Observe and Report

Welcome to another episode of The "D" List

Today's review is Observe and Report written and Directed by Jody Hill.

It stars Seth Rogen as Ronnie Barnhardt. A mall security guard who takes his job way too seriously. He's infatuated with the mall's makeup girl Brandi played the comedic genius Anna Faris.

Our story begins with the introduction of a flasher that harasses female customer's in the parking lot. When Ronnie gets wind of the flasher he sets into motion a plan to catch him which of course doesn't work. Then the flasher "attacks" Brandi which sets Ronnie ablaze. When the police arrive, Ronnie interferes with the investigation to try and catch the flasher and be the hero and win Brandi's affection.

That's the bare bones plot. The problem with this film is that there are several other subplots in the film that either don't make sense or just don't belong because the story is already set. This is a clear case of Jody Hill cramming in all of his ideas and not "editing" himself when writing the script. The movie suffers greatly as a result.

Another problem is that the film doesn't have an identity. It was marketed as a balls out in your face comedy and while Observe and Report does have some pretty good laughs. It makes an about face and goes dark in some spots which to me as a viewer was very confusing.

The same can be said for Ronnie's character. During the movie he seems like a dude that takes his job as a mall cop way too seriously when it turns out that he has bi-polar. I thought that was a ludicrous aspect to his character. There's no need to make him a nut. He's so much more funnier as a guy who overcompensates at a job that is really not as important as he makes it. I used to be a mall cop......trust me I know.

The film was a mash up of several ideas and sadly the strong characters are not on screen enough to see through the fog.

On the 5 star scale. Observe and Report gets 2 starts and a "Netflix It" recommendation.

That's all for this movie. I will return shortly with my X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review. A film that has been killed by early reviews. This reviewer sees otherwise but you'll see.

Until Next Episode....I'll Save You A Seat!

"D"