OBSERVE AND REPORT is a disturbing, thought-provoking must-see... but not for everybody
Well now. I'd heard some people say that the new Seth Rogan film OBSERVE AND REPORT wasn't accurately marketed, but that's a massive understatement.
Good lord, that was an excellent but deeply unsettling movie.
It's not at all surprising that it's gotten such mixed reviews, but my favorite joyless bastard, Devin from CHUD.com gave it a rare 10 out of 10, saying, "This is classic smuggling: taking a buzzed about filmmaker and a very popular, mainstream star and teaming them up to make something uncompromising, strange, uncomfortable and dark."*
Devin adds, "OBSERVE AND REPORT is an amazing movie... for the right audience. I'm not dumb enough to think that this movie is for everyone; there will be people who simply won't understand why other folks are so desperately in love with it. There will be people who don't quite see why many of the jokes are funny (such as the ending - shocking, violent, sick and in my opinion one of the funniest things I've seen in a movie in years), and who wonder how anybody can stomach these characters. But if you're that special kind of viewer, the kind who likes to be challenged, who likes to go places sane people avoid, who thinks transgression isn't just desirable but also kind of hilarious, Observe and Report might be your favorite movie of the year."
He sums up my thoughts pretty well (although more pompously than I would, but that's Devin for you), but the major difference between how he saw and how I saw it was that I didn't find it that funny. I laughed maybe... five times. I wonder if I'd seen it with a full house of people who got it, as opposed to the matinee showing with six other people (man, this movie is gonna flop so hard), would I have laughed? Even cheered in places?
Because that's what the film wants. It wants you to root for this character, to cheer for him, like he's just another delusional loser usually played by Will Ferrell or Kevin James... and then, it pulls the rug out right from under you. Because Rogan's character isn't like Ron Burgundy or Paul Blart, a pumped-up jackass who has no actual abilities or talent to back up his arrogance.
Rogan's character has those. And he's a racist bipolar sociopath. Oh, and a date rapist too, but we'll get to that in a minute.
Several people keep bringing up comparisons to TAXI DRIVER (director Jody Hill reportedly considers Scorsese's THE KING OF COMEDY--which I have yet to see--as the bigger inspiration, but it's impossible to ignore the Bickleness of Ronnie), but at various points I was reminded of other proto-fascist characters in films like FALLING DOWN, DEATH WISH, STRAW DOGS, and especially EDMOND, based on the David Mamet play of the same name.
In fact, it was evocative of several modern plays, particularly the everyday sociopaths of Neil Labute, plus the dark comedy and shocking violence of Martin McDonough. If OBSERVE AND REPORT were on stage, it might be hailed as a modern masterpiece, with students at the Studio Theatre conservatory fighting to play Ronnie scenes for class.
I'm sick of seeing such stories dominating the modern stage, presumably in the name of being anti-Hollywood sensibilities. But as such, seeing it on the screen--pushed by a major studio into multiplexes--is damn well exhilarating, even though I'm sure many will reject it outright. Some will be pissed that it isn't a wacky farce or a big-hearted Apatow comedy, while others will avoid seeing it in the first place because that's exactly what the film's going to be. Not to mention those who'll boycott the film because they've heard that it makes light of date rape.
I'm not gonna really try to defend that scene, because it's impossible to do out of context. If there's a laugh to be had in that scene, it's only a laugh of nervous relief, and even that sounds horrible to say. Trust me, it's ALL about context, because this is not a character with whom we're ever asked to sympathize. Even if he fools other people into thinking that he's the hero he thinks he is, we the audience know better.
Because this film sees him for what he is, a power-tripping everyday fascist representative of too many real-life police officers (some might argue most or even all cops, by their nature), and the fact that he may or may not get his comeuppance--even being rewarded for his actions--raises many troubling questions. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE comes to mind ("I was cured all right."), as does AMERICAN PSYCHO, which raised the question of how much was reality and how much was a sick fantasy from a sick mind.
Many critics are struggling with that question, bringing up the jarring shifts in tone. From farce comedy one minute to brutal and disturbing darkness the next. From bumbling guy to superhuman fighting machine and back again. Non-white characters are looked down upon or are criminals. The sexually active girl is demonized, while the (born-again) virginal pure one is the "redemptive" girl.
Many people seem to want to write the film off as being partially or wholly a fantasy, whereas people like Devin believe that to do so would rob the movie of its punchline. But if it isn't all in Ronnie's head, then we're faced with the possibility that the film itself is as fascist as he is. I strongly doubt that's the case, but I do wonder and worry about what others might take away from this film.
Me, I need to see it again, and with other people with whom I can dissect the movie for an hour or two (and maybe with them, I might actually find it as laugh-out-loud funny as others have). Because this is not a forgettable little movie for the mall crowds, as it's marketed to be. It's film that stays with you and lends itself to lots, lots of discussion.
OBSERVE AND REPORT is very worthwhile movie, and essential viewing for anyone interested in challenging films. See it before it flops. Or worse, gets totally misunderstood and held up as a heroic masterpiece by scary people, just as TAXI DRIVER and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE were.
