Observe and Report (15)

Apr 22 2009 By Pierce Hunt, Surrey Herald

AUTHORITY has gone straight to the head of Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen). Always ready to protect and serve the patrons of Forest Ridge Mall, head of security Ronnie can only observe and report.

Armed with only a torch, stun gun and golf buggy, his delusions of grandeur are beginning to take their toll.

Initial similarities to Disney's Paul Blart: Mall Cop are soon blown out of the water when bipolar Ronnie unleashes a foul-mouthed tirade at a local news reporter who gets his official title wrong. The reason for the media attention is that a flasher is stalking the mall. Ronnie is determined to catch the 'pervert' and continues to patrol his patch with an iron fist.

Ronnie has ideas above and beyond his station, believing that if he can capture the culprit and highlight his law enforcement skills, he'll earn the brownie points required to join the police force and win the affections of Brandi (Anna Faris), the cosmetic counter girl who is clearly not interested.

The crack security team helping Ronnie include the Yuen twins (John and Matt Yuan). Neither are particularly useful or mobile, nor is Charles (Michael Peña), a Mexican immigrant who soon shows his true colours.

Director Jody Hill manages to cram in a lot of laughs in 86 minutes, especially with Ronnie's mum (Celia Watson), who is the source of some brilliant belly laughs as she reels off a barrage of cracking one-liners.

Ronnie's pursuit of Brandi gets a little too close for comfort and his nemesis from the police department, Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta), who takes over the flasher case, conjures up enough friction for an almighty battle of pride to take centre stage.

Observe and Report is a lot darker than it may appear at first glance, with Ronnie's unstable character the crux of the whole operation who manages to steer the film in a hilarious direction.

For the man with the Marmite effect, Seth Rogen will ultimately keep his fans happy, but will be unlikely to win over any new admirers who haven't already hitched a ride on the Canadian's bandwagon.

Film facts

Genre: Comedy Director: Jody Hill Cast: Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Anna Faris, Michael Peña, Randy Gambill, John Yuan, Matt Yuan, Dan Bakkedahl, Jesse Plemons Did you know?: Anna Faris has played the 'dumb blonde' in a number of films including Scary Movie, The Hot Chick, My Super Ex-Girlfriend and The House Bunny Verdict: If you like your comedy rude, crude and dark, you'll love it