Observe & Report (C or 2/4 stars)
At the Forest Ridge Mall, Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) has a reputation for taking his job (too) seriously, combating the usual vagrants, skateboarders, & shoplifters in 'Observe & Report', written & directed by Jody Hill. On his watch, he's in charge of Dennis (Michael Pena, of Crash), the Yuen twins (John & Matt Yuan), & Charles (Jesse Plemons); they all inexplicably worship him. Ronnie has a crush on the cosmetics girl, Brandi (Anna Faris); she could care less about him. And on the flipside, a woman who makes his coffee in the morning, Nell (Collette Wolfe), is genuinely smitten with him; while he doesn't seem to notice her.
But all of that goes by the wayside when an uproarious parking lot flasher steals his thunder. Once the king of the mall, he's forced to take a back seat to the police, represented by Det. Harrison (a scene-chewing Ray Liotta). Driven by his uncompromising duty to protect & serve the mall, Ronnie aims to bring the culprit to justice, impress his coworkers, become a 'real' policeman, & impress the cantankerous detective in the process. Can he join the police academy? Will he will Brandi? And most importantly, can he keep his wits about him and remain sane through it all. All signs point to no.
I have not seen Paul Blart: Mall Cop yet. But isn't it odd that 2 'comedies' come out in the space of 2 months concerning the same oddball topic? From what I hear, Blart is pedestrian, silly, & geared for the masses. 'O&R' is much darker. And though it's marketed to be something akin to Blart, I think some people may be in for a rude awakening. 'O&R' is much more of a black comedy ... serious, perverse, unabashedly cruel, & oddly fascinating. There aren't too many laugh out loud moments in the screenplay. It's more a comedy of tone. We may not be as dirty, violent, or mentally-disturbed as Ronnie (thank God), but we can sympathize with some of the situations he's thrust into.
The conclusion ends satisfactorily ... thank God. I didn't think I could take much more bleakness. I was missing the comedy. That said, I am giving this film 2 stars out of 4 because roughly 40 minutes of this 80 min. movie entertained me (either by way of laughs or crude behavior). The other 40 minutes ... not so much. Seth Rogen is suitable as the creepy & delusional Ronnie. Anna Faris is suitably dumb. Collette Wolfe is a sweetheart. Celia Weston is funny as Ronnie's drunk slob-of-a-mother. There's a scene in which Ronnie & a Middle-Eastern coworker get into an "F--- you". "No, F--- you!" spat that had me in hysterics. Bursts of nudity, vomit, & weapon use kept me engaged (for better or worse), etc.. Overall, 'O&R' is just a bit too crazy and not funny enough for my liking.
But all of that goes by the wayside when an uproarious parking lot flasher steals his thunder. Once the king of the mall, he's forced to take a back seat to the police, represented by Det. Harrison (a scene-chewing Ray Liotta). Driven by his uncompromising duty to protect & serve the mall, Ronnie aims to bring the culprit to justice, impress his coworkers, become a 'real' policeman, & impress the cantankerous detective in the process. Can he join the police academy? Will he will Brandi? And most importantly, can he keep his wits about him and remain sane through it all. All signs point to no.
I have not seen Paul Blart: Mall Cop yet. But isn't it odd that 2 'comedies' come out in the space of 2 months concerning the same oddball topic? From what I hear, Blart is pedestrian, silly, & geared for the masses. 'O&R' is much darker. And though it's marketed to be something akin to Blart, I think some people may be in for a rude awakening. 'O&R' is much more of a black comedy ... serious, perverse, unabashedly cruel, & oddly fascinating. There aren't too many laugh out loud moments in the screenplay. It's more a comedy of tone. We may not be as dirty, violent, or mentally-disturbed as Ronnie (thank God), but we can sympathize with some of the situations he's thrust into.
The conclusion ends satisfactorily ... thank God. I didn't think I could take much more bleakness. I was missing the comedy. That said, I am giving this film 2 stars out of 4 because roughly 40 minutes of this 80 min. movie entertained me (either by way of laughs or crude behavior). The other 40 minutes ... not so much. Seth Rogen is suitable as the creepy & delusional Ronnie. Anna Faris is suitably dumb. Collette Wolfe is a sweetheart. Celia Weston is funny as Ronnie's drunk slob-of-a-mother. There's a scene in which Ronnie & a Middle-Eastern coworker get into an "F--- you". "No, F--- you!" spat that had me in hysterics. Bursts of nudity, vomit, & weapon use kept me engaged (for better or worse), etc.. Overall, 'O&R' is just a bit too crazy and not funny enough for my liking.