Observe and Report (2009)

Director:

Jody Hill

Writer (WGA):

Jody Hill (written by)

Release Date:

10 April 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Right now, the world needs a hero.

Plot:

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. |

Plot Keywords:

Mall | Police Detective | Bi Polar | Flasher | Dark Comedy

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

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

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45064) | Australia:MA | Ireland:16 | UK:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Finland:K-15 | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | Singapore:R21 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:M18 (edited version)

Filming Locations:

Bosque Farms, New Mexico, USA

Company:

De Line Pictures

Trivia:

The role of Detective Harrison was originally written for Danny McBride. He had to turn it down however due to commitment to other projects. Ray Liotta then got the part.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Brandi is driving her car right before the pervert assaults her at the parking area, you can clearly see the spoiler move.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Soundtrack:

Super Freek (Remix)

A very competent comedy

It is easy to prejudge Observe and Report, because the plot summary from this movie seems to indicate that it will explore the same territory as the atrocious Paul Blart: Mall Cop, because we also have a security guard from a shopping whose detective fantasies and delusions of greatness contrast with his ineptitude and zero authority.So, I started watching Observe and Report expecting a horrible movie, but I ended up taking a very nice surprise with it, because this comedy shows unexpected audacity and a twisted sense of humor which is much more dark and subversive than many comedies which imitate director Judd Apatow's style (like Semi-Pro or Forgetting Sarah Marshall).The result was a simultaneously funny, dramatic...and also disturbing experience.

Although it is structured as a comedy (and it really has various hilarious moments), I think it would be more precise to describe Observe and Report as a perverse parody which uses the bipolar disorder as a replacement of the generic stupidity which usually motivates the immature characters from the new North American comedy.By adding a medical condition as an excuse of the inappropriate and scandalous behaviours from the main character, the movie achieves to set itself on a different level, where the jokes keep being funny but they leave a bad taste which stays with the spectator for a long time.To explain this more clearly, I will compare two similar scenes on their shape, but deeply different on their effect: on the film Role Models, Paul Rudd's character insults a kid with enthusiasm, and that made me laugh because it shows the immature adult catching up to the level of his child rival; on Observe and Report, Seth Rogen's character makes the same, but his face expresses genuine aggression which borders on the abuse, and although that scene made me laugh, it is accompanied by a sensation of pity on the character.The best thing is that things like that feel very natural in this movie.The fails I found on it are some forced moments and a few moments which feel a bit rude.

However, I liked Observe and Report pretty much because of its audacious intention, grotesque humor and solid performances.Rogen shows a lot of conviction on his character; Ray Liotta perfectly transmits intensity on his role; Anna Faris is very funny (as always); Michael Peña is brilliant as a Mexican security guard; and Patton Oswalt has a short but funny appearance.It may not be a great film, but I found Observe and Report to be a very competent comedy, and I recommend it with confidence.