Observe and Report

I don’t usually read reviews that other people write. It doesn’t matter to me what some random person has to say about a movie, especially since I don’t know them and have no way to tell how much they know about movies (that being said, everyone should continue to read my reviews since I know a lot about movies), but every once in a while, public opinion and I differ so much that I have to read their reasons why. When I saw that Observe and Report was getting 10/10’s and A’s from critics, I had to get to the bottom of why. After reading multiple reviews, I realized that the critics and I had picked up on all the same things about the movie; they just felt those factors made it a 10/10, whereas I did not (gun to my head, I’d give it a 7.5). The moral of the story is, don’t look at numbers or grades; look at what is said specifically about a movie, because anyone who knows movies can pick up on common threads, but they feel differently about them. That being said, if you want to see a movie, a review should never change that.

First of all, O&R is not a comedy by conventional standards. If you go to the theater expecting to see another Apatow-esque comedy, you will leave disappointed. As he did with his first film The Foot Fist Way, director Jody Hill takes real life situations and then pushes them past the point of realism and into the realm of ridiculousness. This results in both humor and darkness, and that is really what Hill’s movie are about: juxtaposition. Humor and darkness; heart-warming moments followed by depressing ones; intentional campiness and bone cracking violence; happiness and sadness; satire and penis (penis is the opposite of satire, right?). When all is said and done, this is the movies biggest strength and its biggest weakness. By shifting tone so much throughout the movie, it makes for an interesting movie going experience, but also confuses the audience at times.

Seth Rogan, who I praised in Monsters vs. Aliens, is very good, especially since this a super change of pace for the husky star. Usually an extremely loveable, often dimwitted protagonist, Rogan’s Ronnie is a bipolar mall cop with his own code and harsh brand of justice. Everyone seems to be making the Travis Bickle comparison, based on their attitudes and world view, but I say that Ronnie, despite how unlikable he is throughout the film, you still root for him to succeed more than Travis, mainly because Ronnie is more pathetic. Ronnie also seems more in touch with the world than Travis, making it easier for the audience to connect with him.

The rest of the cast is equally as superb as Rogan. Anna Farris makes Brandie more unlikeable than you can possibly imagine. Despite how Ronnie pines after her, you really don’t want them to end up together. Ray Liotta and Michael Pena also deserve a shout out. I don’t know who played Ronnie’s mom, and I don’t feel like looking it up. All of the other reviews have praised her enough. She was good, although I was not as fond of her as others seem to be.

Like I said, this movie is not the comedy you expect it to be. There are very funny scenes, and the movie’s final two minutes were extremely enjoyable. They also sum up the entire movie. If you are not willing to see a movie that finds the line and then long jumps past it, then you should avoid this movie rather than leave extremely offended. But like I said before, if a movie looks good, don’t let anything I say stop you from trying it.