The Movie
The similarities between Observe and Report and Paul Blart: Mall Cop are many, and yet unlike Paul, Seth Rogen's Ronnie Barnhardt in O&R is the amalgam of sundry loser tendencies. In short order we realize that he, like most of the characters inhabiting this unfunny mess, manages to remain completely unlikable. I think we're supposed to care that frighteningly psychotic security guard Ronnie is infatuated with an obnoxious makeup salesgirl (Anna Faris), or that he is determined to nab the town flasher who has been frequenting his mall, but all I really yearned for here was the end credits. Liberal use of the f-word apparently qualifies Observe and Report as a "comedy," but the movie as a whole eventually becomes offensive--we see one character mainlining heroin, for a quick laugh--and nonsensical, almost as if the filmmakers all started making up the plot as they went along.
Also read Karen Dahlstrom's review of Observe and Report.
The Picture
The grain structure in this 35mm film production is fine, and the 2.4:1 image shows no severe problems whatsoever. Even out-of-focus backgrounds are generally issue-free, although a faint layer of video noise leaves its mark on the frame for almost the entire movie, rendering it a bit softer than would be ideal. Colors are solid and blacks are realistic overall.
The Sound
The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is more than up to the task, although volume was slightly lower than expected. Directionality has been deliberately added to details like cars driving by, more than once we can hear dogs barking in the distance, and the amount of activity in the rears is sometimes surprising for such an uncomplicated movie. There's a respectable bass kick here and there, in gunshots and certain music beats, along with one of the most realistic door slams I've heard in a long time.
The Extras
A Picture-in-Picture commentary is provided by writer/director Jody Hill, seated next to his stars Seth Rogen and Anna Faris. The adorable Ms. F. doesn't talk nearly as much as her colleagues because she is apparently fascinated by this film. Seventeen additional/extended scenes run 27 minutes total, a 12-minute gag reel is included, along with "Seth Rogen & Anna Faris: Unscripted" wherein the pair improvises their way through the date scene, with lots of unused jokes (seven-and-a-half minutes). "Basically Training" looks at the filming of the different fights in the movie (seven minutes) while the faux three-minute "Forest Ridge Mall Security Recruitment Video" weirdly combines behind-the-scenes actor interviews with in-character endorsements. Every one of these video extras are presented in HD and yes, almost all are funnier than the movie itself.
Disc Two is a DVD containing a Digital Copy of the movie for Windows Media only.
Final Thoughts
This is clearly a case where the extras outshine the movie they are meant to enhance. I laughed exactly once at Observe and Report, and can't imagine doing so again.
Product Details
- Actors: Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Anna Faris, Michael Peña, Dan Bakkedahl, Jesse Plemons, John Yuan, Matt Yuan, Celia Weston, Collette Wolfe, Randy Gambill, Patton Oswalt
- Director: Jody Hill
- Audio Format/Languages: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (French, Spanish, Portuguese)
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
- Aspect Ratio: 2.4:1
- Number of discs: 2
- Rating: R
- Studio: Warner
- Release Date: September 22, 2009
- Run Time: 86 minutes
- List Price: $35.99
- Extras:
- Video commentary by Jody Hill, Seth Rogen and Anna Faris
- Additional/Extended Scenes
- Gag Reel
- "Seth Rogen & Anna Faris: Unscripted"
- "Basically Training"
- "Forest Ridge Mall Security Recruitment Video"
- Digital Copy
