It’s not going to be what you’d expect.
Up until now, we’ve seen Seth Rogen play the loveable stoner in the majority of his films, and he’s mastered the art of making audiences laugh at his goofball persona. With “Observe and Report,” Rogen steps into the dark side of comedy (heavy on the dark).
Meet Ronnie Barnhardt, the local head of mall security who, simply put by his own right-hand man, Dennis (Michael Peña), “cares too much.” He spends his nights taking care of his alcoholic mother and his days obsessing over Brandy (Anna Faris), a cosmetics-counter bimbo who doesn’t give Ronnie the time of day until she becomes another victim of the mall’s parking-lot pervert.
As this overweight eccentric starts running around the parking lot flashing mallgoers, Ronnie takes it upon himself to rise to the occasion, catch the pervert and win over the girl. Throw in a case of bipolar disorder, inept coworkers and a jerk of a detective into the mix, and you’ve got yourself a very awkward movie.
Barnhardt seldom cracks a smile and constantly pisses people off with his prejudice and sense of entitlement. You’ll wonder how this guy hasn’t been fired already. And then it’s clear that he hasn’t because everyone around him is an even bigger screwup. Those secondary screwups, though, definitely provide the comic relief as nobody regurgitates like Faris, whose trickle-of-vomit scene reminded me of her hilarious mouthful of toothpaste highlight in “Just Friends.”
Ray Liotta (“Goodfellas”) plays Detective Harrison, who outranks Barnhardt in the pervert case and thus becomes his nemesis. It’s a pairing I never thought I’d see.
Though his eyes still sparkle, Liotta’s Harrison is a special breed of dirtbag briefly masquerading as a father figure to Barnhardt. He’s the kind of dad that abandons his son in the shadiest part of town among a family of violent crack dealers with Danny McBride (“Pineapple Express”) as the patriarch. Barnhardt proves he can fend for himself and gives us some truly hardcore fight scenes, proving it takes a lot to physically take down this bear of a man.
Action and comedy aside, our protagonist has a mental disorder, and the film doesn’t take this lightly. When Barnhardt opts to go off his meds, his delusions take over, and then he falls into depression.
However, writer and director Jody Hill (“The Foot Fist Way”) makes it clear to the audience that Barnhardt should not succeed because you feel bad for him, but because of his predominant morals ““ he loves his mom and the mall ““ and misplaced good intentions. And that’s why he’s our hero; because he cares.
The film definitely earns its R rating for violence, language and nudity, including a heavy dose of VMG: visible male genitalia. But this isn’t “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” VMG; it’s closer to “Borat” VMG.
And while Rogen is a familiar face from the Judd Apatow crew, you won’t see Apatow’s name or influence anywhere in “Observe and Report.” In one scene, Harrison’s detective friend hides in Harrison’s office closet to hear him insensitively tell Barnhardt he didn’t make the police academy because he has “issues.” His friend comes out early and admits he thought it was going to be funny, but it was just sad. That’s basically the overall feeling of the whole movie. That said, the film’s got a killer last scene.
Email Mohtasham at smohtasham@media.ucla.edu