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| Director(s): | Jody Hill | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IMDB Rating: | 6.10 out of 10 (21254 votes) |
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| Runtime: | 86 minutes |
| Resolution: | 1280x536 px |
| Codec: | V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC |
| Bit Rate: | 6320 kbps |
| FPS: | 23.976 |
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| Type | Resolution | Codec | Bitrate | Audio Channels |
| Language: English | 48 kHz | AC3 | 640 kbps | 6 |
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Storyline
- Right now, the world needs a hero.
Movie Photos
We have taken some photos of "Observe and Report". They represent actual movie quality.
Visitor Reviews
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Funniest movie ever posted on 31 Aug 2009
Not for everyone, but for those who get it this is truly a masterpiece. The funniest movie I've ever seen.
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I thought this movie was a nugget of dark genius. It skips along through a plot punctuated by violence and socially innapropriate moments, almost edging on demented.
A brazen and unapologetic comedy. I loved it, and would recommend it to anyone who likes dark humor. -
Ronnie Barnhardt (Rogen) is a security guard in the local mall. He has four subordinates: Dennis (Pena), the Yuen twins (Yuan and Yuan), and Charles (Plemons). They all look up to him, and he runs things like it is the most important job that ever existed. Ronnie himself has a thing for Brandi (Faris), who works in cosmetics, but she doesn't return his affections. Nell (Wolfe), another mall employee likes him, but she is too plain for him to notice. Then tow things happen to rock Ronnie's world: a flasher begins terrorizing customers and employees, and a string on robberies. Despite the police becoming involved, Ronnie sees this as his problem, and takes things into his own hands.
"Observe and Report" is a surprising film. It is not your typical Seth Rogan comedy. In fact, its darker undertones are reminiscent of Adam Sandler's "Punch Drunk Love". This alone will be polarizing for people looking for something like "Knocked Up". Rogan does well, stretching his acting chops as Ronnie, a seriously flawed individual. There are a lot of laughs, but there is an awful amount of uncomfortable moments as well. Director Jody Hill even manager to push the limits of male nudity to humorous and uncomfortable effect. "Observe and Report" is a better movie than I initially thought walking out of the theater, but it is definitely not for everyone. See at your own risk! -
Ronny Barnhardt (Seth Rogen), the head of security for a large mall, takes his job very seriously, overseeing his troupe of three officers including Dennis (Michael Pena) and dealing with his alcoholic mom (Celia Weston). Ronny is bi-polar and seems frustrated that he can never use real guns in his quest for peace and safety at the mall. One day, a flasher begins to terrorize the female customers at the mall and chooses to flash his wares at Brandi (Anna Faris), one of the cosmetic counter girls at the department store. Brandi is the love of Ronny's life (if only Brandi actually knew this), so he immediately vows to find the culprit. When the flasher continues to strike and a burglar begins to target the mall, Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) is called in to close the case. Ronny and Harrison immediately butt heads and Ronny becomes even more determined to solve both cases.
Written and directed by Jody Hill, "Observe and Report" is the second mall cop comedy to be released since January, but I have every feeling that this film is head and shoulders above the other.
There seems to be a new and burgeoning sub genre of comedy making its way to the multiplexes of America. The first significant example of this was "Pineapple Express" directed by David Gordon Green and starring Seth Rogen and James Franco. In this film, the laughs play side by side with real violence, violence that is the consequence of the actions of the characters. As we watch the stoners try to survive while being pursued by criminals and corrupt cops, we laugh and we flinch from the violence portrayed in the film. In addition to the violence, the characters and the story sort of meander, sort of stumble along. It is an interesting idea and Green pulls it off. In the new film "Observe and Report", director Jody Hill and stars Seth Rogen and Anna Faris have created a very strange universe populated with some laughs and some very strong violence.
These films are interesting because they are so different from most of the other comedies we have the opportunity to see. It's almost like these filmmakers have convinced studios to let them make Independent-like films under their studio banner, spending money on larger budgets with larger casts and more complicated shoots. In a way, they are almost elevating a story that most likely would have exclusively been the fodder of independent filmmakers.
