Observe and Report

When a flasher runs amok at Forest Ridge Mall, head of security Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) sees it as his duty to catch the criminal and restore order to his little kingdom. But Ronnie also harbours dreams of making it as a fully-fledged policeman and winning the girl of his dreams, make-up counter girl Brandi (Anna Faris), and believes that solving the crime is the only way to realise these fantasies. When another crime spree happens on Ronnie’s watch, tough cop Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) steps in to investigate, invading Ronnie’s patch, threatening Ronnie’s dominance and making a play for Brandi. As the rivalry between the two men becomes personal, things take a dark turn.

Observe and Report marks a departure from the stable of Judd Apatow-inspired comedies. Although not made by the man himself, writer-director Jody Hill and star Seth Rogen are both Apatow collaborators, which is evident in some of the more gross-out comedy moments. Whereas Apatow underlays his comedy with a coating of sugary sweetness though, Hill’s film bites into an altogether darker layer, combining humour and unease to successfully disarm the audience. The result is a comedy which is interesting and unusual in its focus, which will have you laughing, but then feeling guilty about laughing. Whilst this comedy pushes boundaries of what can be deemed humorous though, the belly laughs don’t fail to hit the spot, and the result is a film which amuses whilst asking questions, and definitely makes Jody Hill’s name one to watch out for in the future.

Kathryn Chase