An Irishman and an American walk into a crime scene...

...That would be quite the beginning to a joke. What would be the punchline? I couldn't tell you that, since it's not really a joke. Well, not until someone else creates one out if this. What we do have with this, however, is the premise of director John Michael McDonagh's dark comedy, The Guard, which tells the story of two mismatched crime stoppers, with one being from the 50 states, and the other being from the Emerald Isle.

Buddy-comedies involving cops can go one of two ways: either they can both handle situations with a mutual understanding, or they can have their own ways of solving them. It most certainly makes for a better narrative to have the latter choice for a movie, which is what McDonagh's film explores in a violent, yet joyfully amusing and original yarn.

Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) is an experienced and tough policeman in Ireland who has seen enough over the years to not become fazed by the brutality of criminals. He's a foul-mouthed racist who likes things to be done his way, and doesn't know anything outside of his home country. Gerry soon experiences an episode of culture clash when an FBI agent from the United States, Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle), travels to Ireland with his squad in order to investigate a murder inside a drug smuggling gang, headed by Clive Cornell (Mark Strong). As they get deeper into the case, the two will have to navigate through blackmails, briberies and killings so they can catch their culprits.

The draw to Gleeson's character is that although he can be very uncouth at times, he's still a lovable guy. He's just a simple, everyday man trying to do his duty as a community protector, while also caring for his ailing, yet cheerful mother (Fionnula Flanagan). Gleeson has you laughing and gasping at his rudeness in one scene, and then he will have you sympathizing with him in another as he spends his mother's final days with her. We're able to see two sides to his life: that of the police precinct, and that of his personal life when being a thoughtful son and wanting a family of his own.

The fish-out-of-water aspect of the story is strengthened by the fact that Don Cheadle is the only American actor in the film. When he and Gleeson are together, it's highly satisfying to watch them interact and see how different their roles are. Their are some very funny exchanges between the two of them when Gleeson says some stereotypical comments and when Cheadle corrects him. They remind you of lab partners in school who are assigned to work together, but aren't able to do so until they find some common ground.

The screenplay, written by the director, is unique in the way that it shifts the cop-comedy genre overseas. So in this case, the two law enforcers aren't just different in their personalities like in other films of its kind; but they are different in their backgrounds as well. Gleeson and Cheadle work it to its full uproarious effect. Seeing as the plot involved drug smuggling and bribery, it could have been more interesting with some intricacies; but the chemistry between the two leads is enough to make you forgive the few faults. As Gleeson's character can surely tell you, crime doesn't pay; but it's undoubtedly worth it to pay a few dollars to watch this unusual cop in action.

Final grade: A-