*Not for the first time, I'm reminded of THE CABLE GUY, which flopped just as I'm sure O&R will flop, but is now considered by many to be an excellent black comedy.
Good lord, that was an excellent but deeply unsettling movie.
It's not at all surprising that it's gotten such mixed reviews, but my favorite joyless bastard, Devin from CHUD.com gave it a rare 10 out of 10, saying, "This is classic smuggling: taking a buzzed about filmmaker and a very popular, mainstream star and teaming them up to make something uncompromising, strange, uncomfortable and dark."*
Devin adds, "OBSERVE AND REPORT is an amazing movie... for the right audience. I'm not dumb enough to think that this movie is for everyone; there will be people who simply won't understand why other folks are so desperately in love with it. There will be people who don't quite see why many of the jokes are funny (such as the ending - shocking, violent, sick and in my opinion one of the funniest things I've seen in a movie in years), and who wonder how anybody can stomach these characters. But if you're that special kind of viewer, the kind who likes to be challenged, who likes to go places sane people avoid, who thinks transgression isn't just desirable but also kind of hilarious, Observe and Report might be your favorite movie of the year."
He sums up my thoughts pretty well (although more pompously than I would, but that's Devin for you), but the major difference between how he saw and how I saw it was that I didn't find it that funny. I laughed maybe... five times. I wonder if I'd seen it with a full house of people who got it, as opposed to the matinee showing with six other people (man, this movie is gonna flop so hard), would I have laughed? Even cheered in places?
Because that's what the film wants. It wants you to root for this character, to cheer for him, like he's just another delusional loser usually played by Will Ferrell or Kevin James... and then, it pulls the rug out right from under you. Because Rogan's character isn't like Ron Burgundy or Paul Blart, a pumped-up jackass who has no actual abilities or talent to back up his arrogance.
Rogan's character has those. And he's a racist bipolar sociopath. Oh, and a date rapist too, but we'll get to that in a minute.
Several people keep bringing up comparisons to TAXI DRIVER (director Jody Hill reportedly considers Scorsese's THE KING OF COMEDY--which I have yet to see--as the bigger inspiration, but it's impossible to ignore the Bickleness of Ronnie), but at various points I was reminded of other proto-fascist characters in films like FALLING DOWN, DEATH WISH, STRAW DOGS, and especially EDMOND, based on the David Mamet play of the same name.
In fact, it was evocative of several modern plays, particularly the everyday sociopaths of Neil Labute, plus the dark comedy and shocking violence of Martin McDonough. If OBSERVE AND REPORT were on stage, it might be hailed as a modern masterpiece, with students at the Studio Theatre conservatory fighting to play Ronnie scenes for class.
I'm sick of seeing such stories dominating the modern stage, presumably in the name of being anti-Hollywood sensibilities. But as such, seeing it on the screen--pushed by a major studio into multiplexes--is damn well exhilarating, even though I'm sure many will reject it outright. Some will be pissed that it isn't a wacky farce or a big-hearted Apatow comedy, while others will avoid seeing it in the first place because that's exactly what the film's going to be. Not to mention those who'll boycott the film because they've heard that it makes light of date rape.
I'm not gonna really try to defend that scene, because it's impossible to do out of context. If there's a laugh to be had in that scene, it's only a laugh of nervous relief, and even that sounds horrible to say. Trust me, it's ALL about context, because this is not a character with whom we're ever asked to sympathize. Even if he fools other people into thinking that he's the hero he thinks he is, we the audience know better.
Because this film sees him for what he is, a power-tripping everyday fascist representative of too many real-life police officers (some might argue most or even all cops, by their nature), and the fact that he may or may not get his comeuppance--even being rewarded for his actions--raises many troubling questions. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE comes to mind ("I was cured all right."), as does AMERICAN PSYCHO, which raised the question of how much was reality and how much was a sick fantasy from a sick mind.
Many critics are struggling with that question, bringing up the jarring shifts in tone. From farce comedy one minute to brutal and disturbing darkness the next. From bumbling guy to superhuman fighting machine and back again. Non-white characters are looked down upon or are criminals. The sexually active girl is demonized, while the (born-again) virginal pure one is the "redemptive" girl.
Many people seem to want to write the film off as being partially or wholly a fantasy, whereas people like Devin believe that to do so would rob the movie of its punchline. But if it isn't all in Ronnie's head, then we're faced with the possibility that the film itself is as fascist as he is. I strongly doubt that's the case, but I do wonder and worry about what others might take away from this film.
Me, I need to see it again, and with other people with whom I can dissect the movie for an hour or two (and maybe with them, I might actually find it as laugh-out-loud funny as others have). Because this is not a forgettable little movie for the mall crowds, as it's marketed to be. It's film that stays with you and lends itself to lots, lots of discussion.
OBSERVE AND REPORT is very worthwhile movie, and essential viewing for anyone interested in challenging films. See it before it flops. Or worse, gets totally misunderstood and held up as a heroic masterpiece by scary people, just as TAXI DRIVER and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE were.
*Not for the first time, I'm reminded of THE CABLE GUY, which flopped just as I'm sure O&R will flop, but is now considered by many to be an excellent black comedy.