Seth Rogen seems to delight in creating and playing strange characters. As in "Pineapple Express", Ronny is a very different type of comedy lead. He has bipolar disorder and seems to take his job very seriously, strutting through the mall, keeping his eyes open, lording what little authority he has over the patrons and employees who work there. He seems to have an ongoing feud with a man who runs one of the carts and calls him Saddam (Aziz Ansari, TV's "Parks and Recreation"). He also meets a young woman who just started at the Cinnabon-esque stall at the food court. Nell (Collette Wolf) sits at the register; her healing leg propped up, ready and willing to smile at Ronny. This is Ronny's universe and he tries to exact control over it. When he hears that Brandi has been exposed to the flasher, he immediately runs to her side and vows to protect her.
Rogen makes Ronny seem vulnerable and egotistical, lost and driven, all of which fit the character's bipolar disorder. But Rogen brings the character an air of believability. I think we have all known people like Ronny. And in a way, that make him both sadder and funnier. We can identify with Ronny and we see what he is trying to accomplish, even if he has trouble succeeding in many ways.
I have to say Rogen has a certain "every guy" charm about him that has only made each of his films better.
Michael Pena plays Dennis, Ronny's second in command. Dennis is certainly not like any other character we have ever seen Pena ("Crash") play. Dennis has a loose, greasy(?) Afro, wears sunglasses a lot and speaks with a strange lisp. He seems to be as in to his job as Ronny is and they make a good pair. Later, his character has some strange turns that I didn't completely buy.
Anna Faris plays Brandi, the cosmetic counter girl who has captured Ronny's eye. She seems oblivious to anything but the most superficial things around her and doesn't really seem to care about anything else. The character is funny, but we have seen Faris play this role before. Maybe too many times at this point., because she almost seems typecast in the role. She played basically the same type of person in "Just Friends" and the performance was a lot funnier.
Ray Liotta plays Ronny's arch enemy and it is amusing to watch Detective Harrison and Ronny circle each other like kids on an elementary school playground. They seem to take an instant dislike to one another because the Detective realizes Ronny will only get in his way and Ronny realizes this guy might actually solve the crimes that are afoot on his home turf, stealing his glory and threatening his job.
Celia Weston plays Ronny's mom, an unapologetic drunk and she certainly seems to dive into the role whole hog. She is one of the most uncompromising drunks I have ever seen in film.
Nell is a good compliment to Ronny and Collette Wolf brings a sweet quality to the role. You can tell Nell will never be anything other than a food court employee because she seems to enjoy it and doesn't seem to care about doing anything else. Which is fine. But she finds herself in a bad situation because she just got hired at this new place and then had to have surgery, so she sits at the register all day, with her leg propped onto the counter. Ronny seems to like her, and take an interest in her, but his interest in Brandi is more pressing and he can't let anything interrupt his quest for the object of his desire.
The film has a definite dated look, slightly flat and the images are a little grainy, like Hill is trying to evoke the type of films made in the Seventies. This, and the film's setting in a dated mall, gives the project a slightly retro look, making us believe it might have been made before the advent of high def. It works because it helps us think back to the grittier, more interesting films of the 70s, films that took chances with characters and story lines.
"Observe and Report" is very good. It is not a comedy that will make you roll in the aisle, but it creates an interesting atmosphere for an oddball group of characters that will make you laugh and smile and flinch at the violence. -
Just got back from seeing this movie. I didn't know anything about it before going in, but was so glad I saw it.
Just a quick note, it is quite violent in places. I didn't have a problem with it, but I know that's not everyone's cup of tea. Hot Fuzz was violent too, but in this film the action was less done for laughs.
The main character is likeable, despite what some reviewers have said. Arrogant and self righteous? Sure! But also vulnerable, with heart in the right place. Brave and/or stupid? But he's flawed which adds layers. Very fun to watch.
One to definitely preorder on DVD -
I would've likely ranked this film higher had I not seen writer/director Jody Hill's previous work. Hill seems to be able to write one character fairly well: the delusional, socially inappropriate, male misfit. He did it for a judo instructor in his brilliantly funny debut film "Foot Fist Way," for a washed up MLB pitcher in the HBO series "East Bound & Down," and now as the bizarro-Paul Blart in his new film starring Seth Rogen. As someone who has enjoyed Hill's previous work with actor Danny McBride and knows what comedy heights he is capable of, I was disappointed with this film.
It's true "Observe & Report" is darker than Hill's previous work (mostly due to the focus on violence and guns) and actor Seth Rogen finds a darkness inside himself which we only get a glimpse of at the end of "Pineapple Express." However, "Observe & Report's" faults don't lie in its dark comedic tones, but rather in its reliance on formulaic film contrivances (lame montages, trite one dimensional love interests) and the fact that the main character is basically the same character from Hill's previous work, which left me with a "been there, seen that" feeling for most of the film.
