When I first saw trailers for "Observe & Report," I thought it looked hilarious. It had a lot of great elements for a good comedy: Seth Rogen, who I think is funny in almost everything he's been in, Anna Faris who is also pretty hilarious and director Jody Hill, who created "Eastbound and Down" and 'The Foot Fist Way." "Foot First Way" is a movie from a few years ago about a karate instructor (Danny McBride) who is pretty crazy. "Eastbound and Down" stars McBride again, this time as Kenny Powers, a former baseball player down on his luck after getting kicked out of the major leagues. Both TV show and movie are very funny, so I had high hopes for "Observe & Report." And I was not disappointed.
The reviews I read after it came out in theaters were mixed, and I think the people who disliked the film took it too seriously. I can't stress enough: it's a movie, a parody of real life, made for entertainment. It doesn't say "based on a true story" at the beginning because it's not, it is just a ridiculous take on the life of a bipolar mall security guard. Rogen leads as Ronnie Barnhardt, the aforementioned mall security guard who makes it his mission to take down a flasher who has been running around the mall making everyone, including the love of Ronnie's life Brandi (Faris), miserable.
During the movie, Ronnie tries to catch the flasher and become a police officer, both in the hopes of impressing Brandi, who is a trashy make up counter girl at the mall. We also see how depressing Ronnuie's life is: he is dealing with his bipolar disorder, has an alcoholic mother that he still lives with and is generally unhappy at his low-level job. But that's what I like about this movie. It is sad and somewhat dark, but still very funny. It runs in the same vein as all of Hill's movies/TV shows, and I like his formula.
Rogen has also done a variety of different roles, and I think he's really proven himself as an actor. Though all of his films are basically comedies, Rogen plays each one well, no matter what the role. I think people can relate to him, and I that's part of the appeal of movies he is in.
"Observe & Report" is rated R for nudity, strong language, sexual content, nudity, drug use and just about anything else that makes a movie R. It may be offensive to some people (remember, it's not real life!) and it is a very adult movie, both in theme and content. I liked it a lot, possibly because Jody Hill's humor is intended for my demographic (22 year old male). Anyways, its available at Crazy Mike's, and I thought every funny.
7 out of 10 stars
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