I can easily understand why many people were turned off by this film, Its easily one of the darkest comedies i've ever seen. There is some brutal violence, use of heroin and even essentially a date rape. But perhaps the darkest element of the story is Ronnie (Seth Rogen). The character is so twisted but fear not people this movie IS funny and sometimes extremely. If you have seen Jody Hill's other works, The Foot Fist Way and Eastbound and Down, and think they're funny then I can almost assure this humor will be right up your alley. But for those who are not fans of dark comedy you may hate it, it all depends on your taste. While it may lack originality in its plot it also has a side of Seth Rogen we haven't seen before, a more deep, layered character, that shows he may have the ability to do more dramatic work. I gave the film a 7 out of 10 because of Seth Rogen's performance with a few noteworthy comedic shines from Anna Faris but most of all for the intelligent and hilarious dark humor the film contains. On the con side however the plot was very similar to Paul Blart.
198 Reviews
Not as bad as people have written..........give it a chance
dannyjcarr14 September 2009
To be honest I quite enjoyed this film, OK its not a laugh out loud all the time comedy but it does have its moments. Sometimes it comes across as a serious film and its gets confusing as to what sort of route its taking. I think the viewer needs to sit down, relax and watch it with an open mind, that way you will find yourself enjoying it. The premise of the film is basically about a Naive Mall Cop (Seth Rogan) who suffers from Bi-Polar, his aim in life is to become a Police officer, without going into too much detail and spoiling it, he sets his target of finding a Flasher that is terrorising customers of the Mall to prove to an investigating police officer (Ray Liotta) he is capable of doing his job. Along the way he tries to win the heart of a Make-up Clerk (Anna Faris) with miserable consequences. All in all, many films I have seen recently I have switched off halfway through, not interested in seeing what happens in the end, this I watched to the end. I thought the ending was good, can't see what other people thought was so bad about it, yes it was a bit harsh, but all was OK. Sorry about the review being a bit short on the info part, but did not want to reveal too much about it.
A crude day at a shopping mall
futuregiantsplayer20 September 2011
An anonymous flasher exposes himself to shoppers in the Forest Ridge Mall parking lot. The head of mall security, Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen), makes it his mission to catch the flasher. He is helped by Charles (Jesse Plemons), Dennis (Michael Pena), and the Yuen twins (John Yuan and Matthew Yuan). Ronnie's dream girl, Brandi (Anna Faris) is flashed the next day, and she becomes hysterical. Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) comes and takes over the situation, this makes Ronnie very angry. Ronnie decides to take the case into his own hands.
A incredibly disgusting film where Seth Rogen is at his funniest, but a great performance by Rogen cannot save this crude film. Observe and Report is a very dark and unpleasant experience. A cliché thing to say, but I found myself looking at the clock waiting for this film to end. Besides for Rogen Observe and Report has very few laughs. The perfect example of why you can't base and entire films laughs on dirty humor. Some of the most unfortunate, and unwanted nudity I have even had to sit through. Jody Hill tries to shock and awe viewers will dark humor, and a unique storyline, but instead creates and unfortunate film. The most surprising thing about this film is that even while the film is very tough to sit through, Rogen's performance still almost carries the film.
Jody Hill is the co-creator and executive producer of the HBO series Eastbound and Down. Eastbount and Down has dark humor and a very outrageous plot as like Observe and Report, but Observe and Report is not able to link together as well. Hill's first film The Foot Fist Way was seen by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell who bought the distribution rights. And also developed a cult following. Hill was allowed on the set of Knocked Up, and he fell in love with Seth Rogen's acting style. He became even more of a Rogen fan after the release of Superbad. Hill both directed and wrote the script for Observe and Report. Unfortunately it just didn't have as great of an effect as his previous work. Observe and Report's script is very poorly made. Hill's direction is well done, but the film is an absolute mess.
Seth Rogen's performance is one of the best and hilarious performances from a comedy since probably Steve Carell's in 40 Year Old Virgin. Besides for Rogen there are no other performances worth mentioning. Anna Faris as Brandi is a very untalented performance. Ray Liotta as Detective Harrison is nothing special, no lines or scenes worth mentioning. One performance does not keep a film in motion. Each time Rogen is off the screen this film just crashes and burns.
Observe and Report only grossed about 25 million in the box office, one of the lowest grossing films that Rogen has stared in. This film had plenty of hype. Rogen as the lead, the co-creator of Eastbound and Down as the director, and also starring Ray Liotta. But like so many comedy films, it disappointed. It seems like each year there are more and more gross- out comedies that are released. Hopefully this film will help people realize that these films very rarely work, but probably not. The amount of awful nudity in this film will make you have to check and make sure you are not at a Jackass film. Observe and Report is a film you need to brace yourself to sit through. A film Rogen fans will want to pass on, and if you are a Jody Hill fan you too will be disappointed.
A incredibly disgusting film where Seth Rogen is at his funniest, but a great performance by Rogen cannot save this crude film. Observe and Report is a very dark and unpleasant experience. A cliché thing to say, but I found myself looking at the clock waiting for this film to end. Besides for Rogen Observe and Report has very few laughs. The perfect example of why you can't base and entire films laughs on dirty humor. Some of the most unfortunate, and unwanted nudity I have even had to sit through. Jody Hill tries to shock and awe viewers will dark humor, and a unique storyline, but instead creates and unfortunate film. The most surprising thing about this film is that even while the film is very tough to sit through, Rogen's performance still almost carries the film.
Jody Hill is the co-creator and executive producer of the HBO series Eastbound and Down. Eastbount and Down has dark humor and a very outrageous plot as like Observe and Report, but Observe and Report is not able to link together as well. Hill's first film The Foot Fist Way was seen by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell who bought the distribution rights. And also developed a cult following. Hill was allowed on the set of Knocked Up, and he fell in love with Seth Rogen's acting style. He became even more of a Rogen fan after the release of Superbad. Hill both directed and wrote the script for Observe and Report. Unfortunately it just didn't have as great of an effect as his previous work. Observe and Report's script is very poorly made. Hill's direction is well done, but the film is an absolute mess.
Seth Rogen's performance is one of the best and hilarious performances from a comedy since probably Steve Carell's in 40 Year Old Virgin. Besides for Rogen there are no other performances worth mentioning. Anna Faris as Brandi is a very untalented performance. Ray Liotta as Detective Harrison is nothing special, no lines or scenes worth mentioning. One performance does not keep a film in motion. Each time Rogen is off the screen this film just crashes and burns.
