And Finally, Thoughts: Observe and Report

Okay, so I’ve been busy. I saw Observe and Report on Easter Sunday, and I haven't had a chance to coherently assemble my thoughts on the film until now. I have some experience writing about movies, but no amount of Film Studies credits could prepare me to review this one. As much as I enjoyed this film, I just can't bring myself to endorse the film completely. This film is most certainly not for everyone. If you, for instance, enjoyed Paul Blart: Mall Cop or any similar film, do yourself a favor and steer clear of this one.

I really want to avoid going into too much detail regarding what it is that makes this movie so different because I think some of the fun of the movie comes from slowly realizing what type of film this really is. No one in a million, perhaps jillion, years would ever believe that this was a studio produced film. It's not the language, the sex, the violence, or even the drug use, it's the fact that only one character in the film (not even a major character) is truly sympathetic. The thing that really grabs you in the film though, is the fact that it still gets you to sympathize with these characters that, let's be honest, you probably would not even speak to in real life. The fact that we still manage to care about Ronnie (Seth Rogen) as he seems to spiral out of control, is a testament to Jody Hill and his ability.

It may not sound like it from this post so far, but this movie is actually a comedy, and is really funny. There is a good variety of comedy, some character based, some situational, and some just completely insane. One thing that I really picked up on that I haven't seen mentioned in other reviews is the fact that there is a major change in tone about halfway through this film. The movie starts the way that anyone who had only seen the TV commercials would imagine, pretty standard studio comedy fare. Weird people doing weird things at a mall where regular people can look bewildered and/or befuddled (this isn't as bad as it sounds, as Hill keeps the comedy consistently mixed with character development, etc), but things change drastically. The most noticable part is how the first half of the movie could easily keep a PG-13 rating (notice how we never get actually see any nudity from the notorious flasher), then Ronnie makes his decision to stop taking his bipolar medication and the movie instantly cranks things up to a hard R rating. Right away we get to see some date rape (I'll get to that), then comes the vulgar language, intense violence, Hardcore drug use, and full-frontal male nudity. Not only does Ronnie start to become unbalanced, but the whole movie does so as well.

Unfotunately, this is where the movie gets into a little trouble. There is little in the way of connective tissue. Hill keeps putting intense scene after intense scene with little explanation of motivations. It can get a little confusing, and unfortunately the story suffers a bit, but not too much.

Seth Rogen's performance is spot on. Little by little he's proving he's got some dramatic chops hidden beneath his goofy exterior. Ronnie is sweet, a little dumb, and completely deranged, and Rogen does all of the above better than almost anyone (he has said that Ronnie is the logical continuation of Ken, the character he played on Freaks and Geeks, which makes the whole movie even funnier). Anna Faris is fantastic as well. Funnier than ever, but I did wish her part was a bit more substantial because I really wanted to see more of her in the film. Michael Pena stole his fair share of scenes, his comedic ability really was unexpected, but fantastic nonetheless.

Other Thoughts:

• Favorite line: "He's dead! ...oh, wait nevermind."
• Yes, it was probably date rape, but it wasn't really worse than Ronnie's excessive use of violence that likely killed innocent people, so I don't really understand the controversy.
• Why would anyone want to blow up the Chik-Fil-A? It's delicious!
• Boom.

Verdict: personally, it was a nine out of ten, but I would never be able to predict how anyone else would like it. Just look at the wildly varied reviews its getting. I guess, just find someone you usually agree with and listen to them.