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The movie starts off strong with many laughs. It does bog down somewhat in the middle third as most comedies do when attempting to switch to a 'drama' portion of the story. This is the part of the movie when the main character believes his life is all coming together only to have it fall apart. I really wasn't sure how the director was going to pull the end of the movie back into a dark comedy but Jody hill did an excellent job of making it all come together in a nice little package. Definitely worth watching if you like a dark comedy. For comparison, I thought it was better than Superbad and as good or better than Knocked Up and Zack and Miri Make A Porno. I thought Pineapple Express and The Foot Fist Way were boring.
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Arrogant. Delusional. Trigger-happy. Bipolar. These words don't often describe a hero, but in the world of Observe and Report, these characteristics reveal a protagonist who lives by a code of honor so nearly incomprehensible that it blurs the line between right and wrong, justice and vigilantism, disturbing and humorous. But it all somehow works as Seth Rogen's driving performance embodies such seriousness and commitment to a vision so morbidly dark and yet so diabolically funny. Though its degree of vulgarities will likely repulse many, Jody Hill's sophomore effort revels in its rebellious nature and entertains with an unpredictably pitch black brand of humor.
Compelled by delusions of grandeur and his own twisted sense of honor, Head of Security Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) relentlessly pursues the forces of evil that attempt to disrupt the harmony found within the Forest Ridge Mall. When a flasher begins terrorizing women in the parking lot, including promiscuous counter girl Brandi (Anna Faris), Ronnie takes it upon himself to apprehend the deviant before real police officer Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) can solve the case. The world needs a hero, and Ronnie is determined to become just that.
Observe and Report is like Paul Blart on crack...and weed and pills and heroin. It's a brutally unexpected twist on lighthearted comedy, substituting typical risqué humor with raucous coarseness and hallucinogenic morbidity. It succeeds because of a serious approach to everything, from the characters to the subject matter, regardless of how ridiculous the individual events - there's no conventional comic-relief bit-parts; every role is severe, even when comically deranged chaos ensues. Rogen plays a part not far removed from every other character he's embraced, but the utterly sincere approach to his determined Rambo-esque anti-hero is genuinely hilarious, especially when it's surrounded by unforeseeable violence, Borat-besting male nudity, and more montages (garnished with catchy music) than ever before seen in film.
With a scarily demented drug binge potpourri, constant psychotic delusions of majesty, perverted love during the search for a pervert, and a confused anti-hero functioning by a lawless code of his own invention, Observe and Report borders on schizophrenia, not always wanting to simply be a comedy. It's temperamental but more consistent than Pineapple Express in its offensive humor; the egos, the overstepping of real authority, the hyperactive cursing (at little kids and from old ladies) and Ronnie's belief in excessive vigilantism - like a realistic, unmasked and overweight Dark Knight - make this an explosive lesson in dark, dark comedy. Faris is perfectly pouty-faced and self-obsessed, Liotta is ideally no-nonsense and grave, and Rogen is convincingly cemented in his dizzyingly erroneous self-righteousness. It is in-your-face and out-of-control, but very wickedly funny.
- The Massie Twins
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So, I saw Observe and Report back in April and I've decided to write a review about this now. Of course I saw this because Seth Rogen was in it, after all I'm getting pulled in to the huge Seth Rogen trend, however I don't believe it's just a trend.Now the movie should be seen as a really dark and awkward comedy, and shouldn't ever be considered to be laugh out loud hilarious. You might even be able to enjoy it without making a sound if you choose not to laugh at horrible events occurring on screen.Clearly, the characters are very unlikeable. People seem to think that characters in movies have to be likable for us to care for them so we continue watching the movie. That's simply not the case. The movie will make us laugh at a murder or a rape and it's totally fine because it's being done in a completely absurd way that shouldn't be taken completely seriously.The acting was exceptional from everyone here. The real talent might be with the Writer and Director but the acting is done well with the material given. Seth Rogen has to give his best performance so far of his career as a bipolar mall cop, that we simply see as crazy and in real life this is the kind of person you would avoid. He did his job. However, Anna Faris is guilty of overacting and trying to be too funny, even though most of her lines fall flat. Unfortunately this is the case for everything that Anna Faris does.Even though it sounds negative I still have to give it a good review for being delightfully dark and gets more funny as the movie goes on until the climatic ending.