Observe and Report only grossed about 25 million in the box office, one of the lowest grossing films that Rogen has stared in. This film had plenty of hype. Rogen as the lead, the co-creator of Eastbound and Down as the director, and also starring Ray Liotta. But like so many comedy films, it disappointed. It seems like each year there are more and more gross- out comedies that are released. Hopefully this film will help people realize that these films very rarely work, but probably not. The amount of awful nudity in this film will make you have to check and make sure you are not at a Jackass film. Observe and Report is a film you need to brace yourself to sit through. A film Rogen fans will want to pass on, and if you are a Jody Hill fan you too will be disappointed.
Like watching a comedian failing on stage, you start chuckling to help him out.
hakopt11 April 2009
It had a few laughs and a few more chuckles.
The film was VERY character driven, unfortunately none of the characters were really developed, so it was difficult trying to cheer them on or even dislike them. You don't know if the person is retarded or just trying to be funny or what...really bad script.
It was pretty disappointing in my opinion. I'm very open minded about films and try anything and often have been pleasantly surprised, this film was an unpleasant surprise.
The film was very mixed up, Rogan's monologue at the end of the film needed to be in the beginning of the film to establish who/what he was. A few funny moments by the side characters but that's about it for this film.
Not a fun experience at the movies. Avoid this film and be glad you didn't waste your time.
IMHO
The film was VERY character driven, unfortunately none of the characters were really developed, so it was difficult trying to cheer them on or even dislike them. You don't know if the person is retarded or just trying to be funny or what...really bad script.
It was pretty disappointing in my opinion. I'm very open minded about films and try anything and often have been pleasantly surprised, this film was an unpleasant surprise.
The film was very mixed up, Rogan's monologue at the end of the film needed to be in the beginning of the film to establish who/what he was. A few funny moments by the side characters but that's about it for this film.
Not a fun experience at the movies. Avoid this film and be glad you didn't waste your time.
IMHO
Too poetic to be bad,too uneven to be great
KUAlum262 June 2009
Meet Ronnie Barnhardt(Seth Rogen),beefy,twenty-something,working at a mall in suburban California(?) as a security guard--well,by his account CHIEF security guard--and he takes it VERY seriously and personally when a flasher terrorizes female patrons,then coincided with a burglary. When afore-mentioned perv flashes the sexy shallow make-up counter girl Brandi(Anna Faris,shedding any reserve here,if she ever had any),Ronnie goes from "heading up" the investigation to making it some sort of personal mission,a Quixotic endeavor to augment his dual sense of duty and an empty but destiny-bound personal life.
I have yet to see either writer/director Jody Hill's first film,Foot Fist Way,or his HBO series "Eastbound and Down",but his sophomore effort had heightened my curiosity. In this film,Hill presents Ronnie as somewhat of a contradiction: a near-fascistic believer in law and order whose sense of creating that order is something out of a violent,sadistic nihilistic nightmare/fantasy,peppered with quasi-racist and thick-headed assumptions,all the while he's holding fast to his dreams while setting brave face against the very real facts(that he's become almost blissfully oblivious to)of his bi-polar disorder,the fact that he's generally mocked or not taken seriously by most anyone outside of his close group of friends(including but not limited to the same Police department he so longs to join) and that his heavy-drinking mother(Celia Weston,fantastic in what could be considered a strictly ancillary role)seems as oblivious to his problems as he is to his own.
This is another movie that seems to garner a lot of "10"s,"9"s,"8"s,"3"s,"2"s or "1"s;in other words,not much middle ground of opinion. I certainly CANNOT deem this to be anywhere close to terrible,since I laughed quite a bit at this. But this film is also unbalanced enough to be unnerving and even discouraging at times. So I'm left with saying that I came away feeling like it's certainly good enough for quoting,just not quite good enough for full recommendation. Most everyone in this film's probably done better work(Ray Liotta's part is maybe a few scenes shy of being disposable),but this,to me,cannot be considered their worst. Some of the actors,particularly Michael Pena(as the lisping security peer of Ronnie's) and Collette Watkins(as the sweet Cinabon girl who gives Ronnie his daily free coffee)have me even intrigued to see them in other stuff. I know it's been said before,but this really is sort of a distaff,dark cousin to the much more sincere but perhaps too sugary Paul Blart:Mall Cop,and while it does parallel Taxi Driver,it kinda drops the dark,fatalistic intensity at the conclusion reaching a conclusion that may puzzle or dissatisfy some,but still basically fits the overall spirit of the movie.
To say this film is probably for discerning and specific audiences is probably a (big)understatement,but it's still oh-so-true. To recommend this movie,you better know that someone pretty well,because Observe and Report is the kind of movie that rambles,six-guns a-blazing,blasting the viewer with its own brand of dark humor and skewed philospohy. A good,sick comedy/drama,but viewer be forewarned.
I have yet to see either writer/director Jody Hill's first film,Foot Fist Way,or his HBO series "Eastbound and Down",but his sophomore effort had heightened my curiosity. In this film,Hill presents Ronnie as somewhat of a contradiction: a near-fascistic believer in law and order whose sense of creating that order is something out of a violent,sadistic nihilistic nightmare/fantasy,peppered with quasi-racist and thick-headed assumptions,all the while he's holding fast to his dreams while setting brave face against the very real facts(that he's become almost blissfully oblivious to)of his bi-polar disorder,the fact that he's generally mocked or not taken seriously by most anyone outside of his close group of friends(including but not limited to the same Police department he so longs to join) and that his heavy-drinking mother(Celia Weston,fantastic in what could be considered a strictly ancillary role)seems as oblivious to his problems as he is to his own.
