Movie Reviews UK

Observe and Report Movie Review

Another Mall Cop?

Yes we have another Mall Cop movie this time a Mall is subjected to a phantom flasher and yes you guessed correct the local Mall Cop called Ronnie Barnhardt is the man to save the day. Ronnie is a hardened Mall cop who in fact is head of mall security who takes his job very seriously and tends to rule with an iron fist. The similarities between Observe and Report and Paul Blart Mall Cop is unbelievable, both main characters are pretty much losers, both take their jobs way to seriously, both live at home with their mothers, both want to join the police force and both are laughed at by their peers. Paul Blart is more geared towards a younger audience however while observe and report is a darker and funnier adult comedy.

What's it about?

Ronnie's world is turned upside down when the phantom flasher targets his mall, to make things even worse when the love of his life the malls make up lady is a victim of the flasher Ronnie makes it his duty to bring down the flasher however he also has to contend with a seasoned detective (lliota) who has also made it his mission to catch the pervert.

Haven't we met?

I'm sure you have met someone like Ronnie who is very relatable as someone who takes their job very seriously and has little or no impact on the big picture. The 30 something year old that lives at home with his alcoholic mother is a complete douche bag, however it's very funny to watch him try to rule with an iron fist when no one gives a dam about him or the authority he believes he has.

Worried about type casting?

I don't think so, well not in Anna Farris' case anyway, she plays her normal ditzy blonde character who happens to be the damsel in distress, she does seem to be a little bitchier in this movie however and it totally suits the movie. Anna plays the stunning looking make up lady who is a complete bitch to Ronnie, Ronnie still falls in love with her though but us as the audience come to hate her character which in a way is a credit to Farris as I believe that's what the writers wanted us to feel as the audience so that we would want Ronnie to fall in love with another of the female characters.

I'll have a café latte please.

The other female character in the movie that plays off her beauty by covering her hair up with a work hat and terrible uniform. The Coffee Lady is a lot nicer to Ronnie than Farris however Ronnie is such a douche he doesn't even see that she likes him. Even though the only real purpose of this character is to provide another love interest for Ronnie we do get to see a lot of comical interaction between the two and one of the scenes where Ronnie beats up her boss for treating her horrible will keep you laughing for hours after the movie has finished.

They say Opposites attract.

Ray Lliota plays the seasoned detective who is pretty much the very opposite of Ronnie Barnhardt. He's smart, successful and has the life that Ronnie could only dream of but the two characters still have one or two things in common, the first one being they both want to catch the phantom flasher at all means necessary and the second being both men are complete douches and Liotta's character is just a less funny douche though.

On to the verdict.

If you watched mall cop and thought it was funny or maybe you felt a little let down by it the I would recommend you check out Observe and Report not only because it's a lot funnier than Paul Blart mall cop but it's also I pretty funny stand alone movie when not being compared to the other mall cop movie.

The pacing of the movie is pretty much good until we hit the middle section where it seems to slow down and drag its self out, the middle of the movie where Ronnie realises he takes everything to seriously and starts taking heroin seams a lot out of character and doesn't suit the movie at all and will leave you thinking what the hell is going on. The movie does pick back up though only to leave you with one of the weirdest yet funny movie endings you will ever get to see. I enjoyed observe and report and laughed all the way through the film, having said that the humour in this movie is pretty dark and if seeing Anna Farris get partly raped isn't your cup of tea then maybe this movie isn't for you.

Observe and Report isn't a classic comedy by any means and this time next year you will probably not remember it but to pass some time and give some laughs then I would certainly recommend you watching this movie, I award Observe and Report 3/5 stars.

Hopefully I won't have to review any more mall cop movies this year, so thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed my movie review of observe and Report.

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We thought you should know...

Director:

Jody Hill

Starring:

Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Michael Pena, Anna Faris

Producer:

Donald De Line

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