After retirement, some footballers eye up a job in coaching or management; others may go on to become pundits. Not Iceland’s former goalkeeper Hannes Þór Halldórsson, who turns film-maker with this goofy cop comedy. The movie is Reykjavík’s answer to Hot Fuzz: it’s an affectionate sendup of Hollywood action flicks, with a gay twist. It’s reasonably funny but, like a lot of genre spoofs, it begins to look increasingly like a low-rent version of the original movies it’s parodying. Though there are bound to be more laughs for audiences in Iceland where the actors are all big-name celebrities.
What Cop Secret does have going for it is a memorable lead, detective Bússi (comedian and TV personality Auðunn Blöndal). Bússi is Iceland’s most famous cop, a neanderthal knucklehead drunk who cruises Reykjavík in aviators and a leather jacket bashing bad guys. He’s dumped by his cardigan-wearing partner Klemenz (Sverrir Þór Sverrisson) after a high-speed car chase with Klemnz’s toddler strapped into the backseat (there’s a funny running gag here that sleepy Reykjavík is not exactly a crime capital). The reason for Bússi’s aggressively macho behaviour soon becomes apparent: he’s gay and terrified to come out.
