Tag Archives: Seth Rogen

Observe & Report (DVD)

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At the time when Observe & Report came out in theaters, I placed it on the backburner. Having seen nearly all of Seth Rogen’s movies, at the time I felt that this flick was one that I could wait to watch. Months later when it came out on DVD, I finally got my chance. The first thing that popped in my head after the credits rolled was “I should’ve watched this sooner.”

For starters, Observe & Report isn’t your typical laugh a minute comedy. It is probably one of the darker comedies I’ve seen in a while.  While a lot of the humor is pretty obvious, it is the subtle laughs that seem to hit the hardest. This is the type of movie that needs to be watched more than once to catch everything.  In fact, the style of this film is a bit refreshing. It reminds me of ‘Foot Fist Way’ and ‘Cable Guy’ in that the humor isn’t exactly in your face, but if you pay close enough attention to the details, they’re actually very funny flicks.

Ronnie Barnhardt (Rogen) is head of mall security, although the entire mall, including cosmetics girl Brandi (Anna Faris), his object of desire, view him as a walking joke.   In fact, only Ronnie’s inner circle of security guard misfits view him with importance. ( On a side note, the security guard crew is made up of some of the funniest outcasts on screen in a long time).  To make matters worse, Ronnie suffers from mental disorders, which cause his view of reality to be even more deluded. The mall patrons soon fall prey to a perverted flasher and when Brandi is the latest to witness him bare it all, Ronnie sees this as his opportunity to step up. Things become further complicated when a real detective (played by Ray Liotta) is brought in to investigate.  Naturally ronnie and the detective butt heads, and things just get worse from there.

The entire cast of this film was great. Rogen gets to flex more than his comedic abilities as his role requires him to portray a character that is signifiacntly deeper and darker than his usual fare. Anna Faris is also pretty good, although her role only requires her to be the ditzy blonde persona which she has perfected over the years. Ray Liotta is just as good as always, although like Faris, he too has had time to perfect his hard nosed street tough cop persona as well. Perhaps the scene stealer of the entire cast by far goes to Ronnie’s right hand man, Dennis, played by Michael Pena. Pena is insanely funny in this movie. His delivery of even the simplest comments will have you cracking up. The movie also has some of the funniest cameo appearances I’ve ever seen. Keep an eye out for Danny McBride, who has one of the best scenes in the entire film.

The plot of the film is actually very good and quite unexpected. There are a couple of other storylines that interconnect and reach a resolution at the end. At first this movie looks like another take on Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Having seen both, I can say that other than the fact that they are both about mall cops, the similarities end there. While Blart is slapstick stupid humor, Observe is more edgy, with a storyline and characters that are actually driving towards a climatic conclusion.   Observe & Report surprised me in a good way. Right when I was reaching a point where comedies all seemed the same, this movie comes along with enough originality to spice things up.  While definitely not the best or even the funniest movie I’ve seen this year, it just seemed to have the right combination of all the right elements to make it one of the most enjoyable flicks I’ve seen in a while.

Funny People (Theaters)

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While many comedies are flat out hilarious, once in a while you come across one that is something much more than just a laugh fest. Whether it be a life lesson conveyed by the film or just something provocative enough to keep you thinking after the credits roll, these comedies offer much more beyond the initial layers of laughter. Funny People is just such a movie.

The premise of the movie is fairly simple. It follows the life of comic actor George Simmons (Adam Sandler), who after numerous box office hits, has discovered he has leukemia.  In an effort to make sense of it all, he returns to his comedic roots by doing standup comedy, yet quickly realizes he no longer has anything funny to say. He enlists the help of a struggling up and coming comedian, Ira (Seth Rogen) to not only help write jokes for him, but to be his assistant through his time of ordeal. Along the way, the two become friends and Simmons realizes that despite all of his succeess, his existence has been empty and shallow up until this point.

When his latest set of blood tests comes back clean, Simmons is granted a new lease on life.  He immediately decides to try and make up for everything he has missed out on over the years, including regaining the love of his life, Laura (Leslie Mann).  George soon finds that things are not always that simple and despite having another chance at life, he must come to the realization that some things are just the way they are.

Sandler is excellent in this film. While watching, you can’t help but feel that the character of George is loosely based on Sandler’s life. He began as a small time comic for the sake of making people laugh, yet somehow alll of that got lost in the shuffle of making bigger, sillier, and funnier movies. Sandler’s portrayal of a man coming to grips with his own mortality is really genuine. As sad as it is to watch him sufferring, it is equally funny watching him as he uses his amazing humor to cope with his situation. 

