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Movies / On DVD / Observe and Report
Observe and Report

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Observe and Report (2009)

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Reviews Counted:181

Fresh:91

Rotten:90

Average Rating:5.4/10

Consensus: Though it has a mean streak, and does not cater to all tastes, Observe and Report has gut-busting laughs and a fully committed Seth Rogen in irresistible form.

Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for pervasive language, graphic nudity, drug use, sexual content and violence.

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:24-04-2009

Synopsis: At the Forest Ridge Mall, head of security Ronnie Barnhardt (SETH ROGEN) patrols his jurisdiction with an iron fist. The master of his domain, he combats skateboarders, shoplifters and the... At the Forest Ridge Mall, head of security Ronnie Barnhardt (SETH ROGEN) patrols his jurisdiction with an iron fist. The master of his domain, he combats skateboarders, shoplifters and the occasional unruly customer while dreaming of the day when he can swap his flashlight for a badge and a gun.

Ronnie's delusions of grandeur are put to the test when the mall is struck by a flasher. Driven by his personal duty to protect and serve the mall and its patrons, Ronnie seizes the opportunity to showcase his underappreciated law enforcement talents on a grand scale, hoping his solution of this crime will earn him a coveted spot at the police academy and the heart of his elusive dream girl Brandi (ANNA FARIS), the hot make-up counter clerk who won't give him the time of day.

But his single-minded pursuit of glory launches a turf war with the equally competitive Detective Harrison (RAY LIOTTA) of the Conway Police, and Ronnie is confronted with the challenge of not only catching the flasher, but getting him before the real cops.

Seth Rogen stars in the dark comedy Observe and Report, written and directed by Jody Hill (The Foot Fist Way). Donald De Line (The Italian Job) will produce, with Andrew Haas (Without a Paddle), Marty Ewing (Blades of Glory), Thomas Tull (The Dark Knight) and Jon Jashni (Sweet Home Alabama) serving as executive producers. The film also stars Anna Faris (The House Bunny), Michael Pena (Million Dollar Baby), Celia Weston (Junebug) and Ray Liotta (The Rat Pack).

The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Tim Orr (Snow Angels), production designer Chris Spellman (Superbad) and editor Zene Baker (The Foot Fist Way). Music is by Joseph Stephens.

Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures, presents a De Line Pictures Production, a Jody Hill Film, Observe and Report, . --© Warner Bros [More]

Starring: Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Michael Pena, Anna Faris

Starring: Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Michael Pena, Anna Faris, Celia Weston, Collette Wolfe

Director: Jody Hill

Director: Jody Hill
Screenwriter: Jody Hill
Producer: Donald De Line
Composer: Joseph Stephens
Studio: Warner Bros.

[See More Credits]

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    Is There Really a Pervert Here?
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1 - 4 of 9

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Reviews for Observe and Report

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
05/07/09
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Does this film warrant one star for being so ugly, violent, misogynistic, sexist and racist — or five stars for being a daring and disturbing study of the violence, ugliness, sexism and racism of the ordinary American male?

Full Review Source: Sunday Times (UK) | comment 3 Comments
04/28/09
Cosmo Landesman
Cosmo Landesman
Sunday Times (UK)

Often more funny peculiar than funny ha-ha, this cult flick will offend and baffle plenty an audience member.

comment Comment
04/25/09
Charles Gant
Charles Gant
Heat Magazine

If writer-director Jody Hill provides Rogen with pretty slim opportunities, the biggish man remains a gloriously robust talent. Heck, he's even able to ring laughs from such fundamentally unfunny topics as bipolar disorder and alcoholism.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/24/09
Richard Luck
Richard Luck
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An odd one. Rogen’s latest clown is an angry, confused man who you never feel entirely comfortable laughing at. There are laughs — you’ll just feel guilty afterwards...