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The easiest thing for a fan of a movie to say is that its detractors didn't "get" it. I get post-modern humor, and that it is often more about movies and deconstructing formulas than presenting relatable characters. I even get the idea of Ace Ventura intending to be truly unacceptable and gleefully so. I wanted to like Observe and Report. I had no interest in Paul Blart Mall Cop and still have no interest. I thought Seth Rogan would provide the smart variation.The movie will be hurt by the unfortunate habit of newspapers giving credence to personal blogs. A google search of the word rape might actually turn up some posts by random anonymous internet personas with genuine feelings about a hot-button topic who feel no hesitation about misrepresenting a movie to exploit its publicity. In this case, even though I had heard bad word of mouth I was determined to see this film right away and not even wait for a matinée today. Megavideo had a pirated video online, which I watched for free.It has entertaining moments which may distract some people from the logic factor. For example, in the States, can someone work as a guard after having been in prison?That said, the scene where Ronny (Seth Rogan) confronts crack dealers was good. He is supposed to play The Green Hornet, and this is the only fighting he has done in movies (other than one scene in Fanboys where he has three small roles). Even though his home life demonstrates no discipline and he is unlikely to be a self defense expert. He's a guy who wants desperately to be a cop while the most common knowledge about the application process eludes him.Then there is the infamous date rape scene we have heard so much about. Clearly the point of the rape scene is that it leads DIRECTLY into his psych evaluation scene, which the Star article doesn't mention. For me, that changes everything in terms of what the movie is saying: Ronny is a loser. By extension, anyone who wears a guard uniform is a loser and anyone who thinks there is more to life or that he deserves to date someone he finds attractive must also be a loser. The rape scene is a transition to "Are you ready for your psych evaluation?" So in and of itself the scene is not what its reputation makes it out to be. Also, we see nothing before or after Ronny is on top of Anna Farris' character. Any number of consensual exchanges could have happened between the doorway and the bed. Yes, she's drunk and tired and full of pills she coaxed from him. These are two losers exploiting each other. They deserve each other.Does she deserve rape? That question I leave to the bogisphere which is more than ready to tell you what to think.Hitting a skateboarder in the head with a skateboard, or taking a second to punch the Saddam guy while chasing the flasher may be the two things I laughed at. I GET that the movie was trying to be unacceptable - the Taxi Driver editing and the use of Queen music in the fight to let us know he thinks he is Flash Gordon. . .those are worth a smile. Ronny's mom played by Celia Weston has a few excellent lines turning the usually sentimental "mother" moments on their ear. But most of it seems much better in the trailer. In context it's a much sadder movie. Good quick paycheck for Ray Liota though. I'm glad I didn't pay to see it.
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I was going to title this "Observed, now reported", but that joke's taken already. posted on 26 Aug 2009
Man. What can I say? I went in expecting a pretty bad but comfortably mindless movie filled with dumb humor and fart jokes. Instead, I got a terrible movie filled with hateful characters presented by actors over-acting beyond capacity in an unlikeable movie with no sense of tone or direction. A movie so bad that the basic gist of it is that this sad, pathetic man with little education and a few mental problems is really funny to watch mess up. I worry next we'll be putting mentally disabled up on screen while a voice-over yells, "REEE-REEE! HURRRR! REEE-REEEEEEE!!!" This cringe-worthy narrative offers little less.So here's the deal: Seth Rogan, man-child comedian of bromance comedies of varying quality (the fun Pineapple Express; the over-rated but decent Knocked Up) is Ronnie, head of mall security, cussing and butting his way into conversations and living with his drunken mother. A streaker plagues his mall, it gets broken into at night, and the local cops come to investigate, which offends Ronnie's sense of grandeur (no really, this is a plot point). Trying to reclaim his sordid turf and get what can possibly pass as the most unattractive woman in screen history (I think even guys who staple Carmen Electra pictures to every inch of their walls would find this woman horrid and vacuous), Ronnie goes on the offensive... by offending people needlessly? Because it's supposed to be offensive??? Because that's