I don’t think it's much of a comedy. The darkness overpowers everything.
Comment
04/13/09
Observe and Report (2009)
50
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:17
Rotten:17
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Though it has a mean streak, and does not cater to all tastes, Observe and Report has gut-busting laughs and a fully committed Seth Rogen in irresistible form.
Theatrical Release:Apr 10, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $23,993,605
Synopsis: At the Forest Ridge Mall, head of security Ronnie Barnhardt (SETH ROGEN) patrols his jurisdiction with an iron fist. The master of his domain, he combats skateboarders, shoplifters and the... [More]
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Reviews for Observe and Report
Top CriticYou don’t relate or enjoy watching Seth Rogen’s character on screen.
04/13/09
Top CriticIt falls short of brilliant but it's a lot more daring than what passes for 'dark comedy' these days, and it reminds us that 'feel bad' comedies may not always be as funny as 'feel good' ones but, when they work, they can ultimately be more satisfying.
04/10/09
Top CriticI don't want to oversell it, but Observe and Report is the sort of offbeat studio movie that should be encouraged.
04/10/09
Top CriticIn the end, Observe and Report falls in the somewhat confusing middle -- guaranteed to annoy the mainstream while not quite delivering the final twist and bitter irony the true comic cultists crave.
04/10/09
Top CriticA few of the less repeatable lines hit their marks, but the whole affair has the pasty-faced desperation of shoppers trapped in fluorescent light.
04/10/09
Top CriticThe tone of the film wavers queasily, though intentionally, between slapstick and shock.
04/10/09
Top CriticWriter-director Jody Hill is obviously trying to accomplish something here. But just what is none too clear.
04/10/09
Top CriticThe whole thing is calibrated to wow us with its weirdness, even as it assumes an air of 'Who, me?' guilelessness. I've seen slick, glossy Hollywood thrillers made with less knowing calculation.
04/10/09
Top CriticMeet mall cop Paul Blart's evil, unfunny twin.
04/10/09
Top CriticAggressively mean and even more aggressively stupid.
04/10/09
Top CriticI've observed this Seth Rogen comedy, and I can report that it's not very good.
04/10/09
Top CriticObserve and Report strikes me as a comedy in perfect pace with this moment. It's funny and uncompromising, offering laughs without denial.
04/10/09
Top Critic[T]he upbeat ending--which comes on the heels of a genuinely shocking climax--is so incongruous that, as with The King of Comedy, it almost seems we're being dared to question whether it is real or delusion.
04/10/09
Top Critic[Director] Hill evidently intends his film to be satirical. But satire requires intelligence to succeed. Observe and Report has a moronic sense of humour, trading in racism, sexism, profanity and violence at every predictable turn.
04/10/09
Top CriticA potentially brilliant conceptual comedy that fizzles because its writer and director, Jody Hill, doesn’t have the guts to go with his spleen.
04/10/09
Top CriticGiven that the ordinarily likable Seth Rogen is portraying a delusional, violent, sexist, racist, homophobic mall cop with a bipolar disorder, there's not really a lot to laugh at.
04/09/09
Top CriticWhen Observe and Report is funny, it's often shockingly so. The characters can be nasty or self-absorbed, yet they still have a whiff of sweetness.
04/09/09
Top CriticThere is no moral to this story, and there's not much comedy either.
04/09/09
Top CriticBeyond the weirdness, if you can get there, is a quick portrait of trailer-park America pursuing its urges by any means necessary.
04/09/09
Top CriticLatest News for Observe and Report
September 21, 2009:
RT on DVD: Observe and Report, Classic Star Trek, and more.
Coming out on home video this week are a few new releases from earlier this year (such as Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Observe and Report), as well as a couple of collections... More...
April 12, 2009:
Seth Rogen more shocking than funny as crude mall cop. 
More...
April 09, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Hannah Montana Hits A Flat Note
This week at the movies, we've got a pop songbird (Hannah Montana the Movie, starring Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus), a mall cop (Observe and Report, starring Seth Rogen and Anna... More...
April 09, 2009:
Observe And Report: Better Than Blart, And Dirtier Than Harry. And the wicked humor never lets up, as the tone deliciously darkens just when it seems there's nowhere left to go.
More...
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