Dhruv Sharma
No other movie genre embodies conflict as hilariously as the “buddy cop.” The stakes are high, the clock is ticking, and the buddy cops are busy arguing over their cultural, social, or racial differences. But despite all of these common traits between buddy cop films, some like ‘21 Jump Street‘ and ‘Rush Hour‘ work really well, while others offer nothing more than the genre’s clichès. Is ‘Coffee & Kareem’ any good? Well, we’ll let you decide that, but in case you wanted to read our review of it, you can check it out here. With that said, the film might have made you wonder if it’s based on a true story or not. So to know more about that, read on.
What is Coffee & Kareen About?
Kareem is a spoilt kid who keeps a close eye on his mother. When he realizes that she’s dating a cop, he decides to teach the cop a lesson and seeks help from some dangerous criminals. But to his dismay, his whole plan to intimidate the cop backfires on him and he finds himself fighting crime with the crop. With what follows, Kareem learns what it truly means to be a cop and starts appreciating Coffee a lot more than he did before.
Is Coffee & Kareem Based on a True Story?
The bizarrely funny premise of the movie makes it pretty obvious that ‘Coffee & Kareem’ is not based on a true story. And since it’s solely a comedy film with a tinge of family drama, it barely scratches the surface of any deeper themes. Even so, as unreal as it may seem, it still manages to raise several “topics of discussion” for families.
The main character of the movie, Kareem, seems to be a spoilt child who has been raised by a fairly strict mother, but he still reaches out to dangerous criminals just to teach a cop a lesson. Although something like this can never happen in real life, the film’s depiction allows families to have discussions on why certain safety rules and restrictions are necessary for kids and how important it is for the kids to follow them if they want to avoid getting into serious trouble.
Apart from that, since the movie’s portrayal of violence is solely for the purpose of making its viewers chuckle, certain scenes in it are quite graphic. Families can discuss if the movie’s depiction of violence seemed funny or had some seriousness to it. Moreover, the implications of this in real life can also be talked about. Several violent scenes in the movie are shown too casually and these, in turn, might give a younger audience the wrong idea.
Even when it comes to the film’s representation of cops and their role in society, almost nothing can be taken too seriously. However, it does manage to create a pretty good contrast between an honest, hardworking cop and a corrupt cop, who manages to steal all the attention by pretending to be a good cop. This can further inspire a younger audience and evoke a strong sense of justice in them.
‘Coffee & Kareem’ also perfectly captures the essence of the clichès of every buddy cop movie. You’ve got two polarizing characters who are forced to team up. Like most other films of the sub-genre, the two leads in ‘Coffee & Kareem’ have conflicting personalities, different ethnicities and the younger one, Kareem, is far more “wilder” while Coffee is more mature and level headed. And of course, the film’s use of the good cop/bad cop motif is also a pretty common trope of the genre.
Read More: Coffee and Kareem Filming Locations