funny?????? Apparently? I don't even know. All I know is that every decision the character makes is terrible, he never grows and develops as a person, and he's not even an anti-hero, but a truly poorly presented everyman who is not anything like any man because anybody would have at least ten times the social grace this guy does. Again, laughing at his social ineptitude could potentially be funny to a point, but this movie makes the fact that he truly is incapable of controlling himself into The Joke, which means that we are, in fact, being asked to laugh at the mentally underdeveloped who lives with his alcoholic mother. Yeah.And, well, the rest of the screen is filled up with jerks and idiots, too. The only nearly realistic character of the bunch is Ray Liotta's Detective Harrison, who is constantly being given crap by everybody because he's doing his job and Ronnie's getting in his way.Have you ever seen a kid break out into a howling frenzy in a store while his mother shouts profanity at him? Did you think that was funny? Well then this movie might be funny to you. But if it was sad and uncomfortable to behold, then be prepared for 1hr30min of it. If you feel like paying for it, too, then this is the movie for you.--PolarisDiB
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Arrogant. Delusional. Trigger-happy. Bipolar. These words don't often describe a hero, but in the world of Observe and Report, these characteristics reveal a protagonist who lives by a code of honor so nearly incomprehensible that it blurs the line between right and wrong, justice and vigilantism, disturbing and humorous. But it all somehow works as Seth Rogen's driving performance embodies such seriousness and commitment to a vision so morbidly dark and yet so diabolically funny. Though its degree of vulgarities will likely repulse many, Jody Hill's sophomore effort revels in its rebellious nature and entertains with an unpredictably pitch black brand of humor.Compelled by delusions of grandeur and his own twisted sense of honor, Head of Security Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) relentlessly pursues the forces of evil that attempt to disrupt the harmony found within the Forest Ridge Mall. When a flasher begins terrorizing women in the parking lot, including promiscuous counter girl Brandi (Anna Faris), Ronnie takes it upon himself to apprehend the deviant before real police officer Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) can solve the case. The world needs a hero, and Ronnie is determined to become just that.Observe and Report is like Paul Blart on crack...and weed and pills and heroin. It's a brutally unexpected twist on lighthearted comedy, substituting typical risqué humor with raucous coarseness and hallucinogenic morbidity. It succeeds because of a serious approach to everything, from the characters to the subject matter, regardless of how ridiculous the individual events - there's no conventional comic-relief bit-parts; every role is severe, even when comically deranged chaos ensues. Rogen plays a part not far removed from every other character he's embraced, but the utterly sincere approach to his determined Rambo-esquire anti-hero is genuinely hilarious, especially when it's surrounded by unforeseeable violence, Borat-besting male nudity, and more montages (garnished with catchy music) than ever before seen in film.With a scarily demented drug binge potpourri, constant psychotic delusions of majesty, perverted love during the search for a pervert, and a confused anti-hero functioning by a lawless code of his own invention, Observe and Report borders on schizophrenia, not always wanting to simply be a comedy. It's temperamental but more consistent than Pineapple Express in its offensive humor; the egos, the overstepping of real authority, the hyperactive cursing (at little kids and from old ladies) and Ronnie's belief in excessive vigilantism - like a realistic, unmasked and overweight Dark Knight - make this an explosive lesson in dark, dark comedy. Faris is perfectly pouty-faced and self-obsessed, Liotta is ideally no-nonsense and grave, and Rogen is convincingly cemented in his dizzyingly erroneous self-righteousness. It is in-your-face and out-of-control, but very wickedly funny.- The Massie Twins
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I am usually a big fan of Seth Rogan I loved his last two films Pineapple Express and Zack and Miri Make a Porno which is what prompted me to go and see "Observe and Report". What a disappointment how can this be classed a comedy ??? I usually get one big laugh out loud moment in Seth Rogans films, I waited and waited in this movie but no, actually I don't think I laughed once in the whole film. This is a good example of lazy film making. I think Seth should sit down with his manager and discuss Quality not Quantity.I would strongly advise people not to waste their hard earned money on this film.
