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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:11

Fresh:5

Rotten:6

Average Rating:4.8/10

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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    Red Band Trailer
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    Is There Really a Pervert Here?
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  • Are You OK, Brandi?
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    You Gonna Die
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    Medication
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    Party Like That
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  • It's a Date
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1 - 4 of 9

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Reviews for Observe and Report

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1 - 11 (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

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

A potentially brilliant conceptual comedy that fizzles because its writer and director, Jody Hill, doesn’t have the guts to go with his spleen.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment 2 Comments
04/10/09
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There is no moral to this story, and there's not much comedy either.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
04/09/09
Betsy Sharkey
Betsy Sharkey
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Beyond the weirdness, if you can get there, is a quick portrait of trailer-park America pursuing its urges by any means necessary.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment 1 Comment
04/09/09
Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Partly but not completely thanks to Rogen's committed performance, Observe manages the funny-pathetic arc of its story line vastly better than Hill's debut film The Foot Fist Way.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment 5 Comments
03/18/09
John DeFore
John DeFore
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

With the invaluable aid of Rogen, who's never been better, Hill sustains an impressive degree of tension between seemingly contradictory elements.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/18/09
Joe Leydon
Joe Leydon
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 11 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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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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