Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: "Reno:911!," "The State," Mockumentaries
Likes: Police Academy
Dislikes: TV shows that become movies
Hates: Epic Movie

The Movie
Sure I've said it before, but as long as Hollywood continues to mine the small screen for "inspiration," it bears repeating: TV shows don't usually turn into good movies (and vice versa) unless you use the show as actual inspiration (see The Brady Bunch Movie.) That hasn't stopped bad ideas like "Starsky & Hutch" from darkening our theaters though. So when I saw the first preview of Reno:911! - Miami, I just figured it was a joke from a group of very funny comedians. Then when I found out it was going to be an actual film, my reaction was not a positive one.

Like previous Comedy Central series-turned-movie "Strangers with Candy," "Reno:911!" is a parody of a TV series, namely "Cops." So why make a movie adaptation of a TV series parody, when it removes the context of the parody and stretches the pacing of material that has been more or less perfected for a half-hour time frame. The only real reason to do a movie, if you aren't a pay-cable ahow, is the chance to add nudity, violence or profanity.

Well, Miami certainly adds the nudity and profanity, but not much else, which isn't really a bad thing. Yes, the documentary conceit is somewhat lost (in places), but what you get is a lengthy helping of the Reno crew's trademark goofiness, set in a new locale, taking a page from Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach.

The Reno sherriffs find themselves in Miami, Florida for a police convention. Thanks to some unique coincidences though, they are soon the only active law enforcers in town, and their ineptness is set loose on an unsuspecting populace, as they tackle loose wild animals, menaced topless beaches, and even their old pal, Terry the roller-skating male prostitute (Nick Swardson.) In between calls, they get into their usual hijinks, most of which are less-than-enthralling, like Clemmy (Wendy McClendon-Covey) and her mystery tattoo.

Though it would be hard to distinguish the big-screen misadventures from the last few years of TV fun, when the film does hit its marks, it results in some solid humor, like the tremendous "Masturbation Ballet," which can stand amongst the best in large-scale one-scene comedy constructs ever, despite its rather base comedy, or Paul Rudd's silly Scarface imitation. As always, Reno does a great job of squeezing every drop from its celebrity cameos, including appearances by Rudd, Dwayne Johnson, David Koechner, Patton Oswalt, Paul Reubens, Mindy Sterling, and most of the cast of "The State."

Though there's a lot of fun to be had watching this film, there are some pretty slow spots, which can certainly be chalked up to the length required for a feature film. It's not hard to see the stretching in places, with a large chunk at the end easily described as tacked on, even if it will make fans of the series smile. In this day and age of the DVD box set though, are there many "Reno:911!" who haven't watched 90 consecutive minutes or more of these bumbling cops? Just look at it as three bonus episodes of the series, with bonus boobs thrown in for good measure.

The DVD
We received an early screener copy of the DVD, so the packaging is an unknown quantity at this time, but if Fox's recent releases are an indication, a standard keepcase and a slipcover should be in the offing. The disc features an animated anamorphic widescreen main menu that features a great bit of hilarious video, along with options to watch the film, select scenes, adjust languages and check out special features. Audio options include a English Dolby Digital 5.1 track and French and Spanish Dolby 2.0 tracks, while subtitles are available in English and Spanish, along with closed captioning.

The Quality
This is a Fox film, which means our screener has a watermark on it that affects the quality of the image, so I can't give a absolute word on the video. The image is generally good, with a pretty high level of detail and nice color, though there's some excessive grain in spots. There's no obvious dirt or damage in the transfer, and no noticeable digital artifacts. Considering this is supposed to mimic a documentary, it looks pretty damn good.

The audio, presented at a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, has the perfect excuse to sound mediocre, as it's supposed to be a mockumentary, but it's a very clean presentation, delivering crisp dialogue through the center speaker. The sides and rear speakers are used mainly for the score and soundtrack, along with the occasional sound effect, making for a deeper sound field than might have been necessary.

The Extras
Fox doesn't disappoint supplement seekers here, putting a healthy dose of extras on this DVD, starting with a trio of audio commentaries for fans of the show, picking up the torch from the TV DVDs. First up is a filmmakers track, with director/writer Robert Ben Garant and writers Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver, and as expected, they mix production stories with a great deal of joking around, creating a fun commentary for anyone who wants to stick around. It's followed by not one, but two in-character commentaries, splitting the sheriffs into two groups. The first track, with Lt. Dangle, Deputy Junior, Deputy Wiegel and Deputy Williams felt a bit more entertaining, likely as it features the core of the cast, but both are enjoyable, and make good sense for a supposed documentary, with both groups pointing out various inconsistencies and questioning the filmmakers' process and ethics.

A set of six extended scenes are also available to check out, with or without commentary by the filmmakers on the first four. These six scenes, which run approximately 67 minutes in all, amount to some of the best improv exercises you've ever seen, as the cast tries to one-up each other again and again. Unfortunately, there's no play all function, and sometimes, especially during the scenes in the mayor's house and the bus, each of which is more than 20 minutes long, the jokes run a bit thin. But one bit, a purely audio joke run with Swardson, is as good as anything in the film.

Though they didn't do them in the film, four poorly-produced PSAs, like the ones from the series, are included, this time focusing on the theater-going experience. Cheesy and goofy, they are a lot of fun, especially the aptly named "Shut the F*** Up." There's also a five-minute red-carpet featurette from the film's premiere at the Grauman's Chinese Theater, with the cast in-character. It's short and amusing and worth a look.

The disc wraps up with three trailers, including the theatrical preview for Reno:911 - Miami.

 The Bottom Line
If you like the "Reno:911!" TV series, there's no reason you won't like the movie, and if you like the series and breasts, you're guaranteed to get a kick out of this DVD. The film is just as funny in terms of the comedy, though the pacing isn't quite as good, but that won't stop you from getting some good laughs. The DVD looks and sounds very nice, and there's a pretty impressive amount of legitimate extras that provide more entertainment beyond the film itself. Fans of the show have to give this movie a look, while those mockumentary fans new to the franchise should pick it up as well, though you might get more out of the season sets out there.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.