Imperial Valley News

Hollywood, California - Observe and Report - Film Preview by Lisa Miller (2009) Directed by Jody Hill, Starring: Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Ray Liotta, Michael Pena, John and Matthew Yuan, Celia Weston - Warner/Rated R/Comedy/86 minutes.

An unexpectedly violent comedy, “Observe and Report” colors in its lighter regions with gross-out gags. Rogen appears as Ronnie Barnhardt, a bipolar mall security guard stirred to action by a flasher ruining many a shopper’s spree. But there’s a silver lining to the problem since Ronnie plans to use the flasher threat to get closer to cosmetics-counter girl, Brandi (Faris).

To catch the perp Ronnie marshals help from his fellow security guards - only to be pushed aside by police detective Harrison (Liotta). Between living with his alcoholic mom (Weston), Ronnie’s own bipolar disorder and the detective’s efforts to sideline the security team, achieving Ronnie’s goal is a real challenge.

Additionally, Kevin James beat Rogen to the security guard theme with his highly successful “Paul Blart: Mall Cop.” Nevertheless Rogen gives a disquieting performance that should cement his status as the oddest security guard so far.