OBSERVE AND REPORT Observed and Enjoyed

Posted by ScuzzBuster

April 11, 2009

observesheet One of the few small pleasures in life is heading into a film with absolutely no expectations and being unexpectedly blown away. Observe and Report happily turns out to be one of those comedies that hits all the right notes, pulls no punches and forces itself on you with raw, raunchy, over the top offensiveness. It’s all too rare to get a really down and dirty good comedy that’s not afraid to consistently cross the line to get its laughs in.

While I had fortunately been able to avoid seeing the seemingly similarly-themed Paul Blart: Mall Cop debacle earlier this year, it’s probably not fair to pre-judge Observe based on that, so don’t let another “mall cop” movie scare you off.

observe2 Seth Rogan plays Ronnie, an overly committed head of a rather outrageously slack mall security team with a soft spoken, distant sidekick played by Michael Peña. An at-large streaker assaulting mall patrons with his nakedness raises the ire of Rogan’s character who sets out on a personal quest stop the streaker’s rather modest path of destruction.

Co-starring with Rogan in a surprisingly sizeable role is Ray Liotta who plays a local police chief investigating the streaking case as well as a series of late night mall burglaries, offending Rogan’s pride. Liotta of course slips into the role of an egotistical, hard-nosed police officer effortlessly in a part that could easily have been written with him in mind.

observeliotta What really works about Observe and Report is that it takes every joke, every awkward scene and raunchy moment and pushes it just one or two steps farther than you expect. It distinguishes itself from more modest and timid comedies by just plain not caring who might be offended or how far it has to go to grab the humor. So many moments in the film end up working because writer and director Jody Hill just lets the absurdity build until he’s sure that’s he squeezed and forced as much humor as he can from each situation.

Nothing remains sacred here from astoundingly open full frontal (and rather unpleasant) nudity, gratuitous violence against men, women and children, extensive foul language, and gross out moments.

The film takes a turn for the bizarre a little more than half-way through when Ronnie, through a series of strange circumstances and poor decisions decides to stop taking his prescription medication for bi-polar disorder and begins to go on a manic quest to prove himself a worthy security expert and pursue an opportunity to enroll in the police academy.

The plot and outrageous situations don’t really matter here, though. What does matter is that the film is consistent in tone, solidly performed and sticks to its guns all the way to the end in a shockingly weird but endlessly entertaining climax.

In some ways, it’s a testament to some of the early Farrelly Brothers films. While they kind of lost their edge over the years, some of their best work came from their mastery of gratuitous humor and countering an audience’s expectations at every turn. At its base level, it’s the theory that if you see it coming, it’s just not going to be as funny, and there’s a lot here that you won’t see coming in Observe and Report.

observetwins The other aspect to appreciate about Observe and Report is it’s simplicity. There’s nothing grandiose or bigger-than-life. No drug cartels, massive conspiracies or tangled webs of organized crime here, just a consistent stream of odd and funny situations that sets a path for itself and holds to it. While it does veer in bizarre directions on its trip, it does all come together nicely by the end and never manages to come apart a like some outrageous comedies that tend to play out more like a series of skits. Rogan’s dumb but likeable character is surrounded by a cast of endearing and charming supporting roles that hold it all together.

I’m not sure how else to describe this film other than the fact that it just plain pushed the right buttons for me. It’s a movie that I laughed out loud at many times with no shame and it left me leaving the theater with a big goofy grin.

Of course, Observe and Report is not for every one, but if you’ve read this far you probably already know if your one of those people that it’s “not” for. But if you’ve grown tired of comedies that end up always being just a little too tame and afraid of pushing the envelope then this will be a refreshing trip to the cinema for you. It’s a damned good time.

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