Observe and Report (2009)

Bi-polar mall security guard Ronnie Barnhardt is called into action to stop a flasher from turning shopper's paradise into his personal peep show. But when Barnhardt can't bring the culprit to justice, a surly police detective, is recruited to close the case.

Director:

Jody Hill

Writer:

Jody Hill

Stars:

Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Michael Peña

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Seth Rogen	...	Ronnie
Ray Liotta	...	Detective Harrison
Michael Peña	...	Dennis
Anna Faris	...	Brandi
Dan Bakkedahl	...	Mark
Jesse Plemons	...	Charles
John Yuan	...	John Yuen
Matt Yuan	...	Matt Yuen (as Matthew Yuan)
Celia Weston	...	Mom
Collette Wolfe	...	Nell
Randy Gambill	...	Flasher
Alston Brown	...	Bruce
Cody Midthunder	...	D-Rock
Deborah Brown	...	Female Reporter (as Debra-Jayne Brown)
Aziz Ansari	...	Saddamn

Storyline

Ronnie Barnhardt lives with his alcoholic mother. He's chief security guard at Forest Ridge Mall, where he's in love with Brandi, a cosmetic sales clerk, and gets a free coffee each day from Nell, a cheery clerk in the food court. A flasher haunts the mall's parking lot, and at night, thefts occur. Ronnie is intent on catching the criminals but has no investigative skills, is delusional about his abilities, and makes mad accusations. His bête noire is Detective Harrison, the city cop sent to investigate. Ronnie thinks he could be an officer, thinks he stands a chance with Brandi, and slowly loses his self control. Will reality set in? What about redemption?

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Plot Keywords:

mall | flasher | security guard | bi polar | police detective | 

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Taglines:

Right now, the world needs a hero.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, graphic nudity, drug use, sexual content and violence

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 April 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

A szerv

Filming Locations:

Bosque Farms, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£326,749 (UK) (24 April 2009)

Gross:

$23,993,605 (USA) (12 June 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

De Line Pictures, Legendary Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The filming of this movie convinced Seth Rogen he needed to lose weight, after it became hard for him to breathe in the harsh New Mexico air.

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Goofs

When Brandi and Detective Harrison are having sex in his car, Detective Harrison repeatedly says the name Mandy instead of Brandi.

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Quotes

Saddamn: You wanna cover them little breasts with some bubbles?

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Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Fast & Furious/Adventureland/Sugar (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Mine"
Written by Aaron Sandlofer, Nicholas Loizides and Spencer Tross
Performed by Tross
Courtesy of HammerHead Productions

User Reviews

I can't believe I actually watched it until the end.

This is by far the most ridiculous movie I have seen so far this year. It was far more episodic than even an Apatow film - if one could imagine such a scatter-shot 'script' making it to production - and even less engaging. Poorly written, with an extended, tedious scene wherein the mall cop and the his nemesis exchange the f-bomb well past the point where it may have been funny in any juvenile sense, and pound nail after nail into the coffin of the feeble, impotent exchange. Unforgivable are the wild, erratic shifts in tone throughout the acts, beginning as a low-brow comedy about a dim-witted mall cop who's intent on capturing a streaker, and by the third act the tone shifts randomly between witnessing random acts of brutality to having a slow-motion chase through the mall with a fat man with his junk swinging around. If the film had been clear in it's tone it might have been less grating, but as it stands it is a complete misfire of poorly directed, miscast, and ill-paced scenes held together by the flimsiest of plots, with one of the worst denouements I have ever seen. Do yourself a huge favour and go out and rent Taxi Driver instead - a film classic that deserves to be paid homage to, but not in the way that the director of Observe and Report did.