CHIPS (2017)

This is a movie who's underlying premise is somewhat loosely based on the old TV show of the same name. While the characters bare the same names and are members of the California Highway Patrol motorcycle squad, that's pretty much the end of the connections. Dax Shepard takes the role of Jon Baker while Michael Pena takes the role of Ponch. In this adaptation, Jon Baker is a rookie who's joining the force and the motorcycle squad in a very misguided attempt to save his marriage. His underlying theory is that because his wife Karen's (Kristen Bell) dad was a cop and women are sometimes attracted to someone like their father, that becoming a cop will rekindle the romance. Meanwhile Ponch is actually an undercover FBI Agent planted on the motorcycle squad and partnered with the rookie. They quickly stumble into the investigation of a robbery ring that is robbing armored cars. The complications of this movie largely revolve around Ponch being a sex addict with trigger discipline problems that lead to him shooting his FBI "partner" twice. The sex addiction issues are also causing Ponch some trouble and eventually leads to him being fired from the FBI and him begging to be sworn in as an actual member of the CHP. This movie was also directed by Dax Shepard, and I know he is somewhat proud of this film and he talks fondly of how much fun he had making it. The problem is this film was made in the wrong era. If it was going to be made it should have been made a decade or two earlier. It maintains an aura of toxic masculenity that is quickly going out of style, and already was out of style in 2017. The movie has a relatively strong cast for what it is though. Michael Pena, Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell, Vicent D'Onofrio, Rosa Salazar, Adam Brody, Isiah Whitlock Jr. Richard T. Jones, Ryan Hansen, Jane Kaczmarek, David Koechner, Monica Padman, and several others. The movie turns out to have made some money. It had an estimated budget of $25 million and had a worldwide gross of $26.8 million. The movie isn't great, but it's a simple kind of fun. It's a hard R that is not for everyone, but decently done. Overall I give it just 5 out of 10 *'s.