This is another movie that seems to garner a lot of "10"s,"9"s,"8"s,"3"s,"2"s or "1"s;in other words,not much middle ground of opinion. I certainly CANNOT deem this to be anywhere close to terrible,since I laughed quite a bit at this. But this film is also unbalanced enough to be unnerving and even discouraging at times. So I'm left with saying that I came away feeling like it's certainly good enough for quoting,just not quite good enough for full recommendation. Most everyone in this film's probably done better work(Ray Liotta's part is maybe a few scenes shy of being disposable),but this,to me,cannot be considered their worst. Some of the actors,particularly Michael Pena(as the lisping security peer of Ronnie's) and Collette Watkins(as the sweet Cinabon girl who gives Ronnie his daily free coffee)have me even intrigued to see them in other stuff. I know it's been said before,but this really is sort of a distaff,dark cousin to the much more sincere but perhaps too sugary Paul Blart:Mall Cop,and while it does parallel Taxi Driver,it kinda drops the dark,fatalistic intensity at the conclusion reaching a conclusion that may puzzle or dissatisfy some,but still basically fits the overall spirit of the movie.
To say this film is probably for discerning and specific audiences is probably a (big)understatement,but it's still oh-so-true. To recommend this movie,you better know that someone pretty well,because Observe and Report is the kind of movie that rambles,six-guns a-blazing,blasting the viewer with its own brand of dark humor and skewed philospohy. A good,sick comedy/drama,but viewer be forewarned.
Underrated beauty
chasehadley25 September 2021
I cant think of any reasons not to love this film. It's hard to make me laugh, and I love dark humor. Ignore bad reviews they just don't get it... stop scrolling through reviews and go watch this already!
So go light up a joint and enjoy this epic comedy.
So go light up a joint and enjoy this epic comedy.
Adjust Expectations
WishAmbrose20 April 2009
The most surprising movie of the year and, if not for a completely absurd ending, one of the best. Congratulations to director Jody Hill, someone I will now be keeping a definite eye on, for taking such great risks, for pushing boundaries and for breaking free of typical film conventions. It has been a long time since a movie made me squirm so much in my seat, wondering where each scene was going. Unpredictable, unnerving, intelligent. Drug use, date rape, racism, gun control, mall mentality, and homophobia are just some of the issues dealt with here in sly and creative ways. There is an edge to Seth Rogen as an actor and I'm glad it's finally starting to show. His performance will definitely turn some people against him, more than not actually. He plays Ronnie Barnhardt and he is not the type of character you think he will be. There are very few so called comedies with a lead character this complex. For the most part he is not even very likable. He is disturbed, troubled, bi-polar, dangerous -- an all too realistic character (we know people like this and the razor's edge they walk) -- with life already defeating him without his awareness or consent. He lives at home with his alcoholic mother, his father left him as a child. His soul is beaten; everything is working against him, there is no way out and the audience knows this although Ronnie does not. He pushes on, looking to make sense of the world around him. He wants a girlfriend; he wants order in the chaos around him; he wants to achieve his dream job as a police officer. But really he wants acceptance and purpose -- the definition of an ideal life -- both of which elude him. There is not a step he takes in the direction you assume he would. This, however unlikely, is a great character study. Unfortunately, in order to make money, the studio has decided to pitch this as a comedy. Although there are humorous moments, this is not, I repeat, not a comedy. This is a tough commentary on seeking one's place in the world when everything is falling apart, the desperate yearning to belong (and because he doesn't, because he is an outcast, he despises it all). It is a blend of Taxi Driver and Punch Drunk Love with shades of Oldboy, Cable Guy, and The King of Comedy thrown in. All of which makes the ending absolutely ridiculous. And it's not what Ronnie does that is out of place. It is how everyone else reacts to his final act. I am almost positive that this ending was not written in the script. As the director had only one very small film under his belt (The Foot Fist Way) I am sure he was forced to deliver a happy ending and that was why he made it so delirious and ludicrous that I kept assuming it must be a dream. I pray for a DVD with an original ending included. But overall, what a surprise. Films do not have to be either a comedy or a drama, the characters don't always have to be likable, and it is a delight to be thrown curve after curve for once instead of formulaic drivel -- the mindless entertainment we are all told we should enjoy (ironically, many seeking that in this film we be delivered a brutal wake up call). Just adjust your expectations going in. One scene summed the movie up best for me: While listening in on a conversation, a cop comes out from hiding behind a door and says, "I thought it was going to be funny, but it's just kinda sad." Exactly.
Seth Rogan puts the anti in antihero!
dtucker8617 April 2009
I had never heard of Seth Rogan before I saw this film and had to look up his credits on IMDb. This movie is a real black comedy like Doctor Strangelove and The 'burbs only not as good. I basically liked it but its a one time viewing for me and its sort of a movie I'm ashamed to admit I like. For one thing, I am amazed at the number of "F bombs" that are dropped in this 86 minute film. There is one scene where Rogan and another actor literally say nothing but *%$# you back and forth for almost a minute! I think the screenwriter could have been a little more imaginative. Some people have mentioned being offended, and I want to as well, about the scene where Rogan and that mall girl whose a flooze go out on a date and she gets drunk and stupidly takes his bipolar medicine. The next scene shows him literally raping her while shes out. That crossed the line in every aspect and I found that scene totally loathsome. I think that is the best word to describe Rogan's character. You laugh at him because he is such a pathetic loser with delusions of grandeur. I don't know why that sweet girl who worked in the coffee shop (she gives a great performance by the way)saw anything in this pig of a man. There is one scene where he tries to join the police force and delivers this bizarre rambling monologue to the shrink interviewing him. Your laughing, but also thinking my God don't let this man carry a loaded weapon. Rogan also has another hilarious monologue where he speaks of catching the mall flasher in the reverent tones and words of a warrior going off to the Holy Crusades. A basically nice way to waste 86 minutes of your life, but this is one strange film. I wanted to mention that Ray Liotta gave a fine performance as the straight laced cop driven crazy by this lunatic.
I don't exactly like it, but I respect it...
Quinoa198410 April 2009
How Jody Hill's second feature film, Observe and Report, got made at all is something of an insane miracle let alone by a major studio by Warner brothers. Perhaps it was all thanks to Seth Rogen, who recently acted with Hill's main guy Danny McBride in Pineapple Express, who got it green-lit. Because, frankly, this is such a ballsy and weird "comedy" that rests in a nether-region of Paul Blart: Mall Cop, One Hour Photo, and any given Seth Rogen vehicle comedy. It's in simplest terms about a mall cop (or "head of security") who is bi-polar, thinking he's on track to become an actual police officer, trying to track down a flasher who keeps exposing his privates to any women in sight, and quickly goes even MORE bug-f*** crazy when he forgets to take his pills. It's one of the oddest birds in cinema of the year.
