For Reno 911 fans who believe that Comedy Central's improv-driven mock-reality series could benefit from more unbleeped profanity, uncensored sex scenes, and nudity, the feature-length R-rated Miami will be just the ticket. Perhaps less a movie than it is a Very Special Episode, Miami transplants short-shorts-bedecked Lt. Dangle (Thomas Lennon) and company to Miami for the American Police Convention ("They invited everybody"). No sooner can you say "bio-terrorism" than the hotel is quarantined, and Wahoe County's hapless misfits, shut out when their credentials can't be found, must step in and save the city from "complete chaos." Complete chaos ensues. As with the series, Miami unfolds in a series of hit and miss bits. The funniest are those that hew closest to the Cops template, such as an early "814" call that does not, as the officers believe, decode as armed intruder, but actually involves a loose chicken, and an encounter with a taunting good ol' boy who, when faced with an alligator in a swimming pool, boldly goes where officers Jones (Cedric Yarbrough) and Garcia (Carlos Alazraqui) fear to tread.
Happily, as was not the case with Borat, no innocent or unsuspecting citizens were emotionally harmed during the making of this movie. All of the jokes and humiliations are at the Reno squad's expense. Miami benefits from some subtle (and not so subtle) stunt casting, including Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens) in a small but pivotal role as the deputy assistant mayor, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's hilarious, albeit short-lived cameo as a gung-ho bomb squad leader. It is a tribute to the crack ensemble that Reno's intimately etched characters do not need much of an introduction, and can be appreciated by those who have not seen the show. But longtime viewers are issued this warning that Miami crosses with even more impunity the thin blue line of good taste. A Rear Window homage in which we view each officer indulging in some alone time in their fleabag motel rooms may not be as bad as Borat's wrestling match, but really, there ought to be a law! --Donald Liebenson
Reno 911!: Miami Extras
Beyond Reno 911!: Miami
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