Anna Faris and Seth Rogen in "Observe and Report"
courtesy of Warner Home Entertainment
“Observe and Dislike”

This was the year of the mall cop. First we had Kevin James in “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” and now we have the DVD release of “Observe and Report” in which Seth Rogen plays a mall cop. But the movies are entirely different. “Paul Blart” was light and funny, but “Observe and Report” is dark and unfunny. In truth it is just obnoxious and makes James and company look like comic geniuses.

Ronnie Barnhart (Rogen) is a mall cop who lives for the day he and his co-horts are authorized to carry guns. He sees himself as the protector of the innocent, but he has his own definition as to who is innocent. One person he is genuinely out to get is the flasher who is terrorizing mall shoppers. This guy even had the nerve to flash Brandi (Anna Faris), the cosmetics counter girl. That put him at the top of Ronnie’s list.

An actual cop, Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta), is called in to investigate the flasher incident but he can’t make any progress because Ronnie keeps getting in his way. Ronnie actually thinks he and the cop are buddies but Harrison is making fun of him behind his back.

Ronnie’s mother (Celia Weston) keeps encouraging him in his lame brained stunts. She thinks he is just wonderful. Of course her brain is stewed from too much drinking so her opinion isn’t worth much.

If a movie like this is going to work it has to be funny – at least sometimes funny. This one isn’t. It is too dark and too depressing to create any laughs. Ronnie is bipolar, and he has a rotten personality. The audience is never on his side and to enjoy the movie you have to be on his side.

Rogen plays his role well enough. He makes Ronnie unlikable and dumb. When he gets taken advantage of by Brandi, his best friend Dennis (Michael Pena), and Detective Harrison you cheer them on. They may be losers but Ronnie is a bigger one.

Seth Rogen arrogantly assumes audiences will watch and love him anything. Did he not learn anything from “Zach and Miri Make A Porno”? We only like his movies if they are funny. And if they are funny we can put with some raunchy subject matter and bad language. If they aren’t funny, profanity and raunchy material are not going to save them. And nothing saves this mess of a film.

“Observe and Report” is one of the most tasteless and witless movie you have seen in a while. It isn’t funny; it isn’t fun. Don’t rush out and get this DVD.

Fresh off Alec Baldwin’s Emmy win comes the DVD release of “30 Rock: Season 3.” All twenty two episodes of this fun filled season are now available for your enjoyment – and “30 Rock” is one of those shows you can watch episode after episode and never tire of it.

Baldwin, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski and Jack McBrayer head the talented cast and give their all to make the series as funny and fun as possible. Plus Season 3 had guest stars by the bushel including Steve Martin, Alan Alda, Jennifer Aniston, Clay Aiken and the inimitable Elaine Stritch.

On the DVD you also get some deleted scenes, a “Making of” featurette, commentary and a photo gallery. This DVD is cram packed full. So get out and get it today. It is “30 Rock: Season 3.”

The new DVD “Mercy Streets” is a movie with an inspirational twist. The story line concerns the choice between a life of crime and a life of faith. In this film it is not an easy decision to make.

Eric Roberts, David A R White and Cynthia Watros star in this hard hitting film. The acting isn’t as good as the story but it gets its point across. There are also deleted scenes, commentary and a “Making of” featurette which seems to be standard these days for the DVD releases.

For some laughs and some thrills pick up “Play Dead.” This is a movie about a former TV star who gets involved with a real drug dealing gang. In order to get ahead of them he has to pretend to be a DEA Agent but is his acting that good?

Chris Klein, Jake Busey, Fred Durst and Sasha Alexander are able to get the laughs and the thrills out of this material. So for something a little different give “Play Dead” a try. You might be surprised at how much you enjoy it.

“O’Horten” is an award winning film by director Bent Hamer. It stars Bard Owe. Out on DVD, it is an adventure film about a man who retires and changes his life after forty years of sameness. Some strange things happen to him as he starts anew without the stability his job gave him.

It is a film of subtle humor and unexpected charm. It sneaks up on you as you move from frame to frame of film and budding adventure to budding adventure. This is not your typical movie but it does have charm, humor and warmth if you search for it. So get “O’Horten” if you are in the mood for something entirely different.
 

 

 

 

 

©2009 Jackie K. Cooper

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