DVD Reviews

Observe And Report

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Anna Faris
• Details: US/86mins (16)

Set to polarise viewers more than any comedy in recent memory, Observe and Report is more Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy than Knocked Up or Superbad. That's not to say that it isn't funny; there are laughs to be had here, but this is an inherently dark film, that aligns with Rogen's unhinged, difficult to like mall security guard and his warped outlook on the world: "I'm the only thing standing between the light and the dark." Playing like Paul Blart on an anti-depressant tablet that is still being tested, some will hate this, some will love it, and very few will sit on the fence.
Rogen's Ronnie Barnhardt becomes obsessed with catching a streaker who has been terrorising frequenters of his mall. When the streaker targets Anna Faris' ditzy make-up counter girl, Ronnie takes it personally and soon becomes involved in a turf war with the local fuzz (namely Ray Liotta's passive aggressive detective). Unlike Kevin James' huggable pedantic, Blart, Ronnie is pretty much a despicable character from the first frame, and neither Rogen nor writer/director Hill do much throughout the course of the film to make him appear otherwise. We are instead given subtle hints to his background that really treads that comedic/tragic line. His mother is an alcoholic, his father left after he was born, so all Ronnie really wants is to be seen as is a man - with the pretty girl and a semi-automatic strapped to his side. But people laugh at him, so he's built this wall around him full of repressed rage that he vents through gritted teeth.
Rogen is absolutely fantastic in this, and deserves plaudits for not sticking to his previous winning formula - this is a thousand miles away from Judd Apatow territory. Ronnie is a ticking time bomb, just looking for a way to expel his rage. When he allows himself to come off his medication, having found happiness that didn't involve a prescription, you genuinely feel for him, but fear what he'll do at the same time. While I've made favourable comparisons to two Scorsese classics, this really is trying to do something completely different with comedy. It's not slapstick, it's not dead pan, it's something far grubbier that will undoubtedly perplex many.
Do not go into this movie expecting a barrage of laughs, this isn't instant comedy; it's often uncomfortable, and the easily offended will be just that. Ultimately, though, this is a brave and satisfying effort, that dares to do something different.

Review by Mike Sheridan