Observe and Report

Observe and Report. No, it is not a ripoff of Paul Blart: Mall Cop, lets get that out of the way right now. This movie has been troubled since the very beginning and has been disowned by critics for being too dark to be funny. Dark? Yes, this movie has its share of politically incorrect humor and gratuitous violence played up for laughs. But to call it not funny…. I simply cannot fathom why anyone did. This movie is a laugh-out-loud spectacle. Its almost as good in the way that Bad Santa was good. Seth Rogen even plays his character akin to Robert DeNiro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (minus the Oscar worthiness and anything that made Travis Bickle a classic character of course, I'm not equating Rogen to DeNiro). The rest of the cast exemplified terrific comedic timing, especially Ray Liotta. If your looking for laughs, this movie is up your ally. Its in the same league as Kick-Ass and Bad Santa for sure. As for the critics… well… prior to the film's release, the stock market crashed. I blame the economy for this one. Times are a little bit better, and so is this movie. Give it a watch.

An anonymous flasher exposes himself to shoppers in the Forest Ridge Mall parking lot. The head of mall security, Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen), makes it his mission to catch the flasher. He is helped by Charles (Jesse Plemons), Dennis (Michael Pena), and the Yuen twins (John Yuan and Matthew Yuan). Ronnie's dream girl, Brandi (Anna Faris) is flashed the next day, and she becomes hysterical. Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) comes and takes over the situation, this makes Ronnie very angry. Ronnie decides to take the case into his own hands.

A incredibly disgusting film where Seth Rogen is at his funniest, but a great performance by Rogen cannot save this crude film. Observe and Report is a very dark and unpleasant experience. A cliché thing to say, but I found myself looking at the clock waiting for this film to end. Besides for Rogen Observe and Report has very few laughs. The perfect example of why you can't base and entire films laughs on dirty humor. Some of the most unfortunate, and unwanted nudity I have even had to sit through. Jody Hill tries to shock and awe viewers will dark humor, and a unique storyline, but instead creates and unfortunate film. The most surprising thing about this film is that even while the film is very tough to sit through, Rogen's performance still almost carries the film.

Jody Hill is the co-creator and executive producer of the HBO series Eastbound and Down. Eastbount and Down has dark humor and a very outrageous plot as like Observe and Report, but Observe and Report is not able to link together as well. Hill's first film The Foot Fist Way was seen by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell who bought the distribution rights. And also developed a cult following. Hill was allowed on the set of Knocked Up, and he fell in love with Seth Rogen's acting style. He became even more of a Rogen fan after the release of Superbad. Hill both directed and wrote the script for Observe and Report. Unfortunately it just didn't have as great of an effect as his previous work. Observe and Report's script is very poorly made. Hill's direction is well done, but the film is an absolute mess.

Seth Rogen's performance is one of the best and hilarious performances from a comedy since probably Steve Carell's in 40 Year Old Virgin. Besides for Rogen there are no other performances worth mentioning. Anna Faris as Brandi is a very untalented performance. Ray Liotta as Detective Harrison is nothing special, no lines or scenes worth mentioning. One performance does not keep a film in motion. Each time Rogen is off the screen this film just crashes and burns.

Observe and Report only grossed about 25 million in the box office, one of the lowest grossing films that Rogen has stared in. This film had plenty of hype. Rogen as the lead, the co-creator of Eastbound and Down as the director, and also starring Ray Liotta. But like so many comedy films, it disappointed. It seems like each year there are more and more gross- out comedies that are released. Hopefully this film will help people realize that these films very rarely work, but probably not. The amount of awful nudity in this film will make you have to check and make sure you are not at a Jackass film. Observe and Report is a film you need to brace yourself to sit through. A film Rogen fans will want to pass on, and if you are a Jody Hill fan you too will be disappointed.

I cant think of any reasons not to love this film. It's hard to make me laugh, and I love dark humor. Ignore bad reviews they just don't get it... stop scrolling through reviews and go watch this already!

So go light up a joint and enjoy this epic comedy.

Decently entertaining, and with a underappreciated performance from Rogen as the Bi-polar lead- Observe and Report is a underrated little dark comedy that doesn't always succeed, but does so more often than not. I'll start off with the flaws of this film. There are several moments of this film that feel a bit choppy, whether it be editing, or simply the increasing change of camera angles throughout a single scene, it feels a bit messy in that sense, and overall weakened the scenes it affected. The film can also be frustrating at times with its awkward encounters and sense of humor, that can get old after a while. Thankfully though, due to Rogen's performance, and the embracing of the black comedy this film knows it is, Observe and Report can often be quite funny, and at times rather amusing. I enjoyed the fact that almost none of the characters in this film are likeable, which may seem like a turn off to some for films, but it doesn't aim to impress the audience with how good everyone is, and it embraces the characters flaws for what they are. The film can be quite violent, rowdy, and at times surprising- not anything I expected from this comedy anyway, and I think the film deserves that recognition as something more than a copycat of Kevin James Mall cop flick. In the end, Observe and Report is a flawed comedy, but it is rather unique in its own way. It doesn't play by the rules, and it isn't afraid to embrace its darker tones and odd sense of humor, something many films (especially comedies) don't ever get the chance to do. My Rating: 8/10

I've watched this film almost half a dozen times so I guess I am part of the Observe and Report cult. All you people giving it one, two star reviews...really? Are you that masochistic that you have to write a dissertation on something you hate? This is a great movie that knocks you on your ass with its dark humor and is indeed offensive. In fact, I would say if you're not offended in certain scenes, then there may be actually something wrong with you. Go see your shrink and talk about it. Despite that, there are also scenes that are moving and true to life which make this more than just some exercise in shoddy exploitation. At any rate, I love this movie and own a copy (if that says anything) Why you ask? Well, for one thing this is a great movie about a delusional man with bipolar disorder. The film has dream elements where he comes close to realizing his over the top ambitions only to be smacked in the face by societal regulations. On a serious note, there are a lot of young men who cannot fit into society and find a deeper purpose for living. The mall seems like the perfect metaphor for what has happened to American society. It is a boring, stultifying environment where banality is seen as the highest good and crass consumerism is the almighty God. Certain professions like security guard seem to attract nutballs, guys who dream of a police badge and a gun yet have to settle for chasing off skateboarders from the mall parking lot while carrying mace and at most a tazer. Now is the film an indictment of a crazed society and its shiftless youth or is it a nihilistic celebration of recklessness and mental illness? Even after watching it as many times as I have, I'm not sure I can come to any stunning conclusion. Its opened ended and while I know that can infuriate people looking for closure (and worse, a message) its the truth about this shocking and original film. Let me say that you owe it to yourself to check it out. When truly stupid comedies are abundant (usually ones about young men smoking pot and trying to get laid), its refreshing to see a film that dares to be wildly different in true punk rock fashion.