Observe and Report

Often times a comic actor will slowly dip his foot in dramatic waters by taking a role that is funny, but serious as well. I know people did it before Robin Williams, but he seems to be the major pioneer of this, to me. Tom Hanks did it and never looked back. Jim Carrey followed their lead and has great success in the roles where he was funny, but also serious. Adam Sandler had critical success with it, but not monetary and Will Ferrell tried it without much success. It is a rite of passage for comic actors. Observe and Report looked, to me, to be Seth Rogen's foray into this transition. It might not look as risky as some of his predecessors because the comedy looks right up Rogen's alley, but Rogen's real appeal is that he is so insanely likable. he plays big lovable guys. He plays guys with big laughs and big hugs. In that respect, Observe and Report looked very much like a departure.

Ronnie Barnhardt(Rogen) is the head of mall security in a mall that has been hit with two major offenses in 1 week. First, women are terrorized by a streaker with a foul mouth. Second, the store is robbed. Barnhardt is a Bi-Polar man with an exaggerated sense of self and a serious attitude problem. He believes he deserves the hottest girl so he is "in love" with Brandi(Anna Farris) and he does not trust the cops who come to check out both cases. Ronnie plans to take the law into his own hands and serve justice Barnhardt style. Ronnie abuses his power and longs of being able to use a gun on the job. Eventually Ronnie decides he needs to be on the police force. After failing the psych exam, Ronnie really loses it. he is not at all helped by his mother, an alcoholic prone to passing out in the middle of conversations. If you thought Ronnie was misogynistic, racist, violent and crude before, wait until he gets really pissed.

Jody Hill is an up and comer in the field of directing comedy. Observe and Report shows that the man is not looking to make funny movies just for the sake of being funny. It is a violent, mean-spirited, vulgar and depressing film. It has a scene that borders on date rape, it has an extended scene of insane drug use that leads to some pretty funny and dark antics. It takes a place, a mall, which typically is thought of as an All-American wholesome place and turns it into an empty shell, where souls go to die. And it is freaking brilliant. Hill might be a bit derivative of the directors who shaped him, but he understands what made those directors work. His use of Quentin Tarantino's slow motion poses and slow motion violence is so spot on, Tarantino should be proud. Hill also uses another Tarantino staple, making his entire score song based. There is not original music in the movie, but the songs are used perfectly. Queen has never been set to such an awesome moment. Hill is obviously in love with the violent epics that made the 1990s so awesome and his ability to use them and not have them look bad, is a testament to his talent. I am sure a film class could debate what it means when Tarantino, the ultimate borrower, is being borrowed from, but what cannot be debated is that Tarantino's 1990s vision is still important.

Rogen, for his part, dives right into this disgusting character. I am not sure how we are supposed to feel about the man when the movie is over, but I did not like him. I know we are supposed to have a character to root for, but I like that this movie did not have one. Rogen quickly rids himself of that likability and cuddly persona and spends the rest of the movie relishing the freedom that comes from being liked. He handles all of the material quite well and he is very believable as a man at the end of his rope with humanity. He is betrayed by two people he loves and Rogen does his best to place those in the eyes of a Bi-Polar maniac. Ronnie really believes he is doing right and Rogen plays it just right. Farris also makes a nice change of pace. She typically plays such likable and perky cute girls that to see her play a whoreish girl who drinks too much and vomits on herself is an interesting twist. She does a really job with it, even though she does not have much to do. I would venture to say she gets the most laughs. Ray Liotta is doing his usual quick to explode thing, but no one yells better than Liotta. He also sells the F word better than most.

Observe and Report is very funny, but the laughs are often times followed by exasperated gasps or head shakes. The comedy is not meant to entertain as much as make the audience implicit in the crimes and dirty deeds these characters engage in. There is a fight sequence with Rogen holding a flashlight that feels right out of a crazy action movie, but it also gets laughs until it goes to far, then it takes on a whole different meaning. I think that is the biggest thing this movie does; it finds a laugh and then tweaks it so it takes on a whole other meaning. One character even says "Well, I am going to go. I thought this would be funny, but it is just sad." That line can kind of sum up the movie. The movie spends the first 45 minutes setting you up with semi-harmless laughs and then BAM! Drugs, date rape, penis, guns, violence and seriously dark territory. Jody Hill has made a serious impression on me as a post-Tarantino-post-modern director with a real dramatic flare for changing an entire scene with one line or one shot. I would not be surprised if Observe and Report is the result of Jody Hill locking himself in a room with Tarantino films and Eminem music, for this film felt like the embodiment of the spirit of those two men and their art.

Final Grade: A