And I can't say I exactly "enjoyed" myself, at least in the same way I did with previous Seth Rogen vehicles. This isn't Knocked Up or Zack and Miri Make a Porno where Rogen was this likable guy that the supposed schleps in the audience could identify with him in situations. Ronnie Bernhardt is the kind of guy who if he wasn't a screw-loose might almost be a kind of enthusiastic bad-ass. But as he is he is pushy, off-putting, obscene, at one point an arguable date raper, and is obsessed with using guns over his mace and tazer. He has a drunk mom, one of those almost conventional female things going on where he's "macking" on the ditsy cosmetics girl (Anna Faris) while the happy but tortured-for-her-broken-ankle girl working behind the bakery (Collette Wolf) that gets really bizarre, and a final thirty minutes that... I'll just leave it as it is here.
Suffice to say it's actually brave for Rogen to take on this character and not make us like him, at all, in the slightest. He may even have helped with some of the ad-libbing (one of the funniest scenes is between himself and a brown-skinned individual with a constant "F-you" back-and-forth where the pitch of their two-word insults get lower and lower), and if nothing else he is quite watchable in the role of Ronnie. What works against the movie is that it usually doesn't know what it exactly wants to be, and the director's ambitions get ahead of him. It's a comedy but at the least as dark as a black hole, and as a drama about a psychotic on the edge it gets too crude and obvious with white trash bits. It has a similar level of awkward tension fused with a sense of humor that is meant to illicit laughs from the protagonist's chutzpah and go-for-broke quality like Hill's The Foot Fist Way, maybe its only real link.
To be fair, I wasn't the biggest fan of that film, even as I can understand its appeal as a cult favorite. Maybe Observe and Report will get that too. I was astonished at times where the film went to with taking its character's exploits to a dangerous but somewhat logical conclusion. Other times I did indeed laugh a good deal, either from a moment of real randomness (I did like the joke on the twin Asian guards, "You're my infantry, if I lose one, God gives me another"). I can't say I exactly liked the movie a good deal, but I do respect it. It will split an audience as to what the hell it even is, or if it's as funny as it might be or if it follows its Taxi Driver roots to full-tilt. It's a true-blue curio, and I wouldn't either recommend it or tell you it's comedy poison.
And I can't say I exactly "enjoyed" myself, at least in the same way I did with previous Seth Rogen vehicles. This isn't Knocked Up or Zack and Miri Make a Porno where Rogen was this likable guy that the supposed schleps in the audience could identify with him in situations. Ronnie Bernhardt is the kind of guy who if he wasn't a screw-loose might almost be a kind of enthusiastic bad-ass. But as he is he is pushy, off-putting, obscene, at one point an arguable date raper, and is obsessed with using guns over his mace and tazer. He has a drunk mom, one of those almost conventional female things going on where he's "macking" on the ditsy cosmetics girl (Anna Faris) while the happy but tortured-for-her-broken-ankle girl working behind the bakery (Collette Wolf) that gets really bizarre, and a final thirty minutes that... I'll just leave it as it is here.
Suffice to say it's actually brave for Rogen to take on this character and not make us like him, at all, in the slightest. He may even have helped with some of the ad-libbing (one of the funniest scenes is between himself and a brown-skinned individual with a constant "F-you" back-and-forth where the pitch of their two-word insults get lower and lower), and if nothing else he is quite watchable in the role of Ronnie. What works against the movie is that it usually doesn't know what it exactly wants to be, and the director's ambitions get ahead of him. It's a comedy but at the least as dark as a black hole, and as a drama about a psychotic on the edge it gets too crude and obvious with white trash bits. It has a similar level of awkward tension fused with a sense of humor that is meant to illicit laughs from the protagonist's chutzpah and go-for-broke quality like Hill's The Foot Fist Way, maybe its only real link.
To be fair, I wasn't the biggest fan of that film, even as I can understand its appeal as a cult favorite. Maybe Observe and Report will get that too. I was astonished at times where the film went to with taking its character's exploits to a dangerous but somewhat logical conclusion. Other times I did indeed laugh a good deal, either from a moment of real randomness (I did like the joke on the twin Asian guards, "You're my infantry, if I lose one, God gives me another"). I can't say I exactly liked the movie a good deal, but I do respect it. It will split an audience as to what the hell it even is, or if it's as funny as it might be or if it follows its Taxi Driver roots to full-tilt. It's a true-blue curio, and I wouldn't either recommend it or tell you it's comedy poison.
If you love dark comedies and just absurd stuff-you will effin love this!
WitchitaFalls16 April 2009
Everyone who dislikes this film falls into 1 of 2 categories: 1. They don't like comedy films in general (I have a met quite a few who fall in here). 2. They have giant tampons in their asses that is crushing their common sense organ.
I was under the impression when I came to this board that this film would be another "Sex Drive" with nothing but lame jokes and even lamer characters and acting.
I simply can't describe how amazing this film is. Just go see it and have good time. I guarantee you that you'll feel so better about you're life too once you watch this. It does what a comedy is suppose to do, make you laugh and bring a feeling of joy to your soul box.
I was under the impression when I came to this board that this film would be another "Sex Drive" with nothing but lame jokes and even lamer characters and acting.
I simply can't describe how amazing this film is. Just go see it and have good time. I guarantee you that you'll feel so better about you're life too once you watch this. It does what a comedy is suppose to do, make you laugh and bring a feeling of joy to your soul box.
Observe and Regret it afterwards...
Stay_away_from_the_Metropol15 April 2009
Wow. One of the worst movies I have seen in...as long as I can remember. If there's anything this movie did, it reminded me that a bad enough script can turn even the most likable people (Seth Rogen who I normally love) into annoying losers that you want to shut up and die.
I can't believe people are trying to call this "a dark comedy". THE ROOM is a more legit dark comedy than Observe and Report...
What's your plan for success, Mr. Screenwriter? "Well, i'm gonna do a comedy starring Seth Rogen, but it will have these really deep sub- plots that are really serious and emotional, it will be this insane combo like nothing you have ever seen in a movie before"... Well guess what, it takes a brain to mix genres. There has to be a REASON for it. You don't feel for a character when literally the only words that come out of their mouth are "retard" and "mother****er" multiple times per sentence (and they REALLY aren't saying anything else!!! idiots! all of them!!!) "I can totally just poop out a garbage script with no relevance or thought and it will be funny anyways because it's Seth Rogen and no one will notice how non-linear, shallow, and terrible the movie actually is..."
