OBSERVE AND REPORT (Rated R)
Not your typical matinee idol type of movie star, Seth Rogen is familiar to fans of Judd Apatow comedies as the lovable, unkempt slob featured in “Knocked Up” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.” Moreover, he’s played the same type in other non-Apatow comedies, including most recently “Pineapple Express.”
Whether by accident or design, Rogen takes a sharp turn in another direction in one of the bleakest black comedies, creating a character that is edgier and more intense than Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando rolled into one. Under no circumstance should “Observe and Report,” thematically similar to the comedy “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” be considered as anything remotely family-friendly.
Unlike some of his previous ventures, Seth Rogen is not a creative force behind “Observe and Report,” only lending his acting talent to the cause of making the head of security at a suburban mall an obnoxious, psychotic brute.
To say that “Observe and Report” is a dark comedy is an understatement, sort of like describing “Taxi Driver” as nothing more than an innocuous character study. Rogen’s mall cop Ronnie Barnhardt is so often whipped into a frenzied state and holding delusions of grandeur that it wouldn’t be surprising if he suddenly started repeating “You talkin’ to me” in front of a mirror.
Superficially, Rogen’s Ronnie has a lot in common with Kevin James’ lovable Paul Blart, such as a fierce dedication to a menial job, a crush on a pretty mall clerk, and living at home with his mom. But Ronnie is unhinged in the perverse way that makes him anything but an object of sympathy like Blart.
Overbearing and self-important, Ronnie thrives on what little power he wields over his underlings, the fawning, lisping Dennis (Michael Pena) and the pair of gun-loving nitwits Matt and John (John Yuan and Matthew Yuan) who just happen to be twins.
When not treating the sweet coffee shop girl Nell (Collette Wolfe) with obvious condescension, Ronnie blindly pursues the hot makeup counter clerk Brandi (Anna Faris), his elusive dream girl. An obvious tramp with no morals, Brandi won’t give Ronnie the time of day, but nonetheless goes out on a date with him if only to take advantage of his generosity in covering the bar tab. Of course, this so-called date leads Ronnie to think there’s much more substance to their relationship than meets the eye.
Meanwhile, the mall is besieged by a flasher who chases unsuspecting women around the parking lot. Ronnie swings into action after Brandi is the latest victim, which allows him to pursue his ulterior motives. And then after a few stores are hit by a nighttime robbery, the local police get involved when Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) arrives on the scene. The police detective is smug to the point that he’s soon engaged in a turf war with Ronnie, who’s actually livid that mall management would call in the police. Ronnie obsesses on his single-minded pursuit of glory in solving the case and soon tangles with Detective Harrison.
In what is one of the film’s many subplots, Ronnie decides that he is going to get into the police academy, finally realizing his dream of carrying a gun and a real badge. Of course, this leads to even more confrontations with Detective Harrison, who as part of an initiation in a ride-along dumps Ronnie in a bad part of town, leaving him to fend off a gang of vicious drug dealers. To the detective’s dismay, things are going pretty well for Ronnie at the police academy training camp, at least until he ends up in an interview with the psychologist, revealing his bipolar disorder and an unnatural fondness for guns and violence.
There are so many weird things happening in “Observe and Report” that it’s hard to wrap up a cohesive rundown of these strange events. There are the tender moments with his loving, alcoholic mother (Celia Weston), which is contrasted by his explosive, profane verbal altercations with Middle Eastern kiosk vendor Saddamn (Aziz Ansari). The flasher (Randy Gambill), an obese, pasty middle-aged guy, runs around completely naked, showing too much full frontal nudity.
“Observe and Report” is a bleak dark comedy, one that is certain to make many, if not most, people uncomfortable, which apparently seems to be what writer and director Jody Hill is aiming to do. Humor, as it is employed here, seems geared more to shock value than generating hearty laughs. But there are times that the film is indeed funny, although one nervously anticipates that things will soon go horribly off the tracks. At other times, it is just hard to know what to make of this film.
DVD RELEASE UPDATE
Talented actress Kate Winslet, often nominated for Oscar awards, finally achieved her first statuette for a portrayal of a mysterious older woman in post-World War II Germany engaged in a torrid summertime affair with a young local boy in “The Reader.”
A young Michael (David Kross) is heartbroken when Hanna (Kate Winslet) inexplicably disappears after their passionate summer together, only to have her re-enter his life eight years later when he is a law student and she is on trial for Nazi war crimes committed long before they met. Michael must then decide whether to use a secret that only he knows in order to save his onetime love from a life in prison.
Already regarded as a masterpiece, “The Reader” also earned Academy Award nominations in key categories, including Best Picture and Best Director. The DVD release includes 12 deleted scenes as well as cast and director interviews and other featurettes on the film’s production.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
