A long, long time ago in an entertainment galaxy now so far, far away, there was a comedic gem on TV known as "The Andy Griffith Show." While the main attraction was the title star and the show would later be notable for introducing the masses to Ron "Opie" Howard, the performer one could always count on to steal every moment was Don Knotts as Deputy Barney Fife.
Beyond the brilliant performance (easily in the top five of supporting ones in the history of TV), what made the character so much fun was the puffed up, faux bravado coming from the scrawny character in the small town where the sheriff (Griffith) usually put up with the act with a smiling, calm demeanor. The fact that Fife was really a chicken at heart but still found his inner resolve when needed only made the character that much more charming and endearing.
Ronnie Barnhardt doesn't possess those latter qualities, although he also takes himself and his role in the world far too seriously in the progressively dark comedy "Observe and Report." As embodied by Seth Rogen (thankfully try to stretch his thespian wings a bit after enough similar roles in his past efforts), the head of security at a shopping mall is a latter-day Fife. That is, as filtered through Dirty Harry and later Travis Bickle or just about any other movie character who becomes increasingly deranged to the point of endangering himself and others.
If anything, the pic -- written and directed by Jody Hill -- could be viewed as the adult (and decidedly R-rated) counterpart to "Paul Blart: Mall Cop." As oft occurs in Hollywood where similarly themed and/or plotted films are released in chronological proximity, the basic ideas are pretty much the same. Both feature mall security guards who take their job too seriously but have personal and emotional vulnerabilities at home, have crushes on a female employee at work, and must contend with interlopers who disrupt their carefully monitored and patrolled workplace.
For Kevin James, that was armed robbers who put his dream girl (and others) in harm's way. Here, Rogen's character wants to catch a serial flasher (Randy Gambill, who literally lets it all hang out late in the film in one of those briefly funny but "Eww" moments) who's been bothering the cosmetics counter party girl (Anna Faris) the security guard is sweet on.
Beyond uneven pacing, scenes and sequences that don't ultimately do much for the overall pic (including an extended one where a fellow security guard -- Michael Peņa -- introduces the protagonist to drugs, drinking and beating up skateboarders while on the job), and the fact that the laughs start to dry up the more Rogen's character becomes unhinged, the biggest problem is that we don't really like the security guard.
Rogen and Hill try to give the character some vulnerability via scenes where he interacts with his blunt, drunk of a mom (Celia Weston), but beyond offering some laughs, they don't really pull off the desired effect. Without creating a likable character (that James somewhat managed to pull off in "Blart" and Knotts so effortlessly handled decades earlier), Rogen can't get the sort of mileage out of the performance as one might expect. And without the right writing and directing nuances, the turn to the dark side deflates a great deal of the film's comedy.
That's not to say that it's without laughs, although many are of the usual gross-out (Rogen kissing Faris right after vomit flows from her mouth) or pushing the envelope, shock variety (including the flasher and his eventual comeuppance). I suppose one has to give some credit to Hill for doing the latter and bucking the usual (and safe) Hollywood comedy norms, but as is the case with all black comedies, it's clearly not going to work for all viewers, some/many of whom will likely be put off by one or more scenes.
I'll admit I laughed far more often than I imagined I would (usually from a guilty pleasure and/or shocked standpoint), and I appreciate the cast and crew trying to do something somewhat different with the material. I only wish it had been done with more smarts and creativity in terms of plot and dark comedy exploration of such an obviously troubled character that's darker than Blart but clearly not as funny or endearing as Fife. "Observe and Report" rates as a 4 out of 10.
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