Observe and Report is an often hilarious satire of the traditional underdog story that simultaneously works and fails on a variety of levels.
Jody Hill, writer and director of the low-budget Sundance hit, “The Foot Fist Way,” and co-creator of the HBO series, “Eastbound & Down,” crafts a dark, biting comedy that poses an interesting dilemma. He presents a despicable, sociopathic lead character that commits deplorable acts and dares us to root for him. Though the approach is certainly ambitious and provides for an unique cinematic experience, the construct of the events surrounding our hero and the overall tone are so scattered and uneven that the central message is lost in its own tumult of cacophonous absurdity.
Ronnie Barnhardt is a mall cop–excuse me–head of mall security, and is a deeply, deeply troubled individual. Combine his perpetual endurance of harsh ridicule and frequent, devastating rejection with an overwhelming sense of responsibility for his parents’ failed marriage, severe bi-polar disorder, delusions of power, racism, and unhealthy infatuation with guns and you’ve got yourself the least desirable person imaginable to head up any type of security operation.
The film begins innocently enough with Ronnie acting out in obnoxious but generally funny ways eliciting sympathy and concern from the audience, but slowly sinks deeper into a void of darkness more troubling than anything likely to be released this year.
It’s difficult to say exactly what director Jody Hill wants us to make of his picture. It often feels like we’re really just watching a personal experiment of his to find out just how sadistic and delusional he can make the protagonist without sacrificing the audience’s affection. Thanks to Seth Rogen’s impressive performance, which is both hilarious and uncharacteristically sincere, the conclusion to that experiment is pretty darn sadistic and delusional.
While Seth Rogen displays impressive range and razor sharp timing further cementing his stature as a comic superstar, he’s simply too good for this film which has no sense of itself. The pacing and style choices work well, but its erratic intonation and spasmodic narrative undercut any originality or ambition.
Anna Farris (“Scary Movie,” “The House Bunny”) provides strong comic support as Ronnie’s impossibly superficial love interest, Brandi. Farris, although sometimes criticized for playing essentially the same character in every film, manages to add a bit of freshness and originality this time around in probably the best performance of her career. But good turns from Farris and Rogen aren’t enough to remedy Observe and Report’s considerable flaws.
(3 out of 5 stars)
