Voisins du troisième type

Like most comedies starring Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller and/or any of the Frat Pack, people are going to complain that this was gross, unfunny, ridiculous, etc.

But they clearly expect too much from these guys. If you go into this movie thinking that you'll fall on the floor laughing then yes, you will disappointed. But I expected nothing and I laughed my butt off. It's a silly movie with a silly plot and it knows this.

If you don't like Vince Vaughn or Ben Stiller, then don't see it. It's that simple. If you do like them, give it a try. I'll definitely watch it again because it was entertaining in the most over the top way.

Ok so I probably enjoyed it more than I should have but I honestly don't think it deserves the 1-2 star ratings.

The Watch is one of those comedies that seems to rely too heavily on its cast's abilities and believes it can phone-in other key parts of filmmaking such as writing, tone, direction, and wit. When we laugh during the film, are we laughing because the scenarios are funny or because these are actors we've all seen in funny movies? Combing three of the funniest and most reliable actors working today, and one British actor who already has a loyal fanbase in America, seems like an easy recipe for success, but the recipe begins to call for too much and offer too little quickly.

The film was originally titled "Neighborhood Watch," but was quickly changed because of looming controversy from the Trayvon Martin case. You won't be thinking about that at all because the film offers so little resemblance to any "neighborhood watch" movie, program, or event in the last decade or so. It concerns Evan Trautwig (Stiller), a Costco manager and a loyal community activist, who has been starting clubs left and right for his humble Glenview, Ohio neighborhood. After one of his workers is murdered in the Costco, Evan creates a neighborhood watch program, which only recruits three misfits; loudmouth Bob (Vaughn), unstable Franklin (Hill), and offbeat Jamarcus (Ayoade).

As the watch works in a rather disorganized manner, they soon discover that the town is home to rather unearthly creatures and, obviously, since the police won't believe them, they must take matters into their own hands.

Ben Stiller gives his umpteenth rendition of the good-guy trying to do right, Vince Vaughn is a loud, obnoxious fratboy, who is struggling to maintain control as a single father looking after his rebellious teen daughter, and Jonah Hill is rather off-putting as an rejected police officer, mama's boy who continues to have trouble emoting and controlling his anger. While they are all playing stale archetypes of characters they have done in the past, they do manage to squeeze some laughs and chuckles here and there. But the king here is easily Richard Ayoade, who is sadly getting the cold shoulder with the film's ad campaign, which is boasting "STILLER, VAUGHN, AND HILL." Ayoade stars on a British sitcom called The IT Crowd, and has picked up followers in the U.S happily. Here, he delivers some memorable one-liners, as he sometimes effortlessly one-ups the other comedy veterans at their game.

What leaves The Watch with a pungent aftertaste is the writing, which to begin with, is not very funny, but is brought to the "decent" category because we see funny actors performing what is on the paper. The film was written by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Jared Stern, and seeing as both Rogen and Goldberg were the ones responsible for making Superbad's script so quick, witty, and hilarious, it is surprising to see The Watch flounder in the writing department. This is where the film becomes too reliant on its actors, as it neglects to give them some interesting dialog to bounce off of.

It is also apparent that the direction is obscured because of the screenplay continuously jumping into raunchy comedy, sci-fi elements, romanticism between Evan and his wife, drama between Bob and his daughter, etc. One moment, we are laughing tirelessly at R. Lee Ermey's over-the-top cameo and the next, we are rolling our eyes when the boys are being attacked in Bob's mancave by another life-form. Had the film been more consistent in its writing, I doubt this problem would've even been so noticeable.

Director Akiva Schaffer, one of the three members of The Lonely Island comedy troupe (the three make a cameo in the film) responsible for some seriously witty music videos and digital shorts on Saturday Night Live, definitely has passion for the weird and surreal, with his previous effort being the unsung cult classic Hot Rod. He simply does what he can with what he has, while The Watch scurries along in its screenplay of errors and its directions a plenty Starring: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, Will Forte, and R. Lee Ermey. Directed by: Akiva Schaffer.

Usually a movie that get really terrible reviews such as this film, The Watch would turn me away. But being a Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn fan, I had to watch this film and see if it's bad as critics and plain viewers made it seem. It's actually half-way decent and there are some pretty funny, though rather vulgar jokes. I really liked the film premise and the film had a chance to be comedy gold, but in the end despite being entertaining, the comedy felt forced at times and the vulgarity seems to go through the roof.

Akiva Schaffer's film is about a Costco night guard who was mysteriously murdered. In response to the murder, straight-laced Evan forms a neighborhood watch to track down the killer. But all he gets is three dimwits and together they discover the murderer may be.....extraterrestrial.

I find it unfortunate how the careers of Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn are steadily declining. They are both really funny men and while not at their best, they do have some genuine funny moments here. Jonah Hill is on a nice streak of late but I don't know if I would consider this film a setback for him or not. Finally, Richard Ayoade is pretty good even though did not expect much out of him.

Overall, the Watch is a good, but could have been a way better film. It has a nice, central premise and I liked the sci-fi element of the film. There are some interesting creature designs here, but I wouldn't call them original and I'll leave it to the viewers to see. I rate this film 7/10.

If a lot of you already know, "The Watch" was originally given the title, "Neighborhood Watch", but then the title was changed due to a controversy involving the shooting of Trayvon Martin by a member of a neighborhood watch group. Now, although I was really looking forward to see this movie, and although this movie's Rotten Tomatoes rating of 15% is quite not agreeable, "The Watch", although at it's consistent funny moments, isn't that perfect or quite memorable for an R-rated comedy. With an all-star cast, Ben Stiller delivers the same, usual, and uninspired performance as Evan, he's a kind and "by-the-book" nerd, working as a general manager for a local Costco, who then forms a neighborhood watch after his friend was murdered. He teams up Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoyade to help keep the neighborhood safe…or it's just a lame excuse to hang out with the guys! But then, an alien invasion starts to appear out of nowhere, and now it's up to the watch to keep everyone safe. Now, "The Watch" is not a terrible movie like everyone says it is, but it is a disappointing comedy that shares a few consistent laughs throughout. Even with a cool soundtrack and a likable cast, "The Watch" sadly doesn't live up to the hype for me! But, there are a few consistent moments, almost throughout the movie, that were undeniably funny, while some other moments either made me chuckle or cringe. Some members of the cast have their funny moments, especially Richard Ayoyade's scene-stealing performance. But overall, this movie just didn't quite impress me, and I really didn't get into the comedy in this one. As for the cast, each and every character is completely stereotypical, from Vaughn's man-child overprotective father, Hill's bad-ass speaking mamma's boy, Ayoyade's comic relief dude with a funny accent, and Stiller's awkward man with relationship problems involving having children. The plot holes are completely excruciating, the dialogue is badly forced, the pacing is a little too quick, the amount of "f-bombs" are considered unnecessary, and the whole alien subplot is a little too goofy. There's also a lot of predictable clichés from here and there, the action scenes are tensionless, and Will Forte delivers one of the most annoying performances in the history of film, as a bumbling cop against the watch. Everything was just all over the place, nothing really went appropriately planned here. Although "The Watch" is a disappointing paper-thin gimmick, it's still pretty entertaining for the most part, and again, I laughed at a couple of parts. But overall, "The Watch" is a forgettable and disappointing movie that still has it's moments. "The Watch", in my review, "occasionally funny, but sadly unimpressive".