Observe and Report - Film Review
Seth Rogen Leads a Hodgepodge Cast in this Twisted 2009 Comedy
Oct 11, 2009
Actor, writer, and producer Seth Rogen (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Pineapple Express) has taken over modern-day comedy. He has had an equal number of hits and misses. His foray into the world of mall security in Observe and Report lies somewhere in between.
Written and directed by Jody Hill (The Foot Fist Way), Observe and Report was purposefully tailored to star Rogen. In it, Rogen plays a bi-polar mall security guard named Ronnie Barnhardt. His performance is dark and demented, leaving open the question whether or not his character is mentally challenged.
Released only a few months after Paul Blart: Mall Cop, another mall security guard comedy starring Kevin James, Observe and Report garnered immediate comparisons. But where James' comedy is endearing, silly, and often slapstick, Rogen's style brings an edginess to the film, filled with sinister and often sad undertones.
Observe and Report Chronicles the Lives of Some Highly Disturbed Characters
When a movie begins with a guy in a trench coat flashing his naughty bits to crowds of women in a mall parking lot, viewers can be rest assured that the plot isn't going to be overwhelmingly profound. With Observe and Report, the flashing pervert is not just some gimmick employed for a cheap, cringe-inducing laugh; rather, it is essential to plot development, the impetus behind Forest Ridge Mall's head security guard's, Ronnie Barnhardt's, quest for greatness.
Ronnie and his crack team of unshapely, unintelligent, and uncouth simpletons set out to catch the flasher. Not surprisingly, they come up with nothing. After Brandi (Anna Faris), a superficial cosmetic retailer at the mall and Ronnie's fantasy girl, is accosted by the flasher, Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) steps onto Ronnie's turf, a real cop usurping control over the investigation.
Thus, a rivalry ensues between Ronnie and Harrison, and it turns downright ugly. Ronnie fights, albeit incompetently, to be a hero and to impress the uninterested Brandi, turning a cold shoulder to a potential romance at the local coffee stand.
Observe and Report is a Comedy Underlined with Sadness
At moments throughout the film, Rogen is so frustratingly obnoxious, it is hard to know whether to laugh at him, hate him, or feel sorry for him. Ronnie's life is pathetic, his mother is a prolific drinker, his only friend betrays him, his career dreams are shattered, his dream girl despises him, and his realization of all the negativity surrounding him and within him is somewhat depressing. Certainly, these harsh realities are often made comic in the hands of the right director, but in Hill's hands, they are only moderately funny and often disturbing.
If this mixture was intended, Rogen's portrayal of the questionably moral, dull-witted security guard is perfect. Michael Pena's (Buffalo Soldiers, Crash, Shooter) turn as Ronnie's friend and co-worker, Dennis, is somewhat amusing and certainly ridiculous. Anna Faris (Scary Movie 1-4, Just Friends, Waiting...) puts in another unsophisticated performance fitting of the absurd film. And Ray Liotta (Goodfellas, Unforgettable, Narc)? Liotta used to shine, particularly as a villain, in well chosen roles and quality films. Observe and Report doesn't tarnish his acting reputation (his performance in In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale did that), but it doesn't do him any favors either.
Overall, Observe and Report is a movie that criss-crosses amongst several different genres, not sure where it fits. And the transitions do not go smoothly. It is not one of the best comedies of 2009, but it is an average comedy that Seth Rogen fans will probably enjoy.
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