“”Observe and Report”” is the story of a mall security guard who takes his job way too seriously and is in love with a girl who works in the perfume department at the mall. Sound familiar? Does “”Paul Blart: Mall Cop”” ring a bell? However this mall comedy stars Seth Rogen, so it should be funny, right? Wrong!
Meet Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen). He is head of security at the Forrest Ridge Mall and is determined to bring down a flasher who has terrorized many women including the girl he loves, Brandi (Anna Faris). Also pulled in to investigate the incident is local police detective Harrison (Ray Liotta).
Ronnie is both threatened and frustrated by Harrison. He feels that Harrison is trying to steal Brandi from him, which makes Ronnie even more determined to solve the case so that he can impress Brandi. Can Ronnie catch the flasher and win the heart of Brandi or will detective Harrison steal the show?
In honor of the title here are my observations and reports.
Observation #1: The Plot.
Report: What the hell was the plot? I did some reading afterwards to make sure I didn’t miss something. It started off revolving around catching the flasher, then went into Ronnie joining the police force, then drug use, and then finally back to the flasher. If those two unnecessary “”mini-plots”” were removed, the overall movie would have been substantially shorter, but at least it would’ve stayed within the realms of its plot.
Observation #2: Rogen’s acting.
Report: Normally, in every movie that Seth Rogen appears (“”Pineapple Express””, “”Superbad””, “”Knocked Up””) I usually end up liking his character. However, in “”Observe and Report””, I hated his character. Yes, there are characters who are meant to sound both stupid and rude, but at the same time comical (such as Rogen’s role as a cop in “”Superbad””), however Ronnie just came across as an imbecile. For example, Ronnie starts going off on an Arabian mall employee for being a terrorist. It is funny for the first minute or so, but then it starts to get out of control. Also, that same scene includes the longest exchange of “”Fuck you””s that I have ever seen. Again, funny for a minute, but then it just got old.
Another disappointment was Anna Faris. Same deal with her, I like all her characters who are ditzy and funny, but in this one she plays the bitchy girl who treats Ronnie like crap.
The only great acting was accomplished by two people who weren’t even the main stars of the movie – Michael Pena and Collette Wolfe. Pena plays Ronnie’s second in command, Dennis, and he was really funny, using a very physical style of comedy. Collette Wolfe plays the sweet girl who is handicapped for awhile after having ankle surgery. Her coffee shop boss relentlessly makes fun of her.
Overall, the movie has little comedy and more stupidity. The only funny parts are when Ronnie is beating up the skateboarders and the cops. Save your money or see something else.
Rating: * 1/2