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A few weeks ago I wanted to see a movie just because I hadn't been to one in a while. The best of what was around seemed to be "Paul Blart Mall Cop". It was pretty much as expected: a harmless, amiable family comedy that was neither memorable or objectionable. Then I saw Seth Rogen being interviewed about his new movie "Observe and Report", which was also a comedy about a mall cop. "Observe and Report" was the motto of the mall cops in "Paul Blart". Often, when two movies come out within months of each other with a similar theme or setting, one is the original and the other is a "quickie" copy that was slapped together when the first project started to get some publicity. What makes it confusing is that the copycat film, because it is a "quickie", often reaches the theaters first, causing it to appear to be the "original" and the actual original project to appear to be the copy. And very often, the second film is really the best one. I offered this theory on the message board for O&R and there was some agreement that this is what happened here: O&R is the "original", Paul Blart the copy.One poster was adamant that the two films not be compared because they were totally different. I've now seen O&R and agree that it is different but there are enough similarities that I suspect the makers of "Paul Blart" had had a look at the O&R script. There's a thief in both and he occupies the same position in both stories. There's a love affair with a dream girl who is a clerk in one of the mall stores: O&R does Paul Blart one better with two such stories, with one girl turning out to be a lot better than the other. The hero in each wants to be a "real policeman" and is treated with disdain by those who already are. He proves himself in the end of both films.The differences are that Paul Blart is sweet and lovable, although deluded about his capabilities and status in the world. The O&R hero has similar delusions but is also supposedly bi-polar, although his primary problem seems to be that he is a jerk. The film is very crude. I'd call it crude humor, but nobody in the theater I was in was laughing. F-bombs are dropped all over the place, including one scene where Rogen and another character take turns telling each other to "F-off" to see who gets tired of it first. I lost.Of greater concern is the films casual attitude toward drugs and violence. Rogan and a colleague are seen snorting cocaine and when he goes on a date with Anna Faris, she asks for his medication and gulps down some pills with goodly amounts of alcohol and winds up in bed with Rogen, who has apparently never seen "The Philadelphia Story", where there are "rules about such things". When Rogan finally catches up with the flasher he's obsessed with, he shoots him! There also a "comic taser" scene where the device is used to terminate an argument. They rid the mall parking lot of skateboarders by beating them up. Ultimately the film is just repulsive rather than innovative or funny."Observe and Report" may have been the original project but it is decidedly the inferior one.
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"At this point in my life, I feel like I could destroy some mother------s!" Ronnie (Seth Rogen) Seth Rogen's Ronnie Barnhardt in Observe and Report is more deranged than the loser slackers of Miss March and actually generates fewer laughs. This pathological rent-a-cop head of mall security is so clueless that he pastes the picture of a mall streaker's penis on his forehead without the faintest notion that he is establishing himself as a d---head.Why anyone would think this misanthropic pic a comedy, even action comedy, is a mystery. Androgynously-named Ronnie abuses everyone but his drunken mother and beats up kids, in some kind of avenger fantasy that helps him endure the life of a nowhere guard with no future. The insecurities of security at malls, successfully exploited earlier this year with Kevin James's Paul Blart, takes a decidedly dark turn in Observe & Report with Ronnie's run-in with the real law, personified in detective Harrison (Ray Liotta), who helps the mall deal with the streaker and deals with Ronnie's application to join the force.Needless to say, Ronnie is not real police material with his neuroses and manifest racist and sexist attitudes. The film just doesn't capitalize on the many opportunities to satirize all these failures of maturity, relying instead on the barren wilderness of Ronnie's life inside and outside the mall. There are laughs to be sure of the stoner variety but too few even of those.A detective hiding in a closet to witness Harrison's telling Ronnie he failed the cop qualifying tests bolts with this exclamation: "I thought this was gonna be funny, but instead it's just kinda sad." Rogen has moved from stoner/slacker stardom in Superbad to a dark loser with homicidal tendencies. That's kinda sad, and that's what I observe and report.