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/24/09
Dan Jolin
Dan Jolin
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Bracing, bleak and berserk, this is a film which laughs in the face of American intolerance, and comes up punch-drunk and grinning.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
04/24/09
Tom Huddlestone
Tom Huddlestone
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The bleakly savage comedy Observe and Report is very nearly a great, if somewhat disturbing, film. What lets it down is not the gratuitous violence and foul language — it’s that it doesn’t go far enough.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
04/24/09
Wendy Ide
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Again and again, you almost laugh at something that is almost good, and then there is a clumsy and misjudged moment of crassness. I'm all for bad taste and black comedy and grossout. But it has to be funny.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
04/24/09
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Dark, subversive and politically incorrect humour can be brilliant in capable hands and with the right purpose (like the wonderful South Park), but here it's offensively bereft of any wit and is simply unpleasant.

Full Review Source: Digital Spy | comment 1 Comment
04/24/09
Ben Rawson-Jones
Ben Rawson-Jones
Digital Spy

Offbeat and violent with laughs that frequently stick in the throat, this isn't Knocked Up but if the idea of Napoleon Dynamite meets First Blood appeals, you'll go home smiling.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
04/24/09
Rob Daniel
Rob Daniel
Sky Movies

This mall cop may be more Bickle than Blart, but Observe And Report tries too hard to be edgy, while its gloomy observations fail to produce a cohesive whole. Shop elsewhere.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
04/24/09
Tony Horkins
Tony Horkins
Total Film

Having observed Seth Rogen's latest comedy, may I report that it's not very good. And if that seems like a tedious pun (even by my standards), that's because I've just sat through an hour and a half of them.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
04/24/09
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

This dark and bleak comedy is an oddball affair, with Seth Rogen brilliant as a bipolar guard.

Full Review Source: Sunday Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
04/24/09
Mark Adams
Mark Adams
Sunday Mirror [UK]

Lovable Seth Rogen tries something a little different in Observe And Report and it really doesn’t work.

Full Review Source: Daily Express | comment Comment
04/24/09
Allan Hunter
Allan Hunter
Daily Express

Far from being another lazy comedy about a fat rentacop trying to prove himself, Observe and Report is an extremely disturbing comedy about a fat rentacop trying to prove himself.

Full Review Source: Scotsman | comment Comment
04/24/09
Alistair Harkness
Alistair Harkness
Scotsman

Observe and Report desperately wants to be Bad Santa, but its handful of decent moments fail to compensate for a wildly uneven tone, several badly misjudged scenes and the fact that the film just simply isn't funny.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
04/23/09
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Seth Rogen's reliable charm finally meets its match in this strained, unfunny script

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
04/16/09
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Watching Observe And Report is like babysitting a hyperactive boy -- it's precocious, unpredictable and amusing in small stretches, but after a while you wish it would settle down and focus.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
03/19/09
Tim Grierson
Tim Grierson
Screen International

Here's an observation--Jody Hill's bum comedy fails to live up to the potential of its two talented stars, Seth Rogen and Anna Farris. As for the story, here's the report. It's stupid.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment 3 Comments
09/27/09
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

If this were an audition reel and I was the head of a studio I'd call security to make sure this guy Seth Rogen and his writer-director Jody Hill never got near enough to my office to cast a shadow on it.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment 2 Comments
09/22/09
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
all

Latest News for Observe and Report

September 21, 2009: RT on DVD: Observe and Report, Classic Star Trek, and more.
Coming out on home video this week are a few new releases from earlier this year (such as Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Observe and Report), as well as a couple of collections... More...

April 12, 2009: Seth Rogen more shocking than funny as crude mall cop. Opens in new window
More...

April 09, 2009: Critics Consensus: Hannah Montana Hits A Flat Note
This week at the movies, we've got a pop songbird (Hannah Montana the Movie, starring Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus), a mall cop (Observe and Report, starring Seth Rogen and Anna... More...

April 09, 2009: Observe And Report: Better Than Blart, And Dirtier Than Harry. And the wicked humor never lets up, as the tone deliciously darkens just when it seems there's nowhere left to go. Opens in new window
More...

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