Review of Observe and Report (2009) by Deepak C — 17 Jan 2012
Written and directed by Jody Hill, whose debut was the silly karate comedy The Foot Fist Way (2006), this is a pitch black comedy that makes for uneasy viewing, but it gives it's star a chance to show a different side, one that put him in good stead for The Green Hornet (2011).
Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) is head of security at the Forest Ridge Mall, his team are Charles (Jesse Plemons) and Dennis (Michael Peña), and the Yuen twins (John Yuan and Matthew Yuan), Ronnie even has eyes for make-up seller Brandi (Anna Faris).
There's been a little problem at the mall, that of an anonymous flasher who has been terrorising women in the car park, but Ronnie is determined to bring him down and to justice. However, he has the little matter of police officer Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) who wants to take over the case from Ronnie, but Ronnie wants to prove he has the situation in hand, and deal with it.
Ronnie even tries to prove himself to Detective Harrison by applying to join the police force, however that fails because Ronnie is bi-polar, but he doesn't let that get in his way of trying to catch the flasher.
It's a very dark comedy, the polar-opposite to Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) that opened a few months previously. But, although it is an uncomfortable kind of funny, it does make a good companion piece to something like The Cable Guy (1996).
This review of Observe and Report (2009) was written by Deepak C on 17 Jan 2012.
Observe and Report has generally received mixed reviews.
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