In Netflix’s new buddy comedy, the team-up of a white cop and an African American boy seesaws between that of kid-friendly comedies such as My Spy or Kindergarten Cop. The film’s two central characters, Officer Coffee (Ed Helms) and young Kareem (Terrence Little Gardenhigh) don’t get along. Coffee is in a relationship with Kareem’s mother Vanessa (Taraji P. Henson), and Kareem, understandably, isn’t having it. Tipped off by a gangster hoping to make some young recruits, Kareem asks a group of local criminals to frighten Coffee into leaving Vanessa. Unfortunately, he ends up walking in on the murder of another police officer, and he and Coffee are forced to go on the run as corrupt cops frame them for the killing. Helms is a strong fit for this kind of role, Coffee is one of those nice guys who always manage to finish last. He wants to win over Kareem and prove to the boy that he loves his mother, and Coffee is willing to lay his life on the line to be part of their family. In addition to playing hopeful stepdad well, Helms also makes for a good punching bag among his fellow officers. Meanwhile, Gardenhigh acquits himself nicely in his first feature, conveying Kareem’s insecurity beneath his bravado, and subtly selling the inevitable moment when Kareem begins to care about Coffee.

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