I feel bad for the person who wrote this movie. They seem like an intensely uncreative and unfunny loser... Why do I think this? Because every single character in the movie was unfunny, unlikable, AN ASSHOLE, and therefore a LOSER. When you have a movie full of losers...that comes through for a reason...it's radiating naturally from the person behind it all.
Anna Faris was one of the things that drew me into this movie, because she plays the most believable "dumb slut" in Hollywood...why, probably because she's playing herself. People keep talking about disliking her fake tits and fake lips...but why? No one really does it like that in Hollywood, and it's SO her. It's so fitting. Anyways...even she couldn't save this movie. She had a fitting character... but, her dialogue was weak. Her character had more personality than anyone else in the movie, but her lines were so highly clichéd that it took away from it.
I feel bad for Michael Pena, his character was embarrassingly lame. And Ray Liotta...decent paycheck i guess, right? On that subject, more of that non-linear bullshit...at the beginning of the movie Liotta hates Rogen's character and basically wants him dead for 4 or 5 scenes, then all of a sudden in the next scene he is on his side and feeling sympathy for him, and we're supposed to feel it too??? With no transition whatsoever? What is he, a robot? And us too???
I applaud the attempt at trying to go creative places with the random plot twists. The bi- polar part was one of the only worthwhile sub-plots/twists. Unfortunately, the climactic scene that occurs as a result of it was the most heinous action sequences I've witnessed in a while. Those cops were clearly just running up to him and letting him smash them in the head with his flashlight, they weren't even TRYING to hit him! It's so obvious...I could make better fight scenes with my friends...
I just felt like the entire thing was cheap and EXTREMELY unintelligent. Seriously...I could easily crap out a better movie than this in a day.
The only thing that gave the movie a 2 instead of a 1, is because of the guy they picked to play the pervert/flasher...his full frontal performance during the finale was one of the only memorable scenes in the film. His facial expressions were priceless. How can you forget the image of a flopping penis that small? I think FLOPPING might be "too big" of a word for it actually...
If you like horrendous garbage like Tropic Thunder, you'll probably like this. As for me, I like extremes...I like things that take it over the edge...but this movie doesn't do it right. It's just like a silent fart. Filling the room with it's terrible smell, but no one even got to enjoy big sound. No glamour, all guts...but rotting guts. A unfortunate disgrace to movies in general.
I can't believe people are trying to call this "a dark comedy". THE ROOM is a more legit dark comedy than Observe and Report...
What's your plan for success, Mr. Screenwriter? "Well, i'm gonna do a comedy starring Seth Rogen, but it will have these really deep sub- plots that are really serious and emotional, it will be this insane combo like nothing you have ever seen in a movie before"... Well guess what, it takes a brain to mix genres. There has to be a REASON for it. You don't feel for a character when literally the only words that come out of their mouth are "retard" and "mother****er" multiple times per sentence (and they REALLY aren't saying anything else!!! idiots! all of them!!!) "I can totally just poop out a garbage script with no relevance or thought and it will be funny anyways because it's Seth Rogen and no one will notice how non-linear, shallow, and terrible the movie actually is..."
I feel bad for the person who wrote this movie. They seem like an intensely uncreative and unfunny loser... Why do I think this? Because every single character in the movie was unfunny, unlikable, AN ASSHOLE, and therefore a LOSER. When you have a movie full of losers...that comes through for a reason...it's radiating naturally from the person behind it all.
Anna Faris was one of the things that drew me into this movie, because she plays the most believable "dumb slut" in Hollywood...why, probably because she's playing herself. People keep talking about disliking her fake tits and fake lips...but why? No one really does it like that in Hollywood, and it's SO her. It's so fitting. Anyways...even she couldn't save this movie. She had a fitting character... but, her dialogue was weak. Her character had more personality than anyone else in the movie, but her lines were so highly clichéd that it took away from it.
I feel bad for Michael Pena, his character was embarrassingly lame. And Ray Liotta...decent paycheck i guess, right? On that subject, more of that non-linear bullshit...at the beginning of the movie Liotta hates Rogen's character and basically wants him dead for 4 or 5 scenes, then all of a sudden in the next scene he is on his side and feeling sympathy for him, and we're supposed to feel it too??? With no transition whatsoever? What is he, a robot? And us too???
I applaud the attempt at trying to go creative places with the random plot twists. The bi- polar part was one of the only worthwhile sub-plots/twists. Unfortunately, the climactic scene that occurs as a result of it was the most heinous action sequences I've witnessed in a while. Those cops were clearly just running up to him and letting him smash them in the head with his flashlight, they weren't even TRYING to hit him! It's so obvious...I could make better fight scenes with my friends...
I just felt like the entire thing was cheap and EXTREMELY unintelligent. Seriously...I could easily crap out a better movie than this in a day.
The only thing that gave the movie a 2 instead of a 1, is because of the guy they picked to play the pervert/flasher...his full frontal performance during the finale was one of the only memorable scenes in the film. His facial expressions were priceless. How can you forget the image of a flopping penis that small? I think FLOPPING might be "too big" of a word for it actually...
If you like horrendous garbage like Tropic Thunder, you'll probably like this. As for me, I like extremes...I like things that take it over the edge...but this movie doesn't do it right. It's just like a silent fart. Filling the room with it's terrible smell, but no one even got to enjoy big sound. No glamour, all guts...but rotting guts. A unfortunate disgrace to movies in general.
One Seriously Underrated Comedy
aciessi16 December 2013
Observe and Report. No, it is not a ripoff of Paul Blart: Mall Cop, lets get that out of the way right now. This movie has been troubled since the very beginning and has been disowned by critics for being too dark to be funny. Dark? Yes, this movie has its share of politically incorrect humor and gratuitous violence played up for laughs. But to call it not funny
. I simply cannot fathom why anyone did. This movie is a laugh-out-loud spectacle. Its almost as good in the way that Bad Santa was good. Seth Rogen even plays his character akin to Robert DeNiro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (minus the Oscar worthiness and anything that made Travis Bickle a classic character of course, I'm not equating Rogen to DeNiro). The rest of the cast exemplified terrific comedic timing, especially Ray Liotta. If your looking for laughs, this movie is up your ally. Its in the same league as Kick-Ass and Bad Santa for sure. As for the critics
well
prior to the film's release, the stock market crashed. I blame the economy for this one. Times are a little bit better, and so is this movie. Give it a watch.
