Think Travis Bickle: Mall Cop and you'll have some idea of what to expect from Observe and Report, writer-director Jody Hill's shockingly and sometimes discomfortingly funny comedy about an unstable security guard (a never-better Seth Rogen) who views himself as vigilant protector -- and, occasionally, avenging angel -- while patrolling a suburban shopping mall. Taking a setup that could have been (and, recently, was) played for sitcom jokiness and family-friendly slapstick, Hill attempts something much darker, if not downright transgressive, with a movie bound to divide audiences and critics into love-it-or-leave-it camps when it opens April 10. You can read my Variety review, filed from SXSW, here.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Review: Observe and Report
Think Travis Bickle: Mall Cop and you'll have some idea of what to expect from Observe and Report, writer-director Jody Hill's shockingly and sometimes discomfortingly funny comedy about an unstable security guard (a never-better Seth Rogen) who views himself as vigilant protector -- and, occasionally, avenging angel -- while patrolling a suburban shopping mall. Taking a setup that could have been (and, recently, was) played for sitcom jokiness and family-friendly slapstick, Hill attempts something much darker, if not downright transgressive, with a movie bound to divide audiences and critics into love-it-or-leave-it camps when it opens April 10. You can read my Variety review, filed from SXSW, here.
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