Observe and Report
by Jody Hill
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anna Faris, Michael Pena, Ray Liotta, Seth RogenDirector: Jody Hill
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 86 minutes
Published: 2009-09-01
DVD Release Date: 2009-09-22
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Observe and Report
Movie Review: A Dark Comedy That's Definitely Not For Everyone
Summary: 5 Stars
Jody Hill, who previously wrote and directed The Foot Fist Way, has said his intention while writing Observe and Report was to make a comedic version of Taxi Driver. Since this movie was released a few months after a little movie called Paul Blart: Mall Cop, it's been looked at as an R-rated version of that movie. Audiences have been divided on this movie and the fact that it was marketed as a typical Seth Rogen movie about a mall cop may be at least partly to blame.
Observe and Report is a dark comedy that's not afraid to push something as far as it will go. The humor in this movie is very dark and its main character, a disturbed and delusional mall individual. It's a comedy, yes but it's peppered with sudden, brutal acts of violence and, at one point, an overweight, fully naked man running in slow motion. This is not a typical Hollywood comedy.
Rogen plays Ronnie Barnhardt, head of mall security at the Forest Ridge Mall that's recently been terrorized by a flasher. The mall is Ronnie's world, not just his job but a home to his right-hand man Dennis (Michael Pena) and his crush Brandi (Anna Faris), a shallow, slutty party-girl.
Ray Liotta co-stars as Detective Harrison, who's investigating the recent happenings at the mall. There's also Celia Weston as Ronnie's alcoholic mother.
There's an array of hilarious bit parts, the stand-outs being Aziz Ansari (as "Saddam") and, especially, Danny McBride (billed as Caucasian Crackhead). These two each have one scene and both scenes were two of the funniest and most memorable of the whole movie.
The performances and the willingness of the actors to abandon all reservations for the sake comedy are what really make this movie great. Rogen isn't too far removed from his previous roles, but he's convincing as Ronnie and I can't imagine anyone else playing this character, he fits it very well. Farris is playing the usual "slut-in-a-comedy" role and Liotta is just really fun to watch in this movie. Pena as Dennis is also fascinating, especially when one recalls his powerful performance in Crash.
Now, Observe and Report has caused some controversy, particularly with the "date-rape" scene. It's really not as bad as it's been made out to be and, yes, Ronnie is doing something that isn't necessarily morally right, but it's the fact that Ronnie doesn't realize the lack of morality in his actions and the overall character of Brandi that makes this scene more funny than offensive. It's not particularly worth mentioning.
Observe and Report does defy logic at several points and is not a perfect movie, but it is hilariously funny. It will not appeal to every taste, but if this dark-tone appeals to your comedic palette, I'm sure you will find it hilarious as well.
GRADE: A-
Summary of Observe and Report
OBSERVE AND REPORT - DVD MovieWith sublime awkwardness, Seth Rogen throws himself into the role of a deluded, socially inept shopping mall security guard. Ronnie Barnhardt (Rogen) protects his little kingdom with a mixture of grandiose passion and borderline incompetence; he can?t catch a flasher in the parking lot or a thief with inside connections because his prejudices and desires cloud his ability to see what?s right in front of him--all he can see is the trashy cosmetics salesgirl Brandi (Anna Faris) who thinks he?s nothing but a creep. Though he resents the intrusion of a police detective (Ray Liotta), Ronnie decides to pursue his true dream: Becoming a cop so he can carry a gun. The plot isn?t what matters in Observe and Report--this comedy is about letting talented actors create strange characters with enough roots in reality to make them very, very funny. Even the supporting actors shine with a mixture of weirdness and banality, including Michael Peņa (Crash) as Ronnie?s sidekick who turns out to have a secret life, and Celia Weston (Junebug) as Ronnie?s boozing and wildly inappropriate mother. Writer/director Jody Hill (The Fist Foot Way) has a gift for pushing an ordinary moment into comic exaggeration, though he doesn?t always find the right balance; every now and then Observe and Report veers into territory that?s funny, but undercuts the movie?s internal reality, and there are several moments of unexpectedly graphic violence that will make some viewers recoil. But when the movie hits the mark--and it does so more often than not--Hill and Rogen tap into a rich vein of humor that stands apart from the usual Hollywood formula gags. --Bret Fetzer
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