CHiPS Will Drive You Up The Wall With Its Abysmally Unfunny Attempts At Comedy

Look, when I said I wanted Michael Pena to headline more movies, I didn't mean....like this.

There's a lot of things that one could describe as odd about CHiPS on a basic conceptual level beyond the fact that human beings funded a major feature film adaptation of the 1970's TV show CHiPS in 2017. Most notably, the screenplay for CHiPS, which has its script credited solely to Dax Shepard, who also directs and headlines the film, seems to be channeling classic action/comedy cop movies (the kind Shane Black popularized) with extended action sequences, most notably one introducing us to the films antagonists played by Vincent D'onofrio, that are played entirely straight-faced. It then moves into the kind of raunchy foul-mouthed humor you'd expect from a D-grade R-rated American comedy in 2017.

And Now The Story Of A Jane Fonda Led Family, Who Lost Everything, And The One Son Who Had No Choice, But To Keep Them All Together...

As Jason Bateman basks in the financial glory and critical failure of Identity Thief, he now is gearing up for a project that steers more towards the dramatic side, though fear not! Jokes about sex, boobs and affairs still abound. Director Shawn Levy (whose bipolar career has brought us the charming Night At The Museum and the forgettable The Internship) handles this one, which I have a feeling is a bit more dramatic and heady than the slightly generic trailer indicates. Still, the cast (which has Adam Driver in it!! Hell yeah!!!) is solid enough to keep my hopes on this one, which comes out in theaters everywhere September 12th.