Observe And Report

The Seth Rogen Cinematic Formula is usually pretty reliable—he gets into ridiculous situations through some indirect fault of his own, he gets high, he finds love by being himself, and in the end, his good-natured smirk ensures that everything works out and he can go on being a slob or slacker or some variation of the lazy man’s dream. It’s easy and effective, the movies are funny (in a witty way that is both naïve and worldly at the same time), and the formula has worked for him thus far. His latest film, “Observe and Report,” however, is like the evil twin of all his other feel-good movies. Rest assured, it has all these elements and more, but it takes them to an unexpectedly darker, more disturbing, or simply more obnoxious level than moviegoers may be expecting.

“Observe and Report” follows shopping mall cop Ronnie Barnhardt (Rogen) as he embarks on a mission to catch a flasher who preys on unsuspecting women in the mall parking lot. When Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) from the local police is called in to take over the case, Ronnie increases his efforts whilst trying to impress the cosmetics sales assistant, Brandi (Anna Faris from the “Scary Movie” series). Along the way, he must also find time to fall in love, kill a few cocaine dealers, and attempt to achieve his dream of becoming a police officer.

Those expecting to see Rogen in another cute, bumbling, well-meaning role will find themselves disappointed, and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “Observe and Report” shows a more daring and wicked side to Rogen’s lopsided smile, something akin to but more extreme than his role as a rogue police officer in “Superbad.” Ronnie cusses like a sailor, gets high at work, and is mean to the one girl who tries to treat him like a human being. Rogen also pulls off Ronnie’s delusional arrogance without sacrificing his goofy awkwardness in more romantic scenes; at one point, Ronnie asks Brandi out by touching the top of her head and quipping, “You, me, free dinner... you fill in the rest with a yes.”

With its meandering multiple plot lines, the film ends up very much like its main character: bipolar, aimless, and shameless. “Observe and Report” fails to make up its mind as to where it should place its focus, zigzagging between characters and events. As a result, the movie seems a little disjointed at times, pausing on extreme high-angle close ups of Ronnie’s face as he contemplates his life, before moving to hand-held shots that follow him as he runs after terrified skateboarders in the parking lot.

“Observe and Report” attempts to squeeze in a few moments of genuine warmth into the mayhem, but Ronnie’s alcoholic mother (Celia Weston) sucks them dry like she does her whiskey. Before Ronnie goes out on a date, she tells him about her first date with his father, reminiscing, “He was so handsome... I knew right then and there that I would fuck him that night.” By contrast, Nell (Collette Wolfe), a crippled coffee shop server, plays a more human, likable, and sympathetic character, even if it remains unclear why she insists on liking Ronnie in the first place.

Surprisingly, “Observe and Report” scores high on shock value in several moments, featuring explicit (and often cringe-inducing) nudity and visual violence. As Ronnie takes down six crack dealers on a dark corner with a single stick, the camera immediately zooms in on a dislocated joint and shows Ronnie kicking a thug’s already bloodied face in excruciating detail. The grim violence and dark humor contrasts well with the sterile surfaces of the mall and the masses of robot-like shoppers who constantly pass in the background. It also represents a more irreverent and bolder kind of comedy. Some of the shots are indeed very cheap; the blatant racism between Ronnie and a Middle Eastern salesman and the band of misfits that make up Ronnie’s security guard crew (complete with a Hispanic second in command, incompetent Asian twins, and a shy redhead) are nothing new. The choice to use Faris as the tarty cosmetics saleswoman who throws up pink vomit is also somewhat predictable, but her brand of “Scary Movie” shamelessness only adds to the two-dimensionality of the mall’s world and Ronnie’s sense of mall-cop ennui.

Ronnie’s moment of self-realization—marked by his dramatic declaration that “The world needs a fucking hero”—falls a little flat in this loosely sewn comedy, which is more enjoyable for its unexpected dark turns than its punch lines. In the end, everything turns out the way it should, and Ronnie can go on being an arrogant, power-hungry mall cop, but you may leave the theatre feeling that he hasn’t really learned anything or changed in any major way. What may have changed, however, is the way people think about Seth Rogen films and the darker, grittier shapes that “Observe and Report” lets loose on the comedic film landscape.

—Staff writer Jenny J. Lee can be reached at jhlee@fas.harvard.edu.