry.
The Man (2005)
A case of mistaken identity forces Samuel L. Jackson’s no-nonsense law enforcement agent to buddy up with an overly talkative dental supply salesman (Eugene Levy). Together, the comic twosome pulls off a sting operation and gets revenge on the criminals who killed Jackson’s partner.
Taxi (2004)
Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon costarred in this buddy comedy about a rookie cop (Fallon) who gets unexpected help from a feisty, speed-loving cab driver (Latifah) to stop a bank robbery. Although based on a superior French comedy of the same name, this fast-paced remake has enough laughs to please fans of its charismatic leads.
Theodore Rex (1995)
Certainly the strangest buddy-cop comedy on our list is this bizarre-o curiosity starring Whoopi Goldberg as a female police detective paired with a talking dinosaur – that’s right, talking dinosaur – to track down a dino killer in a futuristic society. Although the film went straight to DVD, it proves that just about any type of person – or creature – can prove a cop’s greatest asset in catching the bad guy.
Replicant (2001)
In another weird take on the genre, Jean-Claude Van Damme plays both a serial killer and his clone (you read that right), created to help Michael Rooker's undercover cop who has been pursuing the bad guy for years.
Not a member? Join now or during checkout - it's free!
Rent or purchase any movie or TV show on Vudu or purchase at least one (1) movie ticket on Fandango between 12:00 am PT on January 17, 2023 and 11:59 pm PT on February 11, 2023 and get a Bouqs promo code for $40 off (1) qualifying merchandise product (before taxes) from a list of eligible flowers at bouqs.com/filmlovers. Plus receive $7.00 off shipping on weekday delivery. Code expires February 28, 2023 @ 11:59pm PST. Delivery not available in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the USVI, or APO/FPO addresses. Certain FedEx limitations exist in some areas of Hawaii and Alaska. Not combinable or stackable with any other offers. Code is not valid on vases, sale items, prior purchases, in-store pick-up orders or purchases made on The Bouqs Company iPhone, iPad or Android apps. One code/person/transaction. Code cannot be redeemed for cash and is not valid for resale.