When a television show attempts to adapt its formula for the big screen there can be mixed results (see the dud known as The Dukes of Hazzard versus the brilliance of the South Park movie). Usually the show will attempt to do something on a much grander scale, which is something that it cannot afford to fit into a normal 30-minute time slot. Reno 911!: Miami finds the most hapless sheriff’s department in the country bringing their its to the silver screen for the first time ever.

As the title suggests, the deputies of the Reno Sheriff’s Department setting up shop on South Beach, but the question arises as to how they find themselves there. Lt. Jim Dangle (played by Thomas Lennon, who is also one of the writers and directors of the film) informs his troop in one of its morning briefings—a trademark segment of the show—that they have been invited to the National Police Officers’ Convention in Miami. His fellow deputies wonder how anyone in their right mind would invite them, but nevertheless, they were on the guest list.

The seven core members of the sheriff’s department set off for Miami aboard a bus, but find trouble when they arrive in Miami. Apparently their reservations never went through and thus they cannot attend the convention. They must find other hotel accommodations, and end up in a very seedy hotel in Miami Beach. When they arrive at the convention the next day in order to work their way inside, it has been victim to a bioterrorism plot, and thus traps all of the other officers inside. With no police left in Miami, it is up to the Reno Sheriffs’ Department to patrol the streets.

What follows is essentially an hour and a half version of the television show with the deputies responding to various calls in Miami, despite a complete lack of knowledge of the area, and all the while trying to find the culprit behind the attack on the convention. Some of their mishaps include Lt. Dangle and Deputy Travis Junior (Robert Ben Garant, who is one of the other writers and directors) answering a noise violation at Suge Knight’s house, only to find themselves resorting to stripping in order to make it out alive and the entire department having to resort to a rather unconventional method of removing a dead whale from the beach. They are not the brightest of cops but usually get the job done.

For fans of the show, you should love the movie because it stays true to the mockumentary format of the show (a parody of Cops), with some choice cameos added to the mix. The expanded and uncensored format the silver screen allows the actors to be a little more lewd than normal, including an incredibly funny scene of their first night at the hotel and another that can only be described as the funniest sex scene since Team America.

There are not too many negative aspects of this movie, but then I am a huge fan of the show. I loved seeing the various inane situations that the deputies found themselves. It may sound like a stale concept, but with the unfamiliarity of Miami combined with immense size and diversity of the city, I was hardly disappointed. If you are not a fan of the show, the movie may drag because you may not understand why the plot is so loose or relate to the really stupid humor.

I will agree that the humor is a bit low brow, but the genius of the film comes from its improvisational aspect. Nearly all of the movie (and the TV show as well) is fully improvised; the actors have a general idea of what each scene is about, but it is up to them to decide how it will be played out, such as whether or not they will even get the perp or not.

Usually TV shows adopted for the big screen can be underwhelming or stretch the premise so thin that it no longer seems an adaptation of that show. Luckily the cops from Reno do not do this and instead produce one of the best belly-laugh movies in a while. Reno 911!: Miami does not have box-office success written all over it, so if you are into the show, do the best you can to see it before it leaves theaters.