Kommissarie Späck, Sweden's first police parody falls short on so many levels. The good news is the cast and the first act. Both the cast and the entire first act is firing on all cylinders, specifically the male main characters are more than just great, Späck's obese and goofy detective, as well as Grunwald's over-the-top tough and angry partner, make the movie worth the entrance fee. The film starts off really good with its comic elements and it does so in an amazing pace, but unfortunately the pace never gets geared down and remains on the same level of ADHDisteria for the rest of the film. After a while, say half an hour into the story, it gets tiresome, and no matter how funny the main characters are, you just don't care to crack another big smile when every joke is being force fed without reflection. That's not the bad news, the bad news is the messed up editing, at first you don't notice it, because you're laughing so hard, but once you get immunized against the humor, you soon develop a headache at how uneven the cutting's been done. I can only guess that the makers haven't done long format production before, because they seem to have emphasized too much in how it looks and very little in how it's told. It's a pity, cause there's a mountain of Swedish police series that deserve to be targeted upon by a really good long feature parody, but sadly, Späck doesn't hit that spot quite yet. It's definitely not a failure, it's just not satisfying. Maybe if they make a sequel, the makers will sort out the wrongs and rights from the first round, and make a fun film we're all longing for, I for one will keep my fingers crossed.
6 Reviews
A surprisingly good Swedish parody
Enchorde16 March 2011
Warning: Spoilers
The first thing that should be said about Kommissarie Späck is that it is a surprisingly funny movie. It is something so rare as a Swedish parody, and a pretty good one at that. Most Swedish comedies are too pretentious for my taste, and tries to give a social statement at the same time. Kommissarie Späck is successful because it is so simple. It is made with only the intention to entertain, and that it does well.
As you might have guessed Kommissarie Späck is mostly a spoof of the known Swedish crime series Beck, but the movies that has influenced Späck most is National Lampoon's and most notably Loaded Weapon that has lent many ideas to Kommissarie Späck. Just as Loaded Weapon Kommissarie Späck is full of simple but effective puns, jokes and odd characters. It is not easy to put together a good parody, but in this movie it works well. Fortunately it is guided by Fredde Granberg, a well respected and good comedian with quite a few successes behind him.
What it could have developed more is the play on words that the American counterparts is much better at, and also I sometimes got the feeling it was a little too much split up in episodes. The story's flow is interrupted at times.
Still it is a very good movie, much better than I expected. It is well worth the time and recommended. Hopefully it can set a new, better standard for Swedish comedies.
6/10
As you might have guessed Kommissarie Späck is mostly a spoof of the known Swedish crime series Beck, but the movies that has influenced Späck most is National Lampoon's and most notably Loaded Weapon that has lent many ideas to Kommissarie Späck. Just as Loaded Weapon Kommissarie Späck is full of simple but effective puns, jokes and odd characters. It is not easy to put together a good parody, but in this movie it works well. Fortunately it is guided by Fredde Granberg, a well respected and good comedian with quite a few successes behind him.
What it could have developed more is the play on words that the American counterparts is much better at, and also I sometimes got the feeling it was a little too much split up in episodes. The story's flow is interrupted at times.
Still it is a very good movie, much better than I expected. It is well worth the time and recommended. Hopefully it can set a new, better standard for Swedish comedies.
6/10
Sweden's first parody flick is actually very funny!
Skruttan21 June 2010
Most people in the world don't know abut the Beck-series. Mostly swedes and Germans(for some reason) know about it. It is a show about a cop named Martin Beck and his partner Gunvald Larsson, solving crimes in the city of Stockholm. It's a dark show, with some funny moments such as Beck's neighbour always asking Beck if he wants a drink. The problem with the show is that it often becomes unintentionally silly and stupid, and it is very, very, very repetitive. If you watch one of the films you know what's going to happen in the next one. Still, it is part of the Swedish culture, but it is very easy to joke about. Hence, this movie.
This film is about Mårten Späck and Grünvald Karlsson investigating a serial-suicide-killer who's made 6 acts of suicide the past six months, it later turns out that there is a gang of people illegally copying movies(sounds better in Swedish). The jokes are obviously inspired from films like Airplane, Naked Gun and Hot Shots, which is a really nice exchange from movies like Scary Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie or other Movie-movies. People have given it a lot of bash for being stupid and really uneven, but to tell you the truth, I don't care. I like stupid movies(not Scary Movie stupid, mind you) and most of the jokes are really funny. The Actors are great and in true Leslie Nielsen, they play their parts dead serious(most of them anyway). Some of the jokes fall flat, but they are easily forgiven.
Don't expect Mel Brooks or Airplane, but still enjoy this very funny parody.
This film is about Mårten Späck and Grünvald Karlsson investigating a serial-suicide-killer who's made 6 acts of suicide the past six months, it later turns out that there is a gang of people illegally copying movies(sounds better in Swedish). The jokes are obviously inspired from films like Airplane, Naked Gun and Hot Shots, which is a really nice exchange from movies like Scary Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie or other Movie-movies. People have given it a lot of bash for being stupid and really uneven, but to tell you the truth, I don't care. I like stupid movies(not Scary Movie stupid, mind you) and most of the jokes are really funny. The Actors are great and in true Leslie Nielsen, they play their parts dead serious(most of them anyway). Some of the jokes fall flat, but they are easily forgiven.
