CHIPS - Liked It

CHIPS is based off the TV Series of the same name that aired in late 70’s early 80’s. I can’t say I’ve ever watched it, but from what I saw in the movie I’d bet it was a pretty good TV show. This film stars Michael Pena (as Frank “Ponch” Poncherello) and Dax Shepard (as Jon Baker). Ponch has been sent to CHP (California Highway Patrol) to sniff out a mole in the establishment – there have been several armored car robberies and it’s obvious to the FBI that there are inside people. Ponch gets paired with Jon, a guy who use to be a daredevil motorcycle rider that is trying to win his wife (who by no coincidence is played by Kristen Bell) back, and is a little too close for comfort all the time. Basically, the movie is exactly what you’d expect. Ponch does not like Jon and does not want to work with him, while Jon is this loving yet overbearing partner. Eventually the two become best friends as they try to solve the armored car robbery mystery.

This film is categorized as a comedy and I think they did a pretty good job with it. I’m always a little worried when I go see comedies, because I don’t find a lot of things funny that most people do i.e. crude humor and excessive cussing. But CHIPS did a good job I think. It definitely was adult humor, but I didn’t find it grotesque like most times I do (there was one thing that sat uneasy with me, but the fact that they kept it a recurring joke through the movie didn’t make it that bad). I found myself laughing along with the rest of the audience and was entertained throughout the entire film. There were a few instances that were a bit gory, but it didn’t deter to the movie. If anything it added to the story line and even the humor of it (strange right?).

Dax Shepard wrote and directed CHIPS as well as obviously starring in it. I think he did a great job with this. Though it was a mystery to Ponch and Baker who the inside men were, the viewers know the whole time who it is and why they are doing it. It’s a bit different, typically the viewer isn’t aware right? Still, I liked how it was put together. Pena and Shepard definitely had chemistry on screen, the two characters played off each other perfectly. The supporting actors did fine, but they are definitely drowned out by the main actors as we don’t care about them as much. Vincent D’Onofrio (Law and Order) plays Vic Brown, the leader of the robberies and head mole in the system; I believe he played the evil villain well.

Overall, CHIPS was a good movie. The comedy of it was great and it was fun to watch. I’m going to give this movie a “Liked It” and encourage all you comedy lovers to go see it when it’s released in theaters this weekend (24 MAR 2017). I think you’ll find it enjoyable, and the end scene in the ambulance is great. As I mentioned before, I’ve never watched the original TV series (so I was confused for a moment before realizing what was happening), but the crowd went crazy when Erik Estrada showed up as an EMT in the end scene. Kind of reminds me of Split when David from Unbreakable shows up in the end letting the crowd go crazy. That’s really fun that movies like this can do that, even if only a short cameo to surprise the crowd.