‘Observe and Report’ Blu-ray (review)

“Everyone thinks they’re fine until someone puts
something in ‘em that they don’t want in ‘em…”
– Ronnie Barnhardt

2009’s Observe and Report, written and directed by Eastbound and Down’s Jody Hill, follows the misadventures of, erm, “challenged” head of mall security Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) as he pursues love, justice and meaning in a world he believes is cruelly set against him.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop, this ain’t – bubbling just beneath the surface, Ronnie has more issues than a comic book store, foul-mouthed, socially awkward, unable to read the most basic cues or situations and nursing a dangerous cocktail of unreasonable grudges, an unstoppable ego and a volcanic temper.

Every hero needs an arch-nemesis and Ronnie’s is the Forest Ridge Flasher (!), a serial pervert who has been exposing himself to women in the mall’s car park despite the best efforts of the security team.

Ronnie becomes obsessed, seeing capturing the flasher as his opportunity for greatness, but when his secret crush,  cosmetic assistant Brandi (Anna Faris) becomes the flasher’s latest victim and a shoe store is robbed and trashed, things get considerably worse.

Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta), handsome and competent, arrives to investigate, becoming Ronnie’s rival in both crime-busting and romance. When a thwarted Ronnie decides to join the police     and insists Harrison takes him on a drive-along through, he is abandoned in the most dangerous part of town, but rather than crumbling under pressure, overpowers a group of gang members (one of whom is Eastbound’s Danny McBride) in a display of baton-wielding badassery that would make DC Comics’ Nightwing proud and triumphantly turns up at the police station with the teenage drug dealer he has “arrested.”

Will he make it to the police academy, overcome betrayal, adversity and his own flaws, get the girl and clean up crime at Forest Ridge once and for all? You’ll just have to “Observe” for yourself…

As you might imagine, this isn’t exactly a mainstream comedy.

Ronnie is a conflicted and often unlikeable protagonist who is a walking disaster for himself and virtually everyone he interacts with.  After a series of misunderstandings, an emboldened Ronnie takes Brandi on a date and, convinced he no longer needs them, gives her his prescription meds, which combined with more shots than a Tarantino flick, get her very, very wasted indeed.  He takes her home and proceeds to have sex with her whilst she is semi-conscious, which surely is rape by any stretch of the imagination.

Although Brandi does groggily ask him “why are you stopping?”, it seems like damage limitation and like so many other of his antics, there are zero consequences.

Whilst not on the same level as, say, Straw Dogs, it does leave a nasty taste in the mouth.

There are some good comedy moments, including Ronnie’s terse Frank Miller-esque inner monologues and his sweet if self-destructive alcoholic mom, (“I can change… I’m switching to beer!”), but most of the humour comes from the outrageous, over-the-top situations rather than anything more sophisticated.

There is a great cast, including the great Michael Peña as Dennis, Ronnie’s trusted right-hand man, best bud, lifestyle guru and hedonism coach, the always effective Liotta and Anna Faris, resembling a Tex Avery girl made flesh. There are also early performances from Aziz Ansari as a mall regular/ target for Ronnie’s racism and Jesse Plemons as security noob Charles, who doesn’t have much to do apart from looking for all the world like a schoolboy version of Matt Damon.

Extras include commentary, featurettes, additional scenes, gag reel, and trailer

Observe And Report is very much a mixed bag, tonally comparable to the deliciously dark Cable Guy, but never as satisfying.

Without spoiling the ending, there are never any real consequences for Ronnie’s prejudices or bad decisions, making this effectively a morality play with no morals.

Now if only it had been as funny as it thought it was…