Observe and Report

Observe and Report
(2009) [Trailer]
Director: Jody Hill (IMDB)

I didn't know a lot about this movie going into it. I knew it starred Seth Rogen, who I like. I knew it was directed by Jody Hill, who did Eastbound & Down, which I like. So I figured why not.

Life as a mall cop isn't as easy as you'd think. Kevin James plays Paul Blart, a mall cop who finds himself in the middle of a hold up when a gang invades his mall....shit wait....that's the other mall cop movie that came out in 2009. Ok...Seth Rogen plays ANOTHER mall cop who's in love with a perfume girl. She, and many others, have been recently victimized by a serial flasher at the mall. When Seth and the rest of the mall cops (including Lance from Friday Night Lights...I mean Landry) can't apprehend the perv, the real police are called in. Ray Liotta is the lead investigator and he immediately bumps heads with Seth Rogan. From there this movie takes some pretty interesting turns.

I was honestly shocked by this movie. It was darker then I thought it was going to be. It went places I wasn't expecting and that's why I enjoyed it. It was really funny and there's a lot of laughs, but it also tries to unsettle the audience. It's obvious that Jody Hill wants to make you uncomfortable and I dug that. Hill's direction was also fun, and there's a lot of cool nods to 70's and 80's b-movies. This film wasn't perfect, but it was pretty solid. I could see myself enjoying it even more upon repeat viewings so I'll end up picking it up on blu-ray soon.