Exactly what you think it is
ericrash-0574020 July 2019
I get it but you can keep it
Jawsphobia14 April 2009
The easiest thing for a fan of a movie to say is that its detractors didn't "get" it. I get post-modern humor, and that it is often more about movies and deconstructing formulas than presenting relatable characters. I even get the idea of Ace Ventura intending to be truly unacceptable and gleefully so. I wanted to like Observe and Report. I had no interest in Paul Blart Mall Cop and still have no interest. I thought Seth Rogan would provide the smart variation.
The movie will be hurt by the unfortunate habit of newspapers giving credence to personal blogs. A google search of the word rape might actually turn up some posts by random anonymous internet personas with genuine feelings about a hot-button topic who feel no hesitation about misrepresenting a movie to exploit its publicity. In this case, even though I had heard bad word of mouth I was determined to see this film right away and not even wait for a matinée today.
Megavideo had a pirated video online, which I watched for free.
It has entertaining moments which may distract some people from the logic factor. For example, in the States, can someone work as a guard after having been in prison?
That said, the scene where Ronny (Seth Rogan) confronts crack dealers was good. He is supposed to play The Green Hornet, and this is the only fighting he has done in movies (other than one scene in Fanboys where he has three small roles). Even though his home life demonstrates no discipline and he is unlikely to be a self defense expert. He's a guy who wants desperately to be a cop while the most common knowledge about the application process eludes him.
Then there is the infamous date rape scene we have heard so much about. Clearly the point of the rape scene is that it leads DIRECTLY into his psych evaluation scene, which the Star article doesn't mention. For me, that changes everything in terms of what the movie is saying: Ronny is a loser. By extension, anyone who wears a guard uniform is a loser and anyone who thinks there is more to life or that he deserves to date someone he finds attractive must also be a loser. The rape scene is a transition to "Are you ready for your psych evaluation?" So in and of itself the scene is not what its reputation makes it out to be. Also, we see nothing before or after Ronny is on top of Anna Farris' character. Any number of consensual exchanges could have happened between the doorway and the bed. Yes, she's drunk and tired and full of pills she coaxed from him. These are two losers exploiting each other. They deserve each other.
Does she deserve rape? That question I leave to the bogisphere which is more than ready to tell you what to think.
Hitting a skateboarder in the head with a skateboard, or taking a second to punch the Saddam guy while chasing the flasher may be the two things I laughed at. I GET that the movie was trying to be unacceptable - the Taxi Driver editing and the use of Queen music in the fight to let us know he thinks he is Flash Gordon. . .those are worth a smile. Ronny's mom played by Celia Weston has a few excellent lines turning the usually sentimental "mother" moments on their ear. But most of it seems much better in the trailer. In context it's a much sadder movie.
Good quick paycheck for Ray Liota though. I'm glad I didn't pay to see it.
The movie will be hurt by the unfortunate habit of newspapers giving credence to personal blogs. A google search of the word rape might actually turn up some posts by random anonymous internet personas with genuine feelings about a hot-button topic who feel no hesitation about misrepresenting a movie to exploit its publicity. In this case, even though I had heard bad word of mouth I was determined to see this film right away and not even wait for a matinée today.
Megavideo had a pirated video online, which I watched for free.
It has entertaining moments which may distract some people from the logic factor. For example, in the States, can someone work as a guard after having been in prison?
That said, the scene where Ronny (Seth Rogan) confronts crack dealers was good. He is supposed to play The Green Hornet, and this is the only fighting he has done in movies (other than one scene in Fanboys where he has three small roles). Even though his home life demonstrates no discipline and he is unlikely to be a self defense expert. He's a guy who wants desperately to be a cop while the most common knowledge about the application process eludes him.
Then there is the infamous date rape scene we have heard so much about. Clearly the point of the rape scene is that it leads DIRECTLY into his psych evaluation scene, which the Star article doesn't mention. For me, that changes everything in terms of what the movie is saying: Ronny is a loser. By extension, anyone who wears a guard uniform is a loser and anyone who thinks there is more to life or that he deserves to date someone he finds attractive must also be a loser. The rape scene is a transition to "Are you ready for your psych evaluation?" So in and of itself the scene is not what its reputation makes it out to be. Also, we see nothing before or after Ronny is on top of Anna Farris' character. Any number of consensual exchanges could have happened between the doorway and the bed. Yes, she's drunk and tired and full of pills she coaxed from him. These are two losers exploiting each other. They deserve each other.
Does she deserve rape? That question I leave to the bogisphere which is more than ready to tell you what to think.
Hitting a skateboarder in the head with a skateboard, or taking a second to punch the Saddam guy while chasing the flasher may be the two things I laughed at. I GET that the movie was trying to be unacceptable - the Taxi Driver editing and the use of Queen music in the fight to let us know he thinks he is Flash Gordon. . .those are worth a smile. Ronny's mom played by Celia Weston has a few excellent lines turning the usually sentimental "mother" moments on their ear. But most of it seems much better in the trailer. In context it's a much sadder movie.
Good quick paycheck for Ray Liota though. I'm glad I didn't pay to see it.
Foul Paul Blart
view_and_review11 November 2021
In this movie about a rent-a-cop, Seth Rogan plays an ultra-aggressive, delusional, mall security guard named Ronnie Barnhardt. He thinks he's a bigger deal than he is. His main goals are to get a date with Brandy (Anna Farris), catch the serial flasher (Randy Gambill), and become a real cop. Only one of these goals is realistic, but don't tell Ronnie that.
This Jody Hill written and directed movie tried something a little different. It was clearly a comedy, but he chose to mix the comedic moments with serious music and acting. It really played tricks on the mind, which is not good for a comedy. I knew I was supposed to be laughing based upon the lines, but the other audio/visual cues were telling me something else. With assists from Michael Pena, Ray Liotta, Celia Weston, Aziz Ansari, and Patton Oswalt there was enough talent to make this work. I think this movie would've been so much better had it gone straight comedy in all senses.
