Seen on: April 10, 2009

The players: Director: Jody Hill, Writer: Jody Hill, Cast: Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Michael Pena, Ray Liotta, Jesse Plemons

Facts of interest: Jody Hill also directed "The Foot Fist Way."

The plot: Seth Rogen plays a mall security guard who desperately wants to become a real cop.

Our quick thoughts: Jody Hill’s “Observe and Report” is a crass, violent and a times hilarious comedy. It’s a weird little film starring Seth Rogen in a role quite different from what he’s done so far, and to be honest, I found it both daring and intriguing. Some will adore it, and others will hate it, but I admit I had a great time watching Rogen play an unstable mall cop who will stop at nothing to fulfill his dream.

The film focuses on Ronnie Barnhardt, head of security at Forest Ridge Mall, where things run pretty smoothly until a ruthless flasher starts bothering customers in the parking lot. For Ronnie, this is finally his big chance to prove what’s he’s all about, and together with his team of eccentric security guards, he heads out to put an end to the scare and do what he thinks he does best...

Okay, I know what you’re thinking: this is just another “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” right? Well sure, the two flicks certainly share a number of striking similarities, but I still prefer to think of “Observe and Report” as a whole lot more entertaining and unpredictable than the simplistic kid-friendly Kevin James comedy. You see, “Observe” is not afraid to shock its audience, and that’s exactly makes it so different.

What you should know right away, however, is that Hill’s film is not exactly what the trailers make it out to be. I originally thought the plot would mainly focus on Ronnie trying to track down the flasher, but as it turns out, that’s not the case. Instead, the central story focuses more on Ronnie’s transformation from an almost delusional mall cop to a brave man who finds the necessary courage to achieve his goal.

Ronnie’s big dream, of course, is to leave his pathetic job at the mall behind and become a badass cop, but as it turns out, that’s not exactly as easy as it may sound. When we first meet him, Ronnie acts like a cocky prick who thinks his rough attitude and dirty mouth will get him anything he want, but as the film progresses, we discover Ronnie is actually a fragile human being with a big heart and plenty of personal issues.

“Observe and Report” follows Ronnie’s path from loser mall security guard to respected hero cop, and the film does this in both a surprising and hilarious way. Be it Ronnie’s countless attempts to get attention from a hot make-up counter clerk (Anna Faris) or his violent feud with an arrogant detective (Ray Liotta), the selection of strange but amusing, vulgar and even graphic sequences in this film is vast.

Even though I had trouble connecting with Rogen’s character at first, he sort of becomes more likeable as the story progresses, and that despite his craziness. Rogen delivers yet another funny, aggressive performance, and he injects his character with just the right dose of energy to provoke plenty of laughs. Faris and Liotta round out a solid cast.

Freaky quote: “The world has no use for another scared man. Right now, the world needs a fucking hero." – Seth Rogen

The final word: Not every joke in the film works the way it should, and some moments tend to drag a little, but overall, I highly enjoyed “Observe and Report.” It’s something different and peculiar, for a change, and I like that.

Article by Franck Tabouring