Observe and Report Review

There’s a point about halfway through Jody Hill’s Observe and Report where Ben Best hides in a closet in order to watch Seth Rogen’s character receive some bad news. When he doesn’t get the reaction he was expecting, he simply bails saying, “I thought this was going to be funny, but it turns out it’s just sad.” It struck me at that moment how this could very well summarize someone’s reaction to the entire film. Whether or not it was an intentional jab at the audience remains to be seen, but in a movie that flashes the middle finger at just about everything in sight, it’s not hard to think twice about a lot of the things presented on screen.
As a comedy, Observe and Report delivers plenty of funny moments, but at times it is almost challenging the viewer to laugh by pushing them outside their comfort zone. This should come as no surprise if you’ve seen Jody Hill’s previous film The Foot Fist Way or his HBO series Eastbound & Down, both of which make light of mean and abusive behaviour from their ignorant protagonists. Still, somehow he always manages to make us empathize with these heavily flawed characters, and this film is no different. Whether or not the movie is ultimately funny or sad is kind of left to you to decide. One thing’s for sure: this is one of the darkest and edgiest studio comedies ever to be released in theatres.
Seth Rogen stars as Ronnie Barnhardt, a power-tripping mall security guard who takes his job very seriously. When local police are called to investigate reports of a pervert flashing female patrons in the parking lot, Ronnie sees his chance to prove himself to Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) and maybe even join the police force. At the same time, he takes the opportunity to endear himself to Brandi (Anna Faris), who works in cosmetics at one of the mall’s department stores. Before long we learn that Ronnie is not the most stable person in the world, and when events don’t play out entirely to his benefit, his emotional issues start to get the best of him.
There has already been plenty of debate over whether a line has been crossed with Observe and Report, and the fact that critics are so divided over this movie tells you that it’s definitely doing something right. Yes, there is a scene where Ronnie has sex with Brandi while she is passed out drunk, but the way it plays out certainly makes it seem unintentional, if not consensual. Still, this is a good example of the kind of humour you can expect in Observe & Report: it’s borderline offensive, and it’s not for everyone.
Sometimes Jody Hill’s need to push the boundaries feels a little desperate, such as the extended argument between Seth Rogen and Aziz Ansari where they are swearing at each other for so long that any humour or shock value has long since been drained from the scene. Other times, the movie walks the line between funny and pathetic so closely that it fails to register as either. The moments between Ronnie and his alcoholic mother (Celia Weston) are among the most difficult to process. These interactions are what humanize Ronnie, but at the same time, they’re also played for some cheap laughs which is a little off-putting.
Danny McBride fans may well wonder why he didn’t end up scoring the lead in this film (although they will still be happy to see him make a brief, but hilarious appearance as a drug dealer) and I do think that the movie might have actually been funnier with him playing Ronnie Barnhardt. That said, Rogen makes for a much more sympathetic protagonist, and raises the bar by turning in his strongest acting performance to date. Although there is a decent supporting cast, they all take a backseat to Rogen. Anna Faris just plays her usual ditzy blonde, while Michael Peña takes on his first major comedic role and doesn’t really add much to the equation. The inclusion of some relative unknowns does make the mall feel that much more real, however.
What I was most surprised about was the fact that the film’s conclusion, which Hill reportedly had to fight to keep intact, seemed inappropriately upbeat. Granted, the meltdown that comes before it is pretty brutal, and Ronnie’s methods are equally as unforgiving. I have to admit that I still bought into the fantasy of it all, and thoroughly enjoyed it even though it did qualify as a bit of a cop out. This, to me, was where the movie made a clear choice that it was going to be a comedy, and I was pretty much okay with that decision.
Observe and Report is not a perfect film, but it does aspire to be something more than a goofy comedy, something that is worthy of your time and money, assuming you think you can stomach it. While there weren’t as many laughs as I had hoped for, it does present a searing portrait of a tortured soul that, believe it or not, has a lot of things to say about our world. Call it therapeutic if you will, but with Jody Hill’s direction and the cinematography of frequent David Gordon Green DP Tim Orr, I can certainly see why loose comparisons to Scorsese’s Taxi Driver have been made. Not only should Jody Hill and Seth Rogen be commended for taking a risk with this movie, so should Warner Brothers for allowing it to happen. My advice: go see this movie right now because it might be a long time before you see something like it on the big screen again.