This Jody Hill written and directed movie tried something a little different. It was clearly a comedy, but he chose to mix the comedic moments with serious music and acting. It really played tricks on the mind, which is not good for a comedy. I knew I was supposed to be laughing based upon the lines, but the other audio/visual cues were telling me something else. With assists from Michael Pena, Ray Liotta, Celia Weston, Aziz Ansari, and Patton Oswalt there was enough talent to make this work. I think this movie would've been so much better had it gone straight comedy in all senses.
Off the wall mall .............
merklekranz20 September 2010
Seth Grogan has some serious problems, a drunk mother, terrible social skills, and delusions of grandeur. Mix this together with taking his mall security job way too seriously, and you get a scatter shot, but at times hilarious comedy. My biggest problem with "Observe and Report" is it is wildly uneven, gyrating from comedy, to drama, to violence and blood. Nevertheless it is original and the presence of Ray Liotta also helps. Grogan's nothing can stop me attitude drives the film, and his relentless pursuit of the mall flasher leads to a satisfying conclusion. If you can live with a movie that is constantly shifting gears, you will enjoy "Observe and Report" - MERK
Funnier than Paul Blart
SnoopyStyle26 February 2014
Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) is a self-deluded mall chief security guard and lives with his alcoholic mother (Celia Weston). He pines for the superficial cosmetic sales clerk Brandi (Anna Faris). There's the new girl Nell (Collette Wolfe) working at the food court. There's also a flasher stalking the mall parking lot. Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) comes to investigate. Working under Ronnie are the twins, Dennis (Michael Peña), and the kid Charles (Jesse Plemons). Then the mall gets robbed.
Coming so close after 'Paul Blart', it got lost in the confusion. Unlike that movie, this is a much darker affair and funnier because of it. It has some ridiculous stupidity and funny idiocy. Writer/director Jody Hill is the same guy that made 'The Foot Fist Way'. It has the same feel, but like that movie, this schtick does get tiring. Ronnie is arrogantly stupid, and petty. It's not really in Seth Rogen's wheelhouse. It's much more Danny McBride's character although I understand why they got the bigger star to lead.
Coming so close after 'Paul Blart', it got lost in the confusion. Unlike that movie, this is a much darker affair and funnier because of it. It has some ridiculous stupidity and funny idiocy. Writer/director Jody Hill is the same guy that made 'The Foot Fist Way'. It has the same feel, but like that movie, this schtick does get tiring. Ronnie is arrogantly stupid, and petty. It's not really in Seth Rogen's wheelhouse. It's much more Danny McBride's character although I understand why they got the bigger star to lead.
Worse movie I've ever seen
grandpasblessed14 April 2009
I usually like any comedy. This is one of the only ones I didn't like. This movie was so stupid that all three of us got up and left in the middle of. The first movie in my 40 years I've left in the middle of. There was no real purpose and interest in the plot. There was no purpose at all for the over redundant F word. I don't agree with the main review on this page. I thought the acting was almost high school level. If you waste your money on it, at least don't say you weren't warned first. I find it hard to believe you can copy a good movie like Mall Cops and ruin completely ruin it so horribly that you almost can't recommend the good one that was copied.
Save your money.
Save your money.
Very underrated film
ostlerb-0285327 July 2021
For some reason, this movie seems to be forgotten to Seth's other movies, and I can't understand why (or maybe I just have a thing for dark humor). At the same time, I understand it's not the type of movie everyone will like. Doesn't change my rating, though.
Save your money - go see Hannah or anything else - shouted
lablady510 April 2009
I can honestly say this is the worst film in the history of films - OK. Trust me - I liked Howard the Duck. This film was worse than Paul Blart. Go see Slumdog Millionaire - again if you have to, it's a better deal. Go have a root canal it would feel better than feeling like you got reamed at the Box Office. If my brother wasn't with me I would have left - but I stayed to the bitter awful nauseating end. Horrible - shouted without capitals, I was edited!!!!!! If you want to feel violated by Hollywood - they must think we are all stupid to make such an awful film. This proves that monkeys write scripts in Hollywood, happier Cows my a@@.
"Kinda sad."
JohnDeSando15 April 2009
"At this point in my life, I feel like I could destroy some mother------s!" Ronnie (Seth Rogen)
Seth Rogen's Ronnie Barnhardt in Observe and Report is more deranged than the loser slackers of Miss March and actually generates fewer laughs. This pathological rent-a-cop head of mall security is so clueless that he pastes the picture of a mall streaker's penis on his forehead without the faintest notion that he is establishing himself as a d---head.
Why anyone would think this misanthropic pic a comedy, even action comedy, is a mystery. Androgynously-named Ronnie abuses everyone but his drunken mother and beats up kids, in some kind of avenger fantasy that helps him endure the life of a nowhere guard with no future. The insecurities of security at malls, successfully exploited earlier this year with Kevin James's Paul Blart, takes a decidedly dark turn in Observe & Report with Ronnie's run-in with the real law, personified in detective Harrison (Ray Liotta), who helps the mall deal with the streaker and deals with Ronnie's application to join the force.
Needless to say, Ronnie is not real police material with his neuroses and manifest racist and sexist attitudes. The film just doesn't capitalize on the many opportunities to satirize all these failures of maturity, relying instead on the barren wilderness of Ronnie's life inside and outside the mall. There are laughs to be sure of the stoner variety but too few even of those.
A detective hiding in a closet to witness Harrison's telling Ronnie he failed the cop qualifying tests bolts with this exclamation: "I thought this was gonna be funny, but instead it's just kinda sad." Rogen has moved from stoner/slacker stardom in Superbad to a dark loser with homicidal tendencies. That's kinda sad, and that's what I observe and report.
Seth Rogen's Ronnie Barnhardt in Observe and Report is more deranged than the loser slackers of Miss March and actually generates fewer laughs. This pathological rent-a-cop head of mall security is so clueless that he pastes the picture of a mall streaker's penis on his forehead without the faintest notion that he is establishing himself as a d---head.
Why anyone would think this misanthropic pic a comedy, even action comedy, is a mystery. Androgynously-named Ronnie abuses everyone but his drunken mother and beats up kids, in some kind of avenger fantasy that helps him endure the life of a nowhere guard with no future. The insecurities of security at malls, successfully exploited earlier this year with Kevin James's Paul Blart, takes a decidedly dark turn in Observe & Report with Ronnie's run-in with the real law, personified in detective Harrison (Ray Liotta), who helps the mall deal with the streaker and deals with Ronnie's application to join the force.
