The first trailer for the CHIPs film has been released courtesy of Dax Shephard and Michael Pena on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The film is looking to ditch the drama aspects of the classic show for a more comedic approach to the adventures of Ponch and Jon on the California highways. If you saw the trailers for Baywatch or the films based on television shows like 21 Jump Street or Starsky And Hutch, you know what you’re getting with this film.
Ponch and Jon are ditching their ’70s look for an updated modern tale with the California Highway Patrol. We already got the serious side with True Detective season two, so no need to go down that road again. Here we see Shephard playing Jon, bumping crotches with his co-workers and trying to save his marriage with his wife (played by Shepard’s real-life wife Kristen Bell). Ponch, on the other hand, looks nothing like Erik Estrada but is probably a better actor in the long run. He’s not a real cop, though. They could’ve at least put him in his Observe And Report wig.
Isiah Whitlock is also in the trailer as what seems to be a superior officer, meaning he might get to put his catchphrase to good use. He might not be Clay Davis from The Wire anymore, but the love is still there when he gets another film role.
Does this look like something you want to take in at the theater? It’s hard to say, but other TV shows that have jumped to the movies have been pretty good depending on the show.
(Via Jimmy Kimmel Live)