The Reno, Nev., police department takes professional ineptness to astonishingly hilarious new heights in Reno 911!: Miami, the big-screen adaptation of the hit Comedy Central show.

The show was developed in 2003 by three of the show’s actors, Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver. The movie is directed by Garant, who also plays Deputy Travis Junior and co-wrote the popular movie Night at the Museum. Danny DeVito (Be Cool) serves as an executive producer and appears in the film’s opening sequence.

The Reno 911! cast is also currently shooting the fifth season of the show, which will air this fall.

In many senses, Reno 911!: Miami is what Super Troopers aimed to be. While both movies follow comically incompetent police officers, Reno 911! never takes itself too seriously – and neither should the movie’s viewers. Much of the humor is delightfully low-brow, so don’t expect anything too complex or thought-provoking.

The movie chronicles Reno’s eight police officers and their adventure to Miami for the National Police Convention. Upon arriving in Miami, the gang discovers that a paperwork error doesn’t allow them access to the fancy hotel where the other police officers get to stay. After settling on a decrepit motel, the officers arrive at the police convention – only to find that there has been a bioterrorist attack on the convention center, leaving Miami completely cop-less.

Lt. Jim Dangle (Thomas Lennon, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) and his trusty group of officers then volunteer their services to the city of Miami. The officers must keep the streets safe from beached whales, alligators and drug lords, all while searching for a vaccine to cure the police officers trapped in the convention center. The officers only have a couple of days to find a vaccine and take down mobster Ethan the Druglord (Paul Rudd, The Forty-Year-Old Virgin), who poisoned the other police officers.

What follows should probably be featured on cop-training tapes – but as what not to do when trying to keep a city safe. The officers make sure to hit up every nude beach, tattoo parlor and dance club while making up bogus reasons to protect these places from criminals.

While much of the humor in the movie is hit-or-miss, it thankfully hits the target most of the time. Some scenes that are sure to be hits with the male population include simultaneous self-pleasuring by the entire platoon and a nude beach scene. Crude? Sure. But Reno 911! accomplishes what it sets out to do, and that is to be side-splittingly funny.

Although each of the police officers is hilarious, Deputy Trudy Wiegel (Kenney-Silver, Waiting…) steals the show as a homely and inexperienced police officer madly in love with the cutoff-wearing Dangle. Although Wiegel appears frumpy and innocent, she constantly makes innuendo-laden jokes that demand laughter.

Rudd is entertaining as always, and he uses a thick accent for his role as the incompetent gangster. He provides a few truly clever laughs, something the rest of Reno 911! lacks.

Watching the movie is like watching an episode of Cops: The film is meant to be a mockumentary, but without too many A-list actors, it really feels like watching a bunch of cops do their jobs … horribly.

Although the actors aren’t immediately recognizable unless you are an avid watcher of the show (Lennon was best known for being Joey Tribbiani’s “identical-hand twin” on Friends), the movie has a plethora of celebrity cameos including DeVito, Michael Ian Black (Stella), Patton Oswalt (King of Queens) and – most importantly – Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a. The Rock (Walking Tall).

Overall, Reno 911!: Miami is worth the price of admission. While it won’t increase anyone’s I.Q. or leave viewers thinking about its momentous contributions to cinema, the movie will make you laugh enough to have a good time.

Contact reporter Jason Koebler at diversions@dbk.umd.edu.