Film File - Observe and Report

Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) is a man on a mission to clean up the criminal element invading his territory. Cross him, step out of line, even look in the wrong direction, and it"s all over. No-one is safe. But before your impression of him gets too inflated, you need to know that Ronnie is no Clint Eastwood - though that"s exactly the kind of image he"s hoping to portray. As an overzealous, self-deluded shopping mall supercop, he wants nothing more than to carry a gun and use it. Unfortunately, his job is to observe and report - the credo that informs the lives of security staff all over the world. Armed with only a flashlight and modified golf cart, Ronnie waits in vain for the moment he can demonstrate that his unappreciated skills are vital to protect the shoppers on his daily beat. Every dog has his day, however, and when Ronnie"s domain is breached by a flasher, he takes it as an opportunity to make his mark - to prove he is actually an ruthless dispenser of frontier justice trapped in a security guard"s uniform whose heroics normally go no further than manhandling teen skateboarders and petty shoplifters. Assembling a special elite task force comprised of his fellow security guards plus a youngster who works at the nearby restaurant, Ronnie Barnhardt grabs his only chance to finally become Travis Bickle from 'Taxi Driver". Writer/director Jody Hill tries to delve into a darker side of Rogen"s normally nice-guy persona as previously seen in straightforward comedy fare like 'Knocked Up" for edgier laughs through a storyline involving fight scenes, male nudity, drugs and sex - all designed to push the boundaries of what a traditional Hollywood comedy is supposed to be. While immediate comparisons might be made with last month"s 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop", this one fits more in the vein of Jim Carrey"s 'Cable Guy" for dark humour. With co-starring roles taken by Michael Pena as his lisping security colleague, Ray Liotta as the overbearing Detective Harrison, and Anna Farris as his would-be babe, Brandi, the film"s pace hinges almost entirely on Rogen and his valiant attempt to break out of the typecast stoner characters that have served him so well thus far in his career. Sadly, the overall effect is lacking in that nutty manic verve which fellow comedians Jim Carrey and Ben Stiller have brought to similar roles, and the film ends up a one-trick pony of bathroom humour that wanes well before the second half. A Polaroid photo of the flasher"s privates regularly thrust into the faces of passers-by is one example of this. 'Observe And Report" is a different kind of comedy with good intentions to test the envelope, but falls short of its intended aim.