Reality puckishly takes the back seat

WAYANS AND JOHNSON. From losers to high-flying winners.

Last Sunday, WE WERE supposed to watch either “Interstellar” or “Big Hero 6,” but it turned out that it was “All Seats Taken” for the two hit flicks at our favorite cineplex, so we ended up viewing—“Let’s Be Cops.” That’s a big letdown, right?

At first, we thought so, but as the buddy flick starring Damon Wayans Jr. and Jake Johnson unreeled, we realized that our “fallback” film wasn’t such a bad alternative, after all.

The flick is sometimes messy and mixed up, but its two leads’ copacetic portrayals provide the production with a strong spine and fulcrum that keeps us viewing despite its fudged-up moments.

Like “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Let’s Be Cops” is a film about losers—who turn out to be high-flying and broadly-grinning winners at the final fade. It isn’t as big a hit as “Guardians” by any stretch of the imagination, but its upbeat plot twist has a potent and puckish appeal, just the same.

This time around, our resident losers are 30-year-old best buddies and roomies who have come to the big city to set it on fire with their talent and passion—but have instead ended up chalking up many more hollow alibis for failure than actual achievements.

Wayans is supposed to be a whiz at creating video games, but he hasn’t sold a new game in years. For his part, Johnson plays a former sports star who is sidelined by an accident—and forced to eat humble pie instead of actual food!

Left to his own desperate devices, he convinces his bro to join him in pretending to be cops—and, right away, their stock rises, particularly with sexy, available women, who get especially turned on by men in uniform—especially when they’ve taken them off!

Wayans keeps warning him that their “pretend” game is highly illegal, and could even get them killed, but the success they keep enjoying blinds them to the dangers involved. Those dangers come to a big head when they cross a bigtime hood, who turns out to have an even more powerful and dangerous boss!

But, “Let’s Be Cops” is a comedic romp, so reality puckishly takes the back seat to slap-happy fantasy—and a good time is had by all—the viewing public slap-happily included!