Feds

Directed by Dan Goldberg, Feds follows mismatched roommates Ellie De Witt (Rebecca De Mornay) and Janis Zuckerman (Mary Gross) as they attempt to make their way through the FBI’s rigorous training program. It’s an appealingly familiar premise that’s employed to agreeable yet forgettable effect by Goldberg, as the filmmaker, armed with his and Len Blum’s screenplay, delivers a pervasively subdued endeavor that never quite becomes the hilarious piece of work one might’ve anticipated – with the sluggish, episodic midsection doing little to alleviate the pervasively (and perpetually) mediocre atmosphere. It’s clear, then, that Feds benefits from a smattering of genuinely amusing sequences and the top-notch efforts of its two stars – with De Mornay and Gross turning in agreeable work that’s heightened by their palpable chemistry together. (And Fred Dalton Thompson is quite compelling in his minor role as a tough but fair instructor.) By the time the satisfying, crowd-pleasing final stretch rolls around, Feds has cemented its place as a decent-enough comedy that never quite wears out its welcome (ie the 82 minute running time is certainly appropriate).

**1/2 out of ****