Observe and Report (2009) Reviews

• One Seriously Underrated Comedy

  aciessi2013-12-16

  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.

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• It's all about your sense of humor

  bexandbarn2010-05-12

  Firstly, this does not deserve a 10 out of 10 rating because it is not perfect, but it certainly doesn't deserve the many 1 out of 10 votes it has received. I am ranking it 10 out of 10 to redress the unfair balance. You will see by the reviews for this movie already that you are either going to love it or hate it, it will be very difficult to feel indifferent about it. And why? Because some people are not going to find this funny. If you haven't laughed once after the first 10 minutes then you might as well turn it off. It's not for you, was never intended for you, so keep your opinions to yourself and move on to something designed for your more mainstream sense of humor. DO NOT tell everybody else in the World not to watch it because you are denying a potential audience a comedy classic. To say that this is the worst movie ever made, as some reviewers have done, is preposterous and is just a reflection on the reviewers' taste, not a true representation of the movie. I'm a bit fair-weather with these recent comedies. I loved Superbad and Pineapple Express, was fairly indifferent about 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, and thought Zack & Mire was lame and puerile. As such, I was a bit skeptical about this film but I was wrong. This is better than all of the aforementioned because it appeals to my sick sense of humor and does not pull a single punch. This film smashes so many taboos including police brutality, date rape, mental illness, alcoholism and racism. But it doesn't care. None of the above would be seen as any great topics for comedy but this film embraces all as if it is purposely trying to offend. It has clearly succeeded judging by the feedback here. But I loved it. Taboos are there to be exposed and smashed, and if you like your comedy to be near the knuckle and ground breaking then you will definitely love this film. Seth is fantastic in the lead role. Very plausible and a definite deviation from his past roles. The supporting cast are also equally brilliant, especially his mother and Seth's co-workers. There is also no rationality behind this film so please ignore all the reviewers who claim certain aspects are implausible. Who cares? It is a comedy and the suspension of disbelief is paramount to the viewer's enjoyment. In a nutshell, if you are not easily offended, like your humor to be in your face and boundary pushing (and most importantly, fairly sick) then you will love this film and laugh out loud throughout. One other thing, the soundtrack is absolutely awesome with a great cover version of The Pixies' 'Where is my mind?' during one of the funniest scenes in the film, as well as a rocking song by Pyramid (a band I'd never heard of) during the end credits. One of the best comedies I've seen in recent years, up with Bruno and Black Dynamite. And although it may not deserve the 10 out of 10 rating it is so close to comedy perfection.

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• The most depressing 'comedy' in years

  gregeichelberger2009-04-10

  Maybe I just didn't "get" it; yeah, that's it. It is indeed a sad day for this society when a film like "Observe and Report" is marketed as a "comedy." And as such, it is the worst I have seen in several years ("Fool's Gold" comes immediately to mind). It's the dark side of "Paul Blart" mixed with elements of "Taxi Driver," "Fight Club" and "American Beauty," with none of the intrinsic interest or excellence of any of those films. In fact, this makes "Running With Scissors" feel like a Marx Brothers movie, and "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" look like "Citizen Kane. Sorry, it has to be said. It is one of the very few comedies in which I felt worse leaving the theater than I did entering. It is a bloated, dismal, depressing, dysfunctional movie about a bloated, dismal, depressing, dysfunctional man, Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogan) a bi-polar borderline psychotic security guard at a generic Los Angeles shopping mall. With his equally idiotic co-workers (Michael Pena, Jesse Plemons, John and Matt Yuen) he dreams of carrying lethal weapons, joining the police force and capturing a serial flasher. When cosmetics salesperson Brandy (Anna Faris, who brings the same great sense of comedic timing here as she did in "House Bunny"), is flashed, Ronnie takes it upon his delusional self to become her protector and solve the crime; even though he has no skills for such an endeavor. Plus, he's a major a-hole, to boot. He threatens vendors, is a blatant racist, terrorizes customers, violates security procedures and basically sexually harasses Brandy (even forcing her to go out with him and then date-rapes her). Yet, after all of this, he is not once reprimanded by his sappy superior. Not to read too much into this, but what mall would keep a security guard around that a) has a restraining order out on him by one of the store owners and b) tasers some guy for no reason. Wouldn't there be major legal ramifications here? Or am I just a dope for asking? Of course, Ronnie lives in a hovel and has to deal with an alcoholic mother (Celia Weston), so maybe he's not totally at fault. Acting as the any-man for this movie, Ray Liotta ("GoodFellas") is LAPD Det. Harrison, who plays cruel jokes on the idiot, such as leaving him in the middle of South Central and gleefully informing him that he was not accepted into the academy. There's a good reason, too, as Ronnie blurts out to the police psychologist that he dreams of taking a shotgun and killing everyone. Yeah, I want a guy on the force to carry those plans around with him. Then, just when we thought the humor could not get any lower, the film takes a weird and violent turn as Ronnie's best friend reveals a terrible secret and then he takes on the LAPD for some bizarre reason. All the while, a pretty girl at the doughnut counter, Nell (Collette Wolfe), is becoming more attracted to the crazed loser (another example of "reel" life vs. "real" life). Most of the laughs here were nervous giggles as opposed to the out-and-out belly ones most movies of this ilk illicit. I found myself smiling during just two short scenes; not the greatest endorsement for such a genre. Once again proving that F-bombs - even repeated over and over - or laughing at retarded people do not necessarily make a great comedy. Marketed as a light, vulgar laugh-fest in the vein of "Role Models" and "I Love You, Man," this dark effort is a truly awful film in every sense of the word, even though director Josh Hill ("The Foot Fist Way") attempts to populate it with eccentric, Jarmusian characters. Most of these come off like his leading man, inept, moronic, violent and a complete waste of time. Just like the 86 minutes I spent watching this drivel.

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• great little dark comedy

  songofvictory20112013-05-25

  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.

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• A crude day at a shopping mall

  futuregiantsplayer2011-09-20

  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.

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