Bruce Willis back to his comedy roots in "Cop Out"

CEBU, Philippines - Bruce Willis is one of few actors who create memorable performances in practically any genre – whether drama (Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction”), thriller (M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense”) or action (the blockbuster “Die Hard” film franchise).  Now, he returns to the genre that started it all for him – comedy (“The Blind Date”) — in Warner Bros.’ “Cop Out” from director Kevin Smith.

“Cop Out” features two longtime NYPD partners on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card who find themselves up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster.  Jimmy (Willis) is the veteran detective whose missing collectible is his only hope to pay for his daughter’s upcoming wedding, and Paul (Tracy Morgan) is his “partner-against-crime” whose preoccupation with his wife’s alleged infidelity makes it hard for him to keep his eye on the ball.

“Jimmy is a cranky, irritable cop with a wisecracking sense of humor,” offers Willis.  “He shoots first, asks questions later, and cracks jokes whenever he can.”

Says Smith, “During production, I sat around set all day and watched the movie in a little monitor, as directors do, seeing what the camera sees.  So in reality, I sat there all day watching a Bruce Willis movie, which is what I do at home anyway for free.”

Screenwriters Robb Cullen & Mark Cullen describe Willis’ character, Jimmy, as someone who’s been a detective for over 20 years, is divorced and somewhat lonely.  “He hasn’t gotten the breaks to move ahead in the department.  He’s more like the gunslinger of the old West, who has his own code of conduct,” says Mark.

Robb adds, “Jimmy’s very conflicted because his ex-wife has married up and is doing very well, his daughter now is participating in that wealthy lifestyle, and he’s still living in an apartment by himself.  And, on top of that, his daughter’s insufferable stepfather is practically shaming Jimmy into letting him pay for his daughter’s wedding.  I think all of that is adding up to making him feel less of a man at times.”

Not about to be upstaged at his own daughter’s wedding, Jimmy has made the decision to cash in his priceless ’52 Pafko baseball card to pay for something even more priceless—his daughter’s happiness.  However, mid-sale, the Pafko becomes the “victim” of a robbery, right under the not-so-watchful eye of Jimmy’s partner, Paul.  Paul is in the midst of his own family drama…even if it is of his own making.  In addition to trying to catch criminals, he is also trying to catch his wife in the act with another man.

Michael Tadross, who produced two of the “Die Hard” movies, asserts, “I jumped at the chance to work with Bruce again.  The man is brilliant, he knows what he wants and he’s a friend, so it’s always a pleasure to be around someone like that.  Put Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan and Kevin Smith in the same room?  I couldn’t wait to see what would come out of that.  Those three guys are at the top of their game.”

Tadross was not the only one who’d worked with Willis on a “Die Hard” film.  Offers Smith, “I’d worked with Bruce as an actor on ‘Live Free or Die Hard,’ and he called me at one point and said, ‘I’m an actor, you’re a director, we’re both from Jersey... we should do something together some day.’  So when Marc Platt said to me, ‘Hey, there’s a chance we can get Bruce Willis,’ I thought that would be amazing.”

Opening across the Philippines on March 3, “Cop Out,” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.