Don't expect Mel Brooks or Airplane, but still enjoy this very funny parody.
Uneven run, but multiple funny moments
BeneCumb24 September 2013
It is tricky to create a cop comedy - crimes are seldom ennobling and people tend to regard policemen as wise and setting good patterns. However, Naked Guns became very popular - and Kommissarie Späck follows similar steps, with some help from other peculiar movies such as Hot Shots! or Scary Movie series.
To enjoy the film in question fully, you should see at least a couple of Martin Beck movies first, particularly the TV series with Peter Haber and Michael Persbrandt, among others; otherwise many scenes may seem ridiculous or ambivalent - next to those already twisted and exaggerated. The story-line is still present and severe felonies have been alleviated by "softer" torts, leading to rather mild - but still distinctive and witty ending, using all more or less improbable scenes and lines the US cop films are famous for. The cast is also evenly strong, many actors have had their roles in original Martin Beck films. My favourite is Johan Hedenberg as Grünvald Karlsson, although he was easiest to imitate, but still...
I watched the film in the midst of watching Beck-series and I liked it: I had my gigs and laughs, and the "real" series I saw later obtained a new angle for me. If you are not a serious Martin Beck admirer, then Kommissarie Späck provides a peculiar value beyond. To my mind, the film has been underestimated so far.
To enjoy the film in question fully, you should see at least a couple of Martin Beck movies first, particularly the TV series with Peter Haber and Michael Persbrandt, among others; otherwise many scenes may seem ridiculous or ambivalent - next to those already twisted and exaggerated. The story-line is still present and severe felonies have been alleviated by "softer" torts, leading to rather mild - but still distinctive and witty ending, using all more or less improbable scenes and lines the US cop films are famous for. The cast is also evenly strong, many actors have had their roles in original Martin Beck films. My favourite is Johan Hedenberg as Grünvald Karlsson, although he was easiest to imitate, but still...
I watched the film in the midst of watching Beck-series and I liked it: I had my gigs and laughs, and the "real" series I saw later obtained a new angle for me. If you are not a serious Martin Beck admirer, then Kommissarie Späck provides a peculiar value beyond. To my mind, the film has been underestimated so far.
Kommisarie Späck
robin_olenius20 November 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This movie has a VERY childish humor. Although. Fredde Granberg has done it again. He completely makes this movie awesome. The "jokes" are VERY childish and u only laugh at half of the jokes, BUT when u laugh u really laugh. The reason this movie doesn't top the scale is: 1: What the "F" is "Irene Snusk" doing in this movie"??? She is a parody of the movie series: "Irene Huss", NOT BECK. Kommisarie speck is a Parody of the series of movies "BECK". WHAT is she doing in this movie??. Secondly: "Johan Hedenberg" S***S as Gunvald Larsson. Gunvald is a character which made a GREAT impression in whole Sweden. WHY f**k that up with Hedenborg? I LOVE this movie besides that but with another actor for Gunvald and NO "Irene Snusk" it would be a TEN.
Inspector Späck
Tweekums22 December 2023
As this Swedish crime comedy opens we see a man being murdered in his home; he is found with a variety of kitchen implements stabbed into his chest. Leading the investigation are Inspector Mårten Späck, who is somewhat overweight, and his partner Grünvald Karlsson, who has anger issues. They have differing opinions as to what happened; the former believes it was clearly suicide while the latter suspects a gang of video pirates. Shortly after they start their investigation they are joined by Irene Snusk, a sex obsessed police woman who dresses like Lara Croft... if Miss Croft had a penchant for black leather! As they work together to uncover the truth in their own unorthodox style there will be plenty of action and plenty of laughs.
I wasn't expecting too much from this film... I certainly didn't expect it to be as laugh out loud funny as it proved to be. It is a delightful spoof of the cop genre, most notably the series 'Beck'. The jokes are fairly low-brow and often fairly violent but that doesn't count against the film; it never meant to be deep and meaningful. The laughs come thick and fast so if one doesn't amuse you odds are the next will. The cast does a solid job, managing to play it fairly straight even in the most comical of scenes, which makes it even funnier. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of crime dramas who also want a good laugh.
These comments are based on watching the film in Swedish with English subtitles.
I wasn't expecting too much from this film... I certainly didn't expect it to be as laugh out loud funny as it proved to be. It is a delightful spoof of the cop genre, most notably the series 'Beck'. The jokes are fairly low-brow and often fairly violent but that doesn't count against the film; it never meant to be deep and meaningful. The laughs come thick and fast so if one doesn't amuse you odds are the next will. The cast does a solid job, managing to play it fairly straight even in the most comical of scenes, which makes it even funnier. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of crime dramas who also want a good laugh.
These comments are based on watching the film in Swedish with English subtitles.
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