Observe And Report-Movie Review
By Christian Toto http://www.whatwouldtotowatch.com/
"Observe and Report"
The fledgling mall cop movie genre just got ugly.
“Observe and Report” might seem, at a hurried glance, a kissing cousin to Kevin James’ recent smash “Paul Blart: Mall Cop.” But the two couldn’t be more different beyond disposable similarities. They both star husky leading men who love their job.Think “Paul Blart” meets “Bad Santa.” But worse.Seth Rogen stars as Ronnie, a mall security guard out to stop a flasher who keeps startling people in and around the mall. Ronnie takes the new threat a bit too seriously. He’s a loner and a loser, and he just may be psychotic. But you never wanna let a serious crisis go to waste, so he uses the flasher threat to romance a fellow mall employee (Anna Faris) who works as a makeup technician. Somehow, Faris’ character is nearly as ugly as everything else in the film, and it goes without saying “Observe” wastes her comic greatness. “Observe” bravely attempts to walk the black comedy line, but it keeps falling off the wire. Rogen, teetering on over exposure, gives a nuanced, full bodied performance here, arguably the best of his career. But the material serves him poorly.
He’s a psychopath, but one we should rally around, a delusional fool cast as a hero in this muddy morality tale.
A few shock laughs work, including some significant frontal nudity that’s the best gag in the whole film. And Celia Weston, the hardest working older character actress in the biz, nails her scenes as Ronnie’s drunk ma. But while recent comedies sported great supporting players - and performances - “Observe” makes do with only a few decent ones.
Michael Pena is funny, all right, as Ronnie’s lisping second in command, but Pena’s story arc is where the film flies straight off the rails.“Observe and Report” has guts. It doesn’t have a commercial bone in its body, and it dares to cast the likable Rogen in his most challenging role to date. Writer/director Jody Hill could be a major talent, but films like this show he hasn’t flashed us his best material yet.
Two out of Four Stars
"Observe and Report"
The fledgling mall cop movie genre just got ugly.
“Observe and Report” might seem, at a hurried glance, a kissing cousin to Kevin James’ recent smash “Paul Blart: Mall Cop.” But the two couldn’t be more different beyond disposable similarities. They both star husky leading men who love their job.Think “Paul Blart” meets “Bad Santa.” But worse.Seth Rogen stars as Ronnie, a mall security guard out to stop a flasher who keeps startling people in and around the mall. Ronnie takes the new threat a bit too seriously. He’s a loner and a loser, and he just may be psychotic. But you never wanna let a serious crisis go to waste, so he uses the flasher threat to romance a fellow mall employee (Anna Faris) who works as a makeup technician. Somehow, Faris’ character is nearly as ugly as everything else in the film, and it goes without saying “Observe” wastes her comic greatness. “Observe” bravely attempts to walk the black comedy line, but it keeps falling off the wire. Rogen, teetering on over exposure, gives a nuanced, full bodied performance here, arguably the best of his career. But the material serves him poorly.
He’s a psychopath, but one we should rally around, a delusional fool cast as a hero in this muddy morality tale.
A few shock laughs work, including some significant frontal nudity that’s the best gag in the whole film. And Celia Weston, the hardest working older character actress in the biz, nails her scenes as Ronnie’s drunk ma. But while recent comedies sported great supporting players - and performances - “Observe” makes do with only a few decent ones.
Michael Pena is funny, all right, as Ronnie’s lisping second in command, but Pena’s story arc is where the film flies straight off the rails.“Observe and Report” has guts. It doesn’t have a commercial bone in its body, and it dares to cast the likable Rogen in his most challenging role to date. Writer/director Jody Hill could be a major talent, but films like this show he hasn’t flashed us his best material yet.
Two out of Four Stars
Labels: Christian Toto Movie Review Observe and Report Seth Rogen
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