Observe and ReportFor those of you who can only see Seth Rogen as the underdog schlub, like his characters in Knocked Up and Zack and Miri..., Observe and Report will be nothing short of shocking. In director Jody Hill's (Foot Fist Way) bizarre ode to Taxi Driver, Rogen plays Ronnie Barnhardt so well that you might believe this deranged, detached personality may actually exist in this fun-loving guy.
Ronnie Barnhardt is the megalomaniacal "Head of Mall Security" at a mall that has recently fallen victim to a flasher. His loving, yet bizarre relationship with his mother (Celia Weston) is just a testament to how deranged Ronnie truly is... and where that came from.
With the help of his lackeys the Yuen Twins (Matt and John Yuan), Charles (Jesse Plemons), and his right-hand-man Dennis (Michael Peña) attempts to go above the law and apprehend this "pervert," himself. One morning, while on the way to work, Brandi, who is the object of Ronnie's creepy, stalkerish lust falls victim to the flashers flopping member. Ronnie sees this as his opportunity to win over Brandi's affection by putting all of his time and effort into catching said flasher. Although, unfortunately for Ronnie, he has a real cop to contend with.
Ray Liotta has the same hard-hitting fervor that he had as Henry Hill in Goodfellas, as he does as Detective Harrison - Ronnie's would-be adversary. Destined to overcome Harrison, Ronnie crusades to be as cop-like as possible: trying to discover who is secretly stealing at the mall at night, going to the police academy, even beating the shit out of some thugs in the bad part of town... just to arrest a kid. His attempts to woo Brandi are futile nonetheless, but he does attract the attention of the homely Nell (Colette Wolfe), who works in the malls foodcourt. Oblivious to Nell's attraction to him, Ronnie still coaxes a date out of Brandi; and what follows is so wonderfully demented that you don't know whether to laugh, or be appalled.
Seth Rogen really shows true versatility as you see Ronnie slowly slip into madness; and, what's even more maddening is that you don't know if Ronnie knows that he is crazy. The supporting cast is magnificent, but its truly Rogen who carries the show, along with the fantastic writer/director, Jody Hill. Hill is a true gem. His last film, Foot Fist Way, really blurs the line of what we, as movie goers, find funny and what we find disturbing. Observe and Report is no different. This film was fantastic. Quite possibly, one of the best dark comedies in years. See it!
