Seth Rogen’s likeable personality has persevered in movies such as
The 40-Year Old Virgin &
Superbad, however,
Observe and Report is an interesting vehicle for him in that it never really quite works as it’s [clearly] intended to.
For lack of better words,
Observe and Report is not the laugh out loud movie one would expect going in and, in watching, you can’t help but feel a little guilty for actually paying to see it.
Sure, what’s a couple dollars here or there especially if a good laugh is involved; but if that laugh never comes, isn’t that warrant enough to ask for your money back. That’s exactly how I felt afterward and the thing I don’t get is how coy the producers could be in marketing this film. Not only is it a blatant rip off of another mall cop movie we’ve already seen (
Paul Blart: Mall Cop), but it uses Seth Rogen’s name as a way to pull in his legion of fans. Do not be fooled, I mind you, this is not
Knocked Up, nor is it
Zack and Miri. Instead,
Observe and Report stands alone in Seth Rogen’s catalog and will, undoubtedly, be regarded as his first misstep along his recent string of hits.
Be that as it may, I understand that
Observe and Report is a black comedy and that things that are considered taboo are fair play; but, honestly, what’s funny about date rape? You have to be one fucked up individual to laugh at something like that and I, my friend, am not that.
To each his own I suppose, but the real problem lies within the fact that
Observe and Report never makes up its mind on what it wants to be. It’s “Napoleon Dynamite-esque” awkwardness resonates throughout the 86 minutes or so of running time and, even still, the characters you come in contact with leave no lasting impression whatsoever. Instead, all the audience can do is be polarized about what they're seeing on screen and, speaking honestly, I was just not impressed one bit.
Love it or hate it aside, I guess what I’m trying to say is that
Observe and Report is disappointing in more ways than one. Not only is it a second rate, mall cop comedy, but to watch it and marvel at how much time and talent was wasted on something as mindless as this is remarkable. Therefore, like the title suggests,
Observe and Report is nothing more than a defense mechanism for how I feel the writers/producers pieced all this crap together. Nothing about this movie is organized and the sad thing about it is that 75% of the people that see this will probably feel the same way that I do. Need I say more?
Rating: 1 inkblot out of 5