Given 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.
Comment
04/09/09
Observe and Report (2009)
50
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:181
Fresh:91
Rotten:90
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.
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Comedies
US 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]
Reviews for Observe and Report
121 - 140 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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 CriticObserve and Report is the evil twin of Paul Blart, which had a soft heart but no nerve. This flick is almost criminally cynical, but delinquents will think there's something arresting about a movie whose mission is disturbing the peace.
04/09/09
Here's the simplest way to put it: if you liked the over-the-top, brutal finale of Pineapple Express, you'll most likely find yourself enjoying Observe and Report...
04/09/09
Unsure if it's supposed to make you love or loathe all the ugly behavior and cheap gags, Observe and Report will make you squirm for all the wrong reasons.
04/09/09
There 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
A fascinatingly bizarre dark comedy, an abrasive and occasionally mean-spirited tale that succeeds by being completely committed to its ideas.
04/09/09
Observe and Report tickets should come with a free breath mint, because however hard you've been laughing, that ending leaves a seriously bad taste in your mouth.
04/09/09
It's a film made with the naughty rush of kids getting away with something crazy behind their parents' backs.
04/09/09
Here's hoping the talented Rogen, in the future, sifts out junk like this from the many opportunities before him.
04/09/09
It’s a flimsy premise, one ripe for the silliest of sitcom material, but Rogen and writer-director Jody Hill wring out of it a scary-funny character study about a warped man and his twisted sense of what it means to be a hero.
04/09/09
As funny as it is sick (and it's plenty of both).
04/09/09
In other words, if Paul Blart were a monthly comic, and Alan Moore took over the writing, this might be the result.
04/09/09
Something of a cross between the formalist whimsy of Wes Anderson and the God’s-lonely-man psychosis of Taxi Driver, the film breaks all the rules, but the tonal schizophrenia that results isn’t an accident.
04/09/09
There won't be a more polarizing comedy released in 2009 than Observe and Report. This audacious, subversive action comedy turns two of our cuddliest performers, Seth Rogen and Anna Faris, into poster kids for atrocious misbehavior.
04/09/09
Not only is the movie itself upsetting, but there's the thought that Paul Blart has turned out to be the funny mall cop movie.
04/09/09
Like "Foot Fist," "Observe and Report" is about grating, dysfunctional males and the sluts they love and inappropriate behavior alone does not equal comedy.
04/09/09
[Director Jody] Hill can create only one sort of protagonist, and half the time he's stuck in a gray area between satirizing the firearms-obsessed, multidirectionally offensive Ronnie and embracing him.
04/09/09
a pubescent fantasy where the characters act like they're inside a cartoon and there are simply no consequences for their actions
04/09/09
Latest 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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