CHIPS tells the story of John Baker (Dax Shepard), a failed and broken (both physically and emotionally) former motorcross star. His heydays are far behind him and in a last ditch attempt to save his marriage to the gold digging adulteress Karen (Kirsten Bell), he enrols in the California Highway Patrol.
Unbeknownst to the haphazard rookie John – let’s just say his performance at the academy is far from exceptional – he is to be a pawn in an FBI sting to bring to justice five corrupt officers, who have aided and abetted a motor bike riding gang that have in turn pulled off million dollar heists across LA.
John finds himself paired with cocky, trigger-happy under cover FBI agent Frank “Ponch” Poncherello (Michael Pēna). The partnership is rockier than a California earthquake, given John’s fondness for psychoanalysis and the alpha male persona of “Ponch”.
Without giving too much away, let’s just say that these two help each other navigate through a hilarious series of issues. The chase scenes, ariel shots and high octane explosions were incredible. As was the plot which leads cinema goers on a Guess Who expedition in regards to identifying the crooked cops, which was expertly crafted and directed by Dax Shepard.
You very much get the feeling that CHIPS is the product of Dax’s childhood, growing up watching movies like Turner and Hooch, Beverly Hills Cop, Lethal Weapon and Terminator.
CHIPS is very much the film that 21 Jump Street and Mall Cop wanted to be. I will hold my hands up and say that I was not expecting to enjoy this film but it was a triumph of old school slap stick, toilet humour and good old fashioned shoot outs.
There were stand out performances from a stellar line up of supporting actors including Vincent D’ Onofrio, Cameron Cruz, Jane Kaczmarek and Maya Rudolph. So if you’re in need of tongue in cheek fun with non stop action and humour, you need to go see CHIPS now!
Check out moviehouse.co.uk for ticket information and times.