The above trailer for Wrong Cops, the latest WTF fest from French director Quentin Dupieux (a.k.a. Mr. Oizo), certainly feels like it should be labeled "not safe for…" something; if not work, just normal life in general. It does tell us right from the start in the fake MPAA screen that it’s been rated wrong partly for surreal content, but there is absolutely no warning in the world that can get one ready to experience heavy metal shock rocker Marilyn Manson playing a disaffected teenager. Obviously knowing ahead of time didn’t help to cushion the blow for me. It’s like he’s doing a Nick Swardson impression, and my brain can’t necessarily continue to work properly knowing it exists.
Via EW, the trailer features a strange-asbord of nonsense almost as odd as Manson, but not quite. And it’s no surprise, given Dupieux’s other films were 2009’s absurdly quaint killer tire thriller Rubber and the boundless insanity of last year’s Wrong. These last films not only share a word in the title, but a performance from Steve Little (Eastbound & Down), who somehow comes off as the most normal person in this cast.
The plot is very loosely structured and follows a group of misfit cops without any big crimes to solve who get into other people’s lives. Then one of them shoots someone and has to get rid of the body. Mark Burnham (Wrong) harasses Manson with EDM music and crotch thrusts. Little tries to get rid of the bullet-ridden body of a neighbor (Daniel Quinn), and then his past as a gay erotic magazine model is revealed. And appearing in a bunch of other scenes whose context is hard to place are Eric Wareheim (Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job), Ray Wise (Twin Peaks), Arden Myrin (MAD TV), Eric Judor (Wrong), and Grace Zabriskie (Big Love).
For all the offbeat dialogue and weirdness, I didn’t find myself laughing at anything, nor did I feel particularly drawn to it. Maybe it was just the trailer, but it reminded me more of a National Lampoon’s movie than the latest project from such a talented filmmaker. But I’m more than willing to be impressed by whatever depravity is thrown at me.
You can find Wrong Cops both in theaters and on VOD on December 20. Below is a trailer released around Sundance when the promotional campaign began. Now with more Eric Wareheim asking to see breasts.
