Review of Observe and Report (2009) by Tim S — 27 Feb 2012

It's difficult to explain why I gravitated towards this. Like everyone else at the time, I just assumed it was a clone of Paul Blart: Mall Cop and I didn't really give it a chance because of that.

However, a couple of people whose opinions I respect were saying positive things about it so I decided to give it a shot. Observe and Report is not your typical family friendly Seth Rogen affair, nor it is the Judd Apatow show.

Made by the director of The Foot Fist Way and Eastbound & Down, it's actually an extremely dark comedy. Both Rogen and Anna Faris are brilliant in it, and while the story can seem conventional on the surface, once you get into it you realize that it's much different.

It feels refreshing in the age of movies like The 40 Year Old Virgin and Superbad, two movies I'm not really that big a fan of. It's also nice to see a comedy like this get so dark and explore a character a bit deeper than just what's on the surface.

I found the film to be funnier because of that. It's not a perfect comedy, and there's a lack of style to it I suppose, but for what it is it's great.