April 2009
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Observe and Report (15)
Printed 22th April 2009

The sophomore full-length feature film from The Foot Fist Way writer/director and Danny McBride (Tropic Thunder/Pineapple Express/Foot Fist/HBO's unfiltered inappropriately genius Eastbound & Down) best bud Jody Hill, Observe and Report might star current comedy staple Seth Rogen but sure is no warm ‘n’ fuzzy Apatow “raunch-com” production.

Sharp, sick, twisted, perverted, deranged and all the more hilarious for it, O&R not so much pushes the boundaries of acceptable lengths to go to for a laugh, but gleefully stomps right past it ands sticks the boot in as well for good measure. This is sure to offend as many people as it amuses.

Which is exactly why it’s so damn funny and deserves your undivided. So un-PC it’s a breath of fresh air, O&R flies by the seat of its pants in the face of mainstream formula. It has an unlikeable, unredeemable lead in the chunky shape of Rogen’s bipolar, tactless and oblivious oaf Ronnie Barnhardt, who goes through a journey but doesn’t necessarily learn any life lessons along the way. He wants a gun, he wants to be a dark avenger, he secretly might just want to be a proper cop instead of a mall pretender. He has very little social skills, his mouth invariably blurts out the wrong thing and he has no sense of boundaries. He somehow has you rooting for him to succeed and cheering his every wrong move.

How much of this is down to Rogen’s eminent and irrefutable likeability and how much is down to Hill’s writing is unclear. Rogen is playing different than the lovable, cuddly loser he normally does so well, really taking a chance on such a deeply flawed character. But Ronnie’s sheer dedication and by proxy Rogen’s to the character entirely wins you over. What is clear, however, is that the genius of Hill’s penmanship and the daring and distinctive voice he is starting to develop after only two movies is, at this current time, unrivalled.

Mining comedy out of the mundane, O&R is like a cross between the off-beat antics of Napoleon Dynamite and Kevin Smith’s ode to everyday shopping Mallrats. With a touch of Taxi Driver thrown in for good measure. What’s great about it is that in a totally messed-up way, within its own heightened in-film world, it completely encapsulates the microcosm of society and the hierarchy of mall and/or department store working life. Everyone thinks their job, their role is the be all and end all and the most important area of responsibility in the entire world, let alone their working environment. Of course, it is not.

Comprising the rest of the equally objectionable roster is a set of character actors equally committed and equally fearless in their performances as Rogen. Ray Liotta plays the Police Detective assigned to catch the flasher that is tormenting the mall customers and staff in the only way Ray Liotta knows how: as a pared-down Al Pacino. He’s perfectly Bad Lieutenant in the role though. Michael Peña reinvents himself in a John C. Reilly (see: Talladega Nights) way as Ronnie’s best friend and second-in-command, campily lisping his way into the comedy sidekick Hall of Fame. John and Matt Yuan are twin fellow mall cops, with less brainpower than one half-intelligent human being between them: they deserve their own flick. Celia Weston is Ronnie’s degenerate alcoholic mom, the sort of trailer trash nightmare parent Britney will probably turn out to be.

Then there’s the smallish-but-memorable turn as the object of Ronnie’s affection Brandi from Anna Faris. Uber-talented, arguably the best comic actress of her generation, Faris is shameless and courageous and inhibitionless even more than ever in O&R. This girl’s talent knows no bounds, her mere presence elevates shit films (Scary Movie/Waiting/Just Friends/The House Bunny) above their station so imagine what her screen charisma, charm and sex appeal can do in a film that actually matches her abilities and then you’ll know what to expect from her here.

Fresh and new and quite unlike anything else out there, in Observe and Report anything can, and frequently does, happen providing some truly surprising shocks along the way. Not one for the easily offended, you’d be best to give this nihilistic, controversy-baiting comedy a swerve if humour mined out of close to the bone racial, sexual and mental health issues don’t amuse. Apatow clan expecting the next Knocked Up, don’t say you weren’t warned.

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