Rogen is equally good. For the first time in any of his movies, he tones down his abrasiveness and brings to life a genuinely likeable character. You really feel for him struggling to make it as a comedian, and later as his standup improves, the sense of accomplishment is clearly evident in his portrayal. With so much comic presence on the screen in this movie at any given time, Rogen’s subdued approach is dead on.

The rest of the cast is straight up amazing. Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzmann are hilarious as Rogen’s two roommates. Leslie Mann is great as George’s love interest, yet also manages to provide qutie a few comedic moments of her own.  Last but not least, scene stealing Eric Bana is just awesome as the jealous Aussie husband.

For a movie about life and death, it also has a comedy within a comedy element going on. There are famous commediennes up the ying yang in this film, with cameos from start to finish. I think it’s safe to say that this film has more jokes per minute of movie than any other comedy that has come out in a long time (and at a whopping 2.5 hrs of running time- that’s a lot of jokes!!). Unlike other comedies which sometimes tend to overly rely on insane situations for humor, Funny People just looks at life through the eyes of well..funny hilarious people. 

While the film doesn’t have the craziness of Superbad or Knocked Up, it does have a lot more soul…while providing just as many laughs. I highly recommend this movie to anyone. While the film willl no doubt have you cracking up, it may also cause you to take a moment and look at your own life and the choices you’ve made.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (DVD)

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I have always been a fan of Kevin Smith’s movies. His most successful films are the ones that find that perfect mix of gut busting humor with just enough sentimentality thrown in for good measure.  Zack and Miri Make a Porno is unlike any movie Smith has done yet, but it seems follows this setup to a tee. The movie is flat out hilarious with just enough emotion to allow you to appreciate the characters while not getting overly sappy.

The story follows Zack (Seth Rogen) and his best friend and roommate Miri (Elizabeth Banks) who have come into some hard times and are left with no money to cover their rent or utilities. Faced with eviction, Zack comes up with the idea to film and distribute their own porn movie in order to salvage their apartment.  They enlist the help of their friends who all come together to make this low budget production a reality.  Along the way they overcome a number of obstacles to finishing their film, and in the process Zack and Miri learn more about each other than they ever knew in their previous 20 years of friendship.  The biggest tension in the film comes from the “build up” (pardon the pun) to their inevitable sex scene together, which is perfectly conveyed by both actors.

Fans of Kevin Smith movies will notice a lot of Smith regulars in this film. Both Jeff Anderson (Clerks) and Jason Mewes (Jay) make up part of the hilarious cast and are just as funny as they were in Smith’s other movies, although in quite different roles. One of the biggest standouts in this film is the gut wrenchingly funny Craig Robinson who plays Zack’s friend and coworker Delaney. Robinson, who has appeared in ‘Pineapple Express’ and ‘The Office’ is a scene killer and I found myself dying to hear whatever he was going to say next.   The movie is almost worth watching for Robinson’s scenes alone as he is just that funny.

Seth Rogen is also great as the lead in this film. It’s good to see him in a role that doesn’t require him to be a jerk, and he actually comes off quite likable compared to some of his other roles. The fact that he is insanely funny in this film also doesn’t hurt.  Elizabeth Banks, who recently has been blowing up in the movies, is good in this film also. While I’m not exactly a fan of hers, she does an excellent job of portraying the relationship between her and Zack, and the intimate chemistry and close bond between the two of them becomes clear from the start.  Worth mentioning is a hilarious cameo appearance by Justin Long (from the movie ‘Waiting’ and those ‘I’m a Mac’ commercials) and Brandon Routh (Superman).  Without giving anything away, one thing is clear: you will never look at Superman the same way after this movie.

Unfortunately, this movie has one of the worst, and probably most unmarketable titles of any mainstream movie I can remember. However, after watching the movie it becomes clear that they really couldn’t have named the film anything else as it fits so perfectly. Granted, the word ‘porno’ in the title may turn a few viewers off, but trust me that this comedy is no raunchier or obscene than any other ‘R’ rated comedy to come out in recent years. In fact, compared to Smith’s ‘Clerks 2′, this movie seems pretty tame.

Overall, this is an excellent film with huge laughs throughout. While not exactly a romantic comedy, there is enough emotion that the film could be considered a comedy with romance.  Smith manages to interject sentimental moments while keeping the film focused on what it is first and foremost, which is a hilarious comedy.  Often movies that try to include both elements wind up “morphing” into a different type of movie by the end of the film. Luckily that is not the case with this movie as it maintains its original focus throughout, which is to make you laugh.  I highly recommend this movie to anyone that enjoys a good comedy.