Hey look, I’m talking about a comedy for once. Well, this is technically a comedy, just extremely dark. Set Rogen stars as a mall cop in this movie released around the same time as another movie about a mall cop, Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Unlike Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Observe and Report is actually funny. Evidently that wasn’t enough to make it stand out, as it is one of lowest performing movies in terms of box office receipts for Seth Rogen. That isn’t awesome at all, considering this is one of his best performances that I’ve seen. His character Ronnie has some deep psychological issues that haven’t really been entirely worked out. It also doesn’t help that he still lives with his mom. There really is a lot more to his character, but if I say anything else, it might spoil something for you. Trust me on this.
A consequence of Rogen’s character is that a lot of comedy seems out of place. Like I said, this move is seriously dark, borderline depressing. One of the supporting characters, Dennis (played by Michael Peña), keeps it from being to dark thankfully. Every scene with Dennis is wonderful, especially one in particular, where he and and Ronnie assault some skateboarders. Peña is an amazing actor who really should be more well known. It really was a shame he didn’t get more screen time. Ray Liotta and Anna Faris also perform admirably here.
One issue I do have with this movie is that the plot seemed to wrap itself up a little too neatly.
Because it is so dark, this movie is not for everyone, even if the comedy is expertly done. But, if you are a fan of Seth Rogen, this is definitely worth your time.
Film and Other Things 