Movie Review - Observe and Report

Observe and Report (2 of 5): That's it; I have had enough. Knocked up was great. Superbad was good. Pineapple Express was the worst piece of shit ever produced; this one was not much better. Seth Rogan, it's time to expand your horizons or fade into obscurity.

Rogan plays Ronnie Barnhardt, head security guard at the local mall. Ronnie takes his job incredibly seriously, comes from a broken home, has an alcoholic mother who passes out mid-sentence, and a long history of anti-depessant medication because he is "a little bi-polar". When a flasher strikes the mall parking lot, "violating" numerous women employees and mall patrons, Ronnie and crew are on the case. Things get personal when the pervert exposes himself to Ronnie's love interest, a trashy, drunken, make-up counter hottie who is way out of his league. However, Ronnie's efforts are impeded by a real police detective played by Ray Liotta; Hillarity does not really ensue.

There are a handfull of really funny moments, like watching his mom drunken face plant on the carpet, and Ronnie's psychological evaluation while applying for the police department. Rogan does a decent job of making Ronnie a likable character; but most of the time, Ronnie seems like he is about to become the next gunman in the latest headlines. Rock music blares at seemingly random times, and the violence escalates shockingly fast at times. In one scene, Ronnie and his right hand man begin a rampage that begins funny, beating up skateboarders and ends with them both doing lines of coke and robbing stores in the mall. But hey, who hasn't been there?

It feels like Rogan is trying to branch out and show a darker side, as opposed to an overweight, lovable stoner. However, from what I can see, he is not ready to take on a different role, as he appears unable to make more than two facial expressions on camera and exude the same self-deprecating humor.