Observe and Report
Starring: Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Michael Peña, Anna Faris
Directed By: Jody Hill
Released: 10 April 2009
Rated: R for language and nudity, mostly male. That’s right, another film shows a penis, again and again.
Runtime: 86 min
When I first saw the trailers and clips from Observe and Report I was thinking that this is what Paul Blart: Mall Cop was supposed to be. I really had higher expectations for Paul Blart’s funny factor, and after seeing the previews I was fairly confident that Observe and Report was going to be everything that Mall Cop wasn’t. Seth Rogen and Ray Liotta are two of my favorite actors, and I can’t help but laugh at Anna Faris.
The film starts out extremely slow and boring. It seemed like nothing of any significance, or real humor happened in the first half hour of the film. I guess this was just to set the tone, or some other entertainment gimmick. After the film got going however, things were very, very funny. From middle to end, I laughed non-stop. But there really wasn’t much more than we saw in the red band trailer. There were however some very unique, and raunchy humor in the film, and it seemed like the film was written just for Rogen.
The characters were extremely diverse in this film. I really liked this. We have Seth Rogen, the burned out Jew, and his arch nemesis (in the movie) Ray Liotta. Ray Liotta is one of my favs simply because of Goodfellas. I really saw this role out of place for him but he fit it really well. Then you have the Asian twins / gun experts. To be honest they really didn’t contribute much, but they still made for some interesting situations. Then you have the second in command hispanic with a lisp and jerry curls. This guy was such an insane and over the top character, he couldn’t help but be entertaining. Of course you had the random gay guy, the love interest, and a million other obscure characters, you know how the mall is.
However, the film just really seemed thrown together. It didn’t seem like much effort went into producing it, and that they were more focused on getting to the next slapstick scene. This was a bit surprising to me seeing as how the beginning of the film seemed to focus on setting the tone, and story for the rest of the film.
This film has also opened my eyes to Seth Rogen. It is now apparent to me why so many of you dislike him. He is really only a one role actor. He can play the raunchy stoner, and that is it. Personally I am fine with that, but I am afraid that Seth Rogen’s humor is just growing old. Perhaps if he stepped back and had a bit more of a break between films I would appreciate his humor more.
So what is my final call on Observe and Report? I am going to say that this film is not a must see. Don’t waste your money going to a theater, wait for it to come to home video or TV. It is a good way to waste an afternoon, but there are other films in theaters right now that are more entertaining.