Thanks for the memories!

Really Surprised!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Jody Hill's 2009 Dark Farcical Comedy Observe and Report follows Ronnie Barnhardt, the bipolar head of mall security at a mall that has been repeatedly targetted by a streaker. Deciding to disregard the police and higher authorities, Ronnie takes the case into his own hands and adopts a by-any-means attitude towards stopping the menace.This underrated pitch black and comedic picture beautifully casts Seth Rogen in the starring role, and in return, he offers the greatest acting performance of his career to date. This incredibly complex character is taken under the wing by Rogen with finesse and shows to be a role sculpted perfectly for this actor, usually associated with hilarious yet two-dimensional personalities (which often adds to the humour). This brutally funny performance is supported by a type-cast Ray Liotta, playing a stereotypical detective persona, the likes of which Scorsese films contain. This film does not only play a beautiful parodic homage to great 'vigilante justice' and violent cop thrillers such as Scorsese's 1976 Crime/Drama Taxi Driver and Don Siegel's 1971 Action/Thriller Dirty Harry, but it also pulls up the curtain on issues surrounding violence and gun law in America, issues that hold grave resonance right now. Barnhardt grows progressively violent throughout the film, from beating up drug addicts with a baton, building up to his pivotal use of a firearm at the climax on somebody comitting a felony of dissimilar proportions. This still however does not stop him from regaining his job as a mall security guard. Sure, he didn't gain a job as a police officer, but as he demonstrates throughout the film, Barnhardt dominates the mall, and uses methods similar or much more extreme than law enforcement to maintain 'order'. This highlights underscoring themes relating to power-play, who has the authority to inflict violence, and when is power given put into the wrong hands. Hill also questions how we as an audience interpret the violence: 'are we enjoying watching Ronnie's comeuppance?' 'Are we entertained by the often sadistic acts?', important rhetorical questions regarding our morality and curiosity as humans.This film is absolutely hilarious, and still drills deep into current social issues and the darker side of policing and the protection of the general public; a remarkable hidden gem.

I love black comedy. I even like dumb movies. But this one thinks it is more than it is, ad therefore deserves a really low rating. It isn't funny in the least. There is not one likable character. Well I guess the coffee girl. But manly it's just a bunch of loud, misfires rolling by, one after another. No sense of reason in he story line. Take the Danny McBride series, the Sasha Cohen films, there is a story line, and one scene follows another for a reason. I couldn;t figure out what this was about. Ray Liotta's character?? Pena ? Who does Seth Rogen know in H'wood that he keeps getting all these films made? He is lame to the max. I did think it was funny that the flasher was very...small.

Jody Hill's wonderfully dark, mean spirited comedy is quite the departure for Seth Rogen. Gone is the good natured teddy bear we've come to love, replaced by a bipolar, delusional, sorry sack of a man named Ronnie Barnhardt. Ronnie is head of mall security in a dreary suburban plaza, and likes to think he runs it with an iron fist, when in fact he's a buffoon. Rogen willingly dives in, showing us an unstable man child with a skewed outlook on justice. When a hilarious, potty mouthed dick flasher shows his face around the mall parking lot, Ronnie sees it has his chance to crack a case (along with a few heads) and win over the approval of Brandi (Anna Faris), the makeup counter girl. Faris's performance is inspired, slutty lunacy, and she milks the ditzy, cringe inducing airhead bimbo fpr all its worth, with priceless facial expressions and a valley girl whine that would make the 90210 chicks puke. When hotshot Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) shows up to investigate, Ronnie immediately butts heads with him, in an obnoxious, belligerent way that eventually pushes the cop to the brink. Liotta uses his bristling hostility perfectly in comic form, and he's a treat to watch here, all macho swagger and arrogant sass. The film has a tone of constant irreverence, is wickedly anti PC, and quite the underside of the usual stuff Rogen does, which I love. Anyone with a twisted sense of humour will bawl laughing in this one. There's great cameos here too, including Danny Mcbride, Aziz Ansari, Patton Oswalt Celia Weston. Michael Pena dons an outlandish perm and a goofy lisp to play Ronnie's second in command. Director Hill's brand of prickly, biting humour where you don't know whether to laugh or be freaked out at times isn't for everyone, but I find it a breath of black humored air in the comedy genre, and a welcome deviation.

Observe and Report is a decent movie with a good storyline and a great comedic cast.It certainly isn't a perfect or even great comedy but it is still very watchable and has plenty of genuinely funny scenes.This movie came out around the same time as Paul Blart: Mall Cop and a lot of people complained about how similar they are,while,they are both about mall cops,this movie is way better and is not very similar to the other movie,this has a lot of black comedy and it dosen't try to make you feel sorry for the character constantly,also Seth Rogen is a much more likable main role than Kevin James is.It certainly isn't a great or outstanding comedy,and nowhere near some of Rogen's best work,but Observe and Report is still quite funny at times,and is worth the worth if you're looking for a quick comedy.A delusional mall cop tries to solve the case of a mystery flasher who stalks his mall and the girl he likesBest Performance: Seth Rogen