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Observe And Report
/ DVD-Video
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Widescreen 2.40:1 Color (Anamorphic) / Standard 1.33:1 Color / Production Year: 2009 / Region 1
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Available on other Media:
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• Blu-ray:
Observe And Report
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Purchase for
$29.99
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Overall Rating:  3.75 out of 5, including 2 reviews
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Observe and Report is hands down one of the finest American films to emerge in 2009. You laugh, but I couldn't be more sincere. Overlooked by audiences in its' initial theatrical run, I now have faith that it will be discovered like so many others on DVD. Writer director Jody Hill delivers on the promise shown in his debut feature The Foot Fist Way and the excellent HBO series Eastbound and Down (which he serves as writer/producer and co-creator). Observe has all the bite of those past endeavors but with an added layer of intensity and focus. Hill completely has his own thing going and he stays true to his vision and delivers something startlingly original on multiple levels.
Seth Rogen stars as the delusional Ronnie Barnhart, the head of security at the Forest Ridge Mall. He lives at home and takes care of his severely alcoholic mother and pines for the make up counter girl Brandi (Anna Faris). He takes his job dangerously serious and is surrounded by a team of lackeys including his right hand man Dennis (a jerry curled Michael Pena). When a flasher begins exposing himself in the mall parking lot to female shoppers, Ronnie makes it his mission to catch the offender. When Brandi is singled out by the flasher Ronnie swoops in to comfort her and believes she'll fall for him once he finds the pervert. Detective Harrison (a smarmy Ray Liotta) arrives though and takes over the investigation. He also provides the comfort for Brandi that Ronnie can not. Simultaneously, a masked bandit enters the mall after hours robbing and vandalizing a shoe store. Detective Harrison again arrives and takes over the investigation. Tired of being hindered Ronnie decides to join the police force and simultaneously go off his meds.
I'm going to stop right there with the plot details as it'll be far more enjoyable for you to see things unfold blindly. I am a fan of Seth Rogen, but I've felt up until this point he has pretty much been playing a version of himself (not necessarily a negative) masked as characters with various types of facial hair. Here though he totally embodies a character unlike any other he has ever played. He brings a measure of rage and power to the character that I'd yet to see from him before. It's a great performance that also allows him to be in top form comically as well. Anna Farris also can do no wrong. She's an absolutely fearless actor and her turn as the unlikeable and soulless Brandi ranks among her best. Celia Watson as Ronnie's mother is in top lunatic form and her scenes with Rogen are simultaneously brutal and tender. There are also some great cameos from Aziz Ansari, Patton Oswalt, and Danny McBride.
Hill has created something altogether new, it's over the top, disgusting, laugh out loud funny, yet dark as a moonless night. The film owes as much to The King of Comedy and Taxi Driver as any of the obvious comedic influences. The film has a very nice warm reality based look that at times turns a little whimsical courtesy of the great cinematographer Tim Orr. There's also a pretty slamming soundtrack in place featuring Queen, The Band, Mclusky, and The Dwarves to name a few. Do yourself a favor and check this one out immediately!
The DVD is presented in both Full Screen and 2.40:1 Widescreen. The audio track is Dolby Digital 5.1 with French and Spanish subtitles. Sadly, there are no bonus features.
- DVD Empire
by B.C. Wills |
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