Observe and Report DVD Review

[Brando]

Starring: Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Anna Ferris
Directed by: Jody Hill
Written by: Jody Hill
Runtime: 86 mins
Rated: R
DVD Release: September 22, 2009

The way I see it, there are two possible directions for a movie about a mall cop: first, the ludicrous and ridiculous, jam-packed with slapstick hi-jinks and off-color joshing. The kind of film like Paul Blart: Mall Cop (starring the face and girth of TV slapstick, Kevin James), whose trailer’s highlight occurs when Blart slides exactly half a foot across the waxed mall floor before awkwardly inching his way to cover. I remember thinking that that very moment probably encapsulated the film – funny for a second, and then just a little pathetic. I never saw Blart, and instead opted to wait for Observe and Report in order to get my mall cop fix. Do I regret it? No, but the latter is hardly the film we’ve come to expect from Judd Apatow’s most profitable comedic offspring, Seth Rogen, who takes a turn from the rude but feel-good Knocked Up to a movie that features a kind of humor only described as dark and disturbing. It’s a major change of pace for Rogen, and it probably won’t sit all that well with the many fans of Superbad, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, or the aforementioned Knocked Up.

And so, we have the second possible direction for a movie about a mall cop: the sad kind. Observe and Report is the story of Ronnie Bernhardt (Rogen), an overweight and underchallenged mall sheriff who styles himself something of a food court warlord. He spends most of the day looking for trouble where it most certainly doesn’t exist, and single-handedly creates a mostly martial atmosphere underneath the stylized neon ‘HMV’ sign and above the glossily-waxed pseudo-granite floors. He’s joined in his operations by a sycophantic team of twins (Matt and John Yuan) and Dennis (Michael Peña), the latter more than willing to help Ronnie turn the place into a capitalist gulag.

So, what makes these guys so bloody crazy? Well, other than the fact that they’re employed in a position of semi-authority without half the training of real cops, the sudden arrival of a parking lot flasher helps to create a sense of danger at the mall, an exciting prospect indeed for a place where sensations usually run high with the unveiling of a new Taco Bell menu. Ronnie and his crew soon after set about their own hapless investigation of the matter, which only intensifies when beautiful bimbo Brandi (Anna Ferris), Ronnie’s dream girl, is targeted by the trench coat-wearing psychopath.

Trouble is, since the matter involves more than just some stolen music CDs or body lotion, the real cops have been called in to do the work. Leading the investigation is Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta, who sometimes looks just a little less frazzled than the pathetic Ronnie). Harrison immediately rubs Bernhardt the wrong way since 1) he’s stealing Ronnie’s only chance to act the hero, and 2) in doing so he’s making a play for the sultry but stupid Brandi. Ronnie is so upset by the situation that his behavior increasingly becomes psychotic and self-destructive in trying to one-up Harrison.

Thus, Ronnie resolves to become a real cop himself, eventually riding alongside Harrison, who by this time would rather dump Bernhardt off a tall bridge than see him three desks away down at the station. The conflict eventually results in one of the few invigorating and sadistically hilarious moments of the movie, but quickly resumes its rather sad and dark story. Several more devastating defeats for Ronnie lead to a brutal conclusion that is, in a rather sick way, somewhat funny – but not in the feel-good way we’ve seen in other Rogen flicks.

Video

Have you seen a typical mall, lately? Then you’ve witnessed just about everything Observe and Report has to offer, visually. There’s little reason to make the upgrade to high definition Blu-Ray, unless you’re hoping to see more of that flasher. And I doubt you are.

Audio

Although the film struggles towards a comedic climax, it does feature a surprising amount of action, particularly in its closing scene. However, the music is mostly forgettable and adds little to the film’s already dour mood.

Overall, I have a hard time recommending Observe and Report, which too often assumes that the words “disturbing” and “funny” don’t make for an oxymoron when paired so frequently. There’s a place for this kind of humor, but rarely does it work when employed throughout a film’s entirety. That kind of film does exist (I’m thinking the excellent Guy Richie flick “Snatch”), but the black comedy is a most challenging of genres and absolutely demands fantastic writing and direction in order to avoid depressing its viewers into walking out of the theater altogether. Death to Smoochy, The Cable Guy – it just seems most of these films fail to walk the tight rope between silly and sadistic. I can observe and report that this flick is, sadly, no different.