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I honestly didn't have high expectations for this film - not because of the premise, or the characters, or anything like that, but because of its star. Seth Rogen, to me, is an actor and comedian who succeeds when he's surrounded by people of equal or more talent then him. Unsurprisingly, most of the film's funny moments are delivered by the other characters in the film, while the film also suffers from a completely ridiculous story that brings it down.I'll get the first obvious factoid out of the way immediately - it's nothing like "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" (which I honestly liked better), which was very endearing and family friendly, while "Observe & Report" has to be one of the most awkward and uncomfortable movies I've seen in a very long time. You'll certainly laugh, there's no doubt about it, but it may be more because of the shock value of the scenes than the actual comedic value of them.In short, this isn't a very enjoyable movie. We've got date rape headlining a controversy spanning Patton Oswalt making fun of a handicapped person throughout the movie, Danny McBride in what appears to be a feeble attempt at blackface makeup, massive amounts of police brutality (though that's actually pretty funny), and child drug dealers. While you're going to laugh at this stuff, it's very uncomfortable to watch, whereas other controversial comedies such as "Tropic Thunder" can get away with it unscathed.As I said earlier, the film is proof that Rogen isn't quite the leading man most make him out to be. He is funny, don't get me wrong, but his character here is so abominably terrible and repulsive that there's nothing he can do to make us as an audience side with and appreciate his character. The supporting cast is nothing short of great though, as Anna Faris is so underused here that it should be a crime. Michael Pena steals the show in a part I've never even imagined him playing, and he totally pulls it off. Aziz Anzari is also hilarious in a small role, while Patton Oswalt and Danny McBride show up in the best cameos of 2009 thusfar. I definitely think Ray Liotta did this one for a paycheck and a bit of exposure.Is "Observe & Report" worth a theatrical experience? Not really, as this is probably the worst entry in Rogen's stellar library of roles, as this movie is not likable, enjoyable, or even endurable. I wanted to walk out many times throughout. It's going to get most of its laughs from shock value, and if that's what you like, then I guess you should try it out.
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When I think of Seth Rogen, I think a likable, sweet character actor. In Observe And Report, Rogen shows his unlikable, dark side. He plays Ronnie Barnhardt, a racist, deceiving mall cop who everyone hates. Now, a man is showing his private area to women on mall property. Ronnie must prove once and for all he is great at his job by taking down the flasher. Michael Pena is excellent as Ronnie's assistant, Dennis. He is both funny and strangely delightful. Ray Liotta is good as well as Detective Harrison, the detective who comes in to take down the flasher, and steals all Ronnie's thunder. This includes dragging Ronnie's crush Brandi (Anna Faris) away from him. I have to admit, this is at many points too dark and weird for its own good. It is at some points amazingly uncomfortable, but Rogen is so good as Ronnie, and so is the rest of the cast as their characters to the point where the movie is actually really good. People like Celia Weston, Danny McBride, and Aziz Ansari keep showing up, and make this a great film that I'm recommending to anyone who can handle the darkly strange side of Seth Rogen.
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Everyone who dislikes this film falls into 1 of 2 categories: 1. They don't like comedy films in general (I have a met quite a few who fall in here). 2. They have giant tampons in their asses that is crushing their common sense organ.I was under the impression when I came to this board that this film would be another "Sex Drive" with nothing but lame jokes and even lamer characters and acting.I simply can't describe how amazing this film is. Just go see it and have good time. I guarantee you that you'll feel so better about you're life too once you watch this. It does what a comedy is suppose to do, make you laugh and bring a feeling of joy to your soul box.
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This movie is not a comedy, not even close to being one. Actually the movie belongs in the action genre since the plot is action, not comedy driven. Seth Rogen displays a surprising talent for playing a heavy character whose actions are anything but funny. He is anything but a buffoon which is why the movie is not a comedy. The other star is Randy Gambill as the pervert who gives one of the great performances as a flasher terrorizing a mall. Mr. Gambill's performance is even more noteworthy in that he has no spoken lines yet his character is central to the theme of the story and without his character there is no movie. Remember, it is not a comedy and this particular deviant is not funny. Ana Faris is amusing at times and Ray Liotta gives a solid performance as a police detective, but they are overshadowed by Seth Rogen who, along with Mr. Gambill, carries this movie. Maybe with another actor the movie might have generated more laughs but Mr. Rogen's portrayal suggests a more somber, angry and ultimately violent man whose affability is a mere facade that is covering up a simmering rage.
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This movie was funny, not the hilarious funny like Superbad, but funny nonetheless. The story is centered on a manic-depressive (Bipolar) mall security guard and his interactions with mall personnel, the real police, family and more! This guy, Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) is WILD! His character is a serious "dickhead"! However, further into the movie you really start to feel sorry for Ronnie because you realize his mother is a piece of work and that Ronnie is very sincere about his manner of interacting. I know Paul Blart is a movie (that came out prior to Observe and Report) about a mall security guard, but Observe and Report is on a whole other level. You'll walk away from this movie with…Wow…wow and alittle less respect for Ray Liotta. Looks like he's gone down from his mafia days (Goodfellas, etc)…or maybe I didn't like his car-sex scene with Anna Faris. Anyway, you watch and decide. The movie is funny and worth watching in all its wacky, absurd ways…