Panel Report: The Other Guys

Panel Report: The Other Guys

Posted on Saturday July 24, 2010, 07:23 by James Dyer in Comic-Con 2010

Panels come in a great variety of shapes and sizes here at Comic-Con. Some are deathly dull (anything in room 9, for example), some are punctuated by bombshell exclusives (Del Toro to direct Haunted Mansion) and others stand out thanks to the explosive footage on display (Tron Legacy). The rarest of panels are those that, thanks to the chemistry, wit and charm of the participants, are simply entertainment in their own right. Sony’s The Other Guys was one such panel.

Director Adam McKay and stars Eva Mendes, Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell were electric, all four of them slinging zingers left and right and generally taking the piss out of each other and the audience (in an extremely good natured way.) Fanboys and girls were treated to a selection of Anchorman quotes from Ferrell, who announced what a pleasure it was “to be here in the Whale’s vagina.”

But as amusing as Ferrell (who stole the show with his Megamind panel performance and continued his stand-up routine here) was, it was Mendes who stepped up and made The Other Guys the best panel at the Con so far. When one kid stood up to ask a question, things took a turn for the wrong…

Boy: “This is for Mark Wahlberg. I just wanted to ask…”
Mendes: “Awwww, you’re really cute.”
Boy: “I’m available!”
Mendes: “Are you legal?”
Boy: “Does 16 count?”
Mendes: “Hmmmm.”
Wahlberg: “You are so in there.”
Ferrell: “BONER ALERT! BONER ALERT!”
An older lady steps up to the mike next to the boy.
Lady: “Eva, I’m his mother!”
Cue raucous laugher both on and off the panel.
Lady: “Actually I think you’re great.”
Mendes: “Thank you!”
Wahlberg: “You know, Mom. When the door’s locked and he’s in his room by himself don’t come in. It’s just him, a picture of Eva and some lotion. It’s just natural.”
Extreme blushing from the mortified boy.
Boy (Struggling bravely on): My question was…
Wahlberg: “It’s for me he wants to know how she smells. She smells good, she smells like she looks. Dude, you’re in - she’s ready to go! You can both have my room at the Hard Rock.”
Mendes: “You’re setting me up with an underage boy!”
Wahlberg: “His mom said it was okay!”
The boy and his mother sit down and a man approaches the mike.
Ferrell: “Is the next person asking a question your dad? Cause now it’s getting really weird.”
Wahlberg: “It’s his parole officer!”

The wrongness continued throughout - including a creative line in Hebrew swearing and the emergence of yet another underage suitor for Mendes - providing what was arguably the most laugh-packed hour of entertainment Hall H has yet to see this year. Early word on the film itself has been rather mixed but if the cast manage to be half as funny on screen as they were during this Q&A then The Other Guys will be nigh on unmissable.

You can watch the entire panel - thanks to one industrious attendee - below.