OBSERVE AND REPORT

2009

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: JODY HILL

CINEMATOGRAPHER: TIM ORR

BUDGET: $18 MILLION

GROSS: $27 MILLION

Films get lost in the shuffle for a variety of reasons. Sometimes there just isn't any publicity so no one even knows it exists. Sometimes the initial critical reviews are negative (right or wrong), and then there are films like Observe and Report.

This one had a some star power with Seth Rogan in the lead role and there was at least some publicity for it, as I remember seeing trailers for it many times on tv and in the theatre. Now, I will say that critical response was pretty much 50/50, but I don't think that’s why this film got lost. Unfortunately, I think the reason it got lost was the film itself. Stick with me here.....

Observe And Report is a dark comedy about a bi-polar mall security guard trying to bring down a flasher who is terrorizing the mall area. He’s also in love with Anna Ferris who works in the mall, lives at home with his drunk mother and is very territorial when the real cops (Ray Liotta) are brought in to investigate.

When the general public thinks of Seth Rogan - especially back in 2009 - they think Knocked Up and Superbad. So, when they saw a trailer with him playing a character in a dark comedy that is 180 degrees from how they generally perceive him they might not have known what to make of it. Also, there’s that trailer...

This is not an easy film to make a trailer for. It made me think of a film like Worlds Greatest Dad - another dark comedy that is a little difficult to make a please-everyone trailer for. Both films aren't simple set-up/punch line, or visual gag comedies that make for easy trailering. And finally, there might have been a little mall cop movie overload...

I have to admit that when I initially saw the trailer for Observe And Report my first reaction was, "really? another mall cop movie?" As some of you may remember, earlier in 2009 there was released a film called Paul Blart: Mall Cop which did surprisingly big numbers. It was another Armageddon/Deep Impact and Dante's Peak/Volcano situation...

However, if I had given Observe And Report a chance, I would have seen that, not only was it not at all the same kind of mall cop comedy, but it was also really good (another thing that sets it apart from Paul Blart).

So, now it’s your turn to give it a shot and catch one of the better and forgotten dark comedies, and one of Seth Rogan's best performances as well.