I finally saw Jody Hill's second film,
Observe and Report over Thanksgiving break. I didn't enjoy it as much as Hill's first film,
The Fist Foot Way, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd heard. I think a lot of the bad vibes toward the film stem from the fact that it isn't what you expect from a Seth Rogan flick. In most of his films Rogan is the affable loser. Insert some pot jokes, physical humor, and an underdog-is-ultimately-victorious plot line and you've got a recipe for success. People going in expecting
Knocked Up, Part II were bound to be disappointed.
Rogan plays Ronnie Barnhardt, the head of security at a suburban mall. When a man starts to flash women in the parking lot, Barnhardt gets delusions of grandeur that this is the defining moment of his life -- he will catch the pervert and be a hero, winning the love of his crush Brandi (Anna Faris) in the process. Trouble is, Barnhardt has the detective skills of a five-year old (not to mention lots of psychological problems). When the flasher problem continues, a real cop (Ray Liotta's Detective Harrison) comes in to solve the case and immediately clashes with Barnhardt, who is determined not to cooperate in hopes of solving the case himself. Shenanigans are aplenty throughout including a drug-fueled attack on skateboarders in the mall parking lot, a coworker on the lam, and a disastrous attempted romance with Brandi. Add in lots of violence and profanity and that's
Observe and Report in a nutshell.
While the film was new territory for Rogan, it certainly wasn't for Hill. Anyone familiar with
The Fist Foot Way (which put Hill and Danny McBride on the map) or
Eastbound and Down knows that Hill revels in extremely dark comedy that makes the audience laugh out loud one minute and is extremely uncomfortable the next (not to mention lead characters that are overconfident in their abilities). That's the kind of recipe the people are either going to love or hate. I love it. It wasn't entirely successful in
Observe and Report, as the film was a bit disjointed. But I still appreciated the unique feel (
Paul Blart Mall Cop, this movie was not) and the stellar supporting cast including Ray Liotta, Michael Pena, and Aziz Ansari.
Verdict: B
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