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Movie Description
In this deadpan comic send-up/tribute to the psychotic male loner of American cinema (à la TAXI DRIVER, DIRTY HARRY, DEATH WISH, etc., security guard Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) is determined to keep the mall safe, whetherhe's running down skaters or harassing employees. A flasher is terrorizing the mall and Ronnie is determined to catch him, and no matter how misguided Ronnie's efforts, the swelling rock-&-roll soundtrack is with him all the way, underscoring his triumphs and his tragedies with fist-pounding anthems and tear-wrenching ballads by Queen, the Yardbirds, and the Band. Writer-director Jody Hill delivers on the promise he showed with THE FOOT FIST WAY, taking the same sort of clueless, fearless protagonist and going even deeper into the darkness. Rogen projects a surprising amount of unstoppable force as the delusional, compulsive, bipolar Ronnie, while also displaying tenderness for his alcoholic mother (Celia Weston) and a genuine desire to protect the perfume-counter girl (Anna Faris) he loves (even though he ends up getting her wasted and taking advantage of her in a controversial scene). Even with such stiff competition, Michael Peña manages to steal almost every scene he's in as a lisping, sycophantic co-worker. Ray Liotta plays a "real" detective, and Hill regular Danny McBride shows up in various amusing cameos. Inexplicably released the same year as PAUL BLART: MALL COP, this is the darker one--the raging id, the heavy-hitter version--with a vengeance., Two of film's funniest--Seth Rogen and Anna Faris--headline this dark comedy set in the world of...a shopping mall. Head of security Ronnie Barnhardt can't wait for the day when he has real power as a cop, but when shoppers are harassed by a flasher, he sees his chance to prove his worth. Directed by Jody Hill (THE FOOT FIST WAY), OBSERVE AND REPORT also stars Michael Pena and Ray Liotta.
Industry Reviews
"[A] shockingly and sometimes discomfortingly funny comedy....[Rogen gives] a nervy lead performance that's in perfect sync with the pic itself."
Variety - Joe Leydon (03/16/2009)
“[A] risky, riotous, moody-blue comedy written and directed by Jody Hill....The cast, led by Rogen, chomps into all this anarchy as if liberated from the Hollywood salt mines, with a commitment to the material worthy of a tribute from James Lipton.” -- Grade: A-
Entertainment Weekly - Lisa Schwarzbaum (04/17/2009)
“Its biggest asset is the way it sidesteps predictability and focuses its tale on unlikely and unhinged characters.”
USA Today - Claudia Puig (04/10/2009)
“Ms. Faris is as game as they come. Mr. Rogen, who’s often cast as a likable schlump, gives an edgy, brave performance...”
Wall Street Journal - Joanne Kaufman (04/10/2009)
"[T]he film breaks all the rules....Not since Paul Thomas Anderson's PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE has a studio comedy so willfully punctuated fantasy with shocking violence."
A.V. Club - Scott Tobias (04/09/2009)
3 stars out of 4 -- "If you are a fan of dark and quirky comedy, then you will be in heaven with this film....The random and unpredictable nature makes it an extremely interesting film to watch."
Premiere - Premiere Staff (04/10/2009)
3 stars out of 5 -- "Funny as hell, that's how demonic it is. Imagine Scorsese directing POLICE ACADEMY..."
Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (04/16/2009)
3 stars out of 5 -- "It's Rogen's THE CABLE GUY, and a possible future cult classic."
Total Film - Total Film Staff (10/01/2009)
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