Needless to say, Ronnie is not real police material with his neuroses and manifest racist and sexist attitudes. The film just doesn't capitalize on the many opportunities to satirize all these failures of maturity, relying instead on the barren wilderness of Ronnie's life inside and outside the mall. There are laughs to be sure of the stoner variety but too few even of those.
A detective hiding in a closet to witness Harrison's telling Ronnie he failed the cop qualifying tests bolts with this exclamation: "I thought this was gonna be funny, but instead it's just kinda sad." Rogen has moved from stoner/slacker stardom in Superbad to a dark loser with homicidal tendencies. That's kinda sad, and that's what I observe and report.
A great dark comedy and instant cult classic...
btaylor_11117 December 2009
Wow, the people leaving negative comments on here must have not watched the same movie as I did or just don't own the necessary intelligence to get a movie like this. First off, this movie was incredibly well written and insanely funny if you can manage to understand dark comedy and the fact that just because its not blatantly attempting to make jokes like Paul Blart, which I will hit on after this, doesn't mean it isn't funny. You have to have a certain level of intelligence to understand a movie like this. Secondly, for those that have compared it to Paul Blart, why just because both involve mall cops do you group the two together? Both movies involve mall cops and the similarities end there. These movies have nothing to do with each other as Paul Blart, while I embarrassingly liked, was just a copy of the idiot humor comedies Chris Farley used to do, Observe and Report is of exceptional comedic quality. On another note, Seth Rogen isn't really that funny. He has been blessed with good scripts and has good delivery, especially when using cuss words. I will agree with those on here who have doubted Seth Rogans praise the last few years. In fact, I have to say Michael Pena's role in Observe and Report with his comedic undertones and lisp was by far the funniest character in the movie. Anna Faris also did an exceptional job, the best of her career in fact, especially in the scene immediately following her altercation with the flasher. Oh yeah and the wonderful cameo by Danny McBride was a scene stealer. So all and all I believe this was an incredible dark comedy with an incredible soundtrack that over time will come to be a cult classic.
Simple movie with a simple storyline. A one time watch and Decent
bibekpadhy200518 January 2015
This a simple story about a character who is self obsessed and arrogant. This is a movie about mall life and revolves around the mall's head of security. The story will seem a lot of cliché but the ending is not. Not to be expected too much of the movie but not too disappointing also. The central character has the bad habit of saying all out as he thinks in mind which annoyed all the people. last but not the least It does have a background teaching for the viewers about how you should keep pursuing your dreams. It surely is a one time watch (without a lot of expectations).
Story: 5/10 Direction: 6/10 Acting/Actors/Characters: 6/10 Cinematography: 6/10 Structure and Impact: 7/10
Story: 5/10 Direction: 6/10 Acting/Actors/Characters: 6/10 Cinematography: 6/10 Structure and Impact: 7/10
Atrocious
RandyTheRam28 April 2009
Being a huge Seth Rogen fan, I cannot express how disappointed I was in this film. To start, everyone deemed it a "dark comedy"; one reviewer even claimed it was like "a Kevin Smith film directed by Quentin Tarantino". As I enjoy both of their work, and love dark/twisted humor (opposed to the generic Chuck and Larry type humor), I had high hopes for this film.
But it seems that many people don't know what dark humor is. Because for it to be "dark HUMOR"...it has to be funny. If anyone wants to see a real dark comedy, they should go see Death at a Funeral, a Frank Oz film. This film is dark comedy. However, Observe and Report's idea of dark comedy is....knocking kids out with skateboards. There is a difference between DARK comedy and VIOLENT comedy, which are by no means the same thing.
Any educated film-goer shouldn't waste their time with this crap. However, for those who enjoy lines like "You blew up chick fil a" "why would I blow up chick fil a...its delicious" should enjoy this. That and Mexican jokes at the expense of one of the characters who is entirely based on stereotypes. Once again, this film hasn't gone above the typical shitty comedy level, as it stoops to this level. Observe and Report is supposed to be dark and twisted, but it's nothing more than you're average Norbit or Bedtime Stories-a generic comedy with pathetic laughs aimed at the masses, using violence in an attempt to pretend to be something more.
That being said, I would like to urge everyone to see Big Fan, which should be coming to theaters soon. It is another story about a "loser" still living with their mom, but much better executed. Written and directed by Robert D. Siegel (who wrote The Wrestler), this is an actual story about a man we feel sad for and try to understand. It's tragic and also absolutely hilarious. With a complex multi-layered plot, it's a true dark comedy. I don't want to give anything away, but I urge you to see it for some twists and incredible scenes. Seth Rogen, however, was simply....a loser you could not possibly feel bad for or at least understand.
Don't waste your time!
But it seems that many people don't know what dark humor is. Because for it to be "dark HUMOR"...it has to be funny. If anyone wants to see a real dark comedy, they should go see Death at a Funeral, a Frank Oz film. This film is dark comedy. However, Observe and Report's idea of dark comedy is....knocking kids out with skateboards. There is a difference between DARK comedy and VIOLENT comedy, which are by no means the same thing.
Any educated film-goer shouldn't waste their time with this crap. However, for those who enjoy lines like "You blew up chick fil a" "why would I blow up chick fil a...its delicious" should enjoy this. That and Mexican jokes at the expense of one of the characters who is entirely based on stereotypes. Once again, this film hasn't gone above the typical shitty comedy level, as it stoops to this level. Observe and Report is supposed to be dark and twisted, but it's nothing more than you're average Norbit or Bedtime Stories-a generic comedy with pathetic laughs aimed at the masses, using violence in an attempt to pretend to be something more.
That being said, I would like to urge everyone to see Big Fan, which should be coming to theaters soon. It is another story about a "loser" still living with their mom, but much better executed. Written and directed by Robert D. Siegel (who wrote The Wrestler), this is an actual story about a man we feel sad for and try to understand. It's tragic and also absolutely hilarious. With a complex multi-layered plot, it's a true dark comedy. I don't want to give anything away, but I urge you to see it for some twists and incredible scenes. Seth Rogen, however, was simply....a loser you could not possibly feel bad for or at least understand.
Don't waste your time!
Decent comedy
grantss27 March 2021
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