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Because of Joe Leydon's South by Southwest review, I went to Observe and Report last week expecting some kind of semi-bold game-changer -- Seth Rogen as a twisted but mordantly humorous Travis Bickle, certainly no Paul Blart Mall Cop (and perhaps even a kind of anti-Blart), and maybe even a "comedy" without laughs that goes in a much darker and twisted direction than any 21st Century laugher has before.
Well, it's darker and creepier, all right, and I suppose it deserves a point or two for not shovelling the usual dumb-ass shtick. And yes, Rogen's Ronnie Barnhardt, a psychologically distressed mall cop, represents a new level of myopia and malignancy in big-screen comedy. And so yes, Jody Hill, the director-writer, has certainly avoided the usual b.s.
Except he doesn't in the end. Or in the beginning and the middle, for that matter. Observe and Report is my idea of amateurish, sloppy, and even cowardly crap. I didn't completely hate it, but I was constantly scowling and seething at Hill's flaunting of the absurd unreality of it, and I never laughed once. Sorry, but take away the shock value and it's a deplorably bad film.
I blame the SXSW critics for building it up too much. If I had gone to this thing cold I might have come out feeling a bit more accepting or at least forgiving. But to say that Hill's film is coming from a similar aesthetic or stylistic zip code as Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver shows appalling judgment. And to express serious excitement about it means...I don't know, that certain critics have been bored with recent films and are lunging at straws?
There's no way you can listen to guys like New York's David Edelstein ("earns its cathartic climax") or Cinematical's Scott Weinberg ("a wonderful freakin' thing"). Trust me, they're jerking themselves off.
Observe and Report is basically absurdist shtick with no investment in any kind of human behavior you can even begin to half-believe. Which Hill had to sell in order for the twisted-Ronnie stuff to kick in to any degree. The lesson for me is that Hill lacks even rudimentary skills in the building of story or theme or verisimilitude. He obviously thinks he's on to something here because he's nervy. Which he is -- I'll give him that. But there's a lot more to this game.
It's one thing to make a stupid comedy with idiotic occurences that could never happen in real life, but Observe and Report is trying to do something else here -- to look with some degree of semi-comic honesty into the enraged and diseased heart of a lonely fat bipolar nerd (Rogen) who was brought up dysfunctionally and creepily by an alcoholic and once-promiscuous single-mom (Celia Weston).
Observe and Report has instead persuaded me that Hill is a copout compromiser who lacks the courage of his interests and instincts. He's made a semi-dark nerd-psychopath comedy and (just to be safe) a moronic, logic-free, dumb-ass Paul Blart comedy with an ending that...I'd better be careful here. I could certainly call it radically un-Bickle-esque. Unless you believe (like me) that everything that happens in Taxi Driver after the Lower East Side shootout is Bickle's fantasy.
I found the Observe and Report finale infuriating for a film that is supposedly delving into the dark side and dealing with human derangement with at least a semblance of bluntness.
I haven't time to get into the performances (need to be in the city to deposit a check)...later.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on April 7, 2009 at 9:52 AM
Essentials
comment #1
Rich S.
says ...
There you go, actionman. Happy now?
Posted by Rich S.
at April 7, 2009 12:46 PM
comment #2
mutinyco
says ...
The ending of Taxi Driver, to my knowledge and understanding, is intended as literal. Not a fantasy. The point was that he's a hero for a moment, but it's just a matter of time until he pops again.
I don't think it works. And the fact that you're suggesting it's a fantasy kind of proves that.
But I'm sure plenty of people do like the ending.
Posted by mutinyco
at April 7, 2009 12:49 PM
comment #3
BurmaShave
says ...
Better than Liotta has looked in years.
Posted by BurmaShave
at April 7, 2009 12:51 PM
comment #4
jjgittes
says ...
Never bought the fantasy ending for Taxi Driver; if I recal correctly even Schraeder or Scorsese has nixed this (?)
Always took the ending literally - he is celebrated by the culture that has wrought him.....for now.
Posted by jjgittes
at April 7, 2009 12:56 PM
comment #5
Mark
says ...
Please do get into the performances later on. I'm curious as to what grade you give Liotta's hair color.
Hill should not have ever mentioned Taxi Driver in any interview, nor used all Scorsese music in the trailers.
Also, total fantasy. Bickle died.
Posted by Mark
at April 7, 2009 1:03 PM
comment #6
BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey
says ...
Bizarre review.
"And so yes, Jody Hill, the director-writer, has certainly avoided the usual b.s. Except he doesn't in the end. Or in the beginning and the middle, for that matter."
Do he did, or he didn't?
Posted by BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey
at April 7, 2009 1:13 PM
comment #7
actionman
says ...
Yes, Rich. VERY happy now.
Cannot wait to see this movie. Cannot wait.
Posted by actionman
at April 7, 2009 1:18 PM
comment #8
BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey
says ...
Yes, this has actually heightened my anticipation levels.
Posted by BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey
at April 7, 2009 1:19 PM
comment #9
Rothchild
says ...
I laughed more at this film than anything else I've seen in the last decade. Wells, you're too old for this shit.
Posted by Rothchild
at April 7, 2009 1:43 PM
comment #10
MilkMan
says ...
I knew that I didn't have to actually see this movie to know that any comparisons to Taxi Driver were absurd. You can tell that if you watch thirty seconds of the trailer. This movie looks like it was directed by a huge Jared Hess fan. So that makes Jody Hill a Jared Hess wannabe, and Jared Hess is a Wes Anderson Wannabe, and this is what happens when you have a copy of a copy of a copy: total degeneration of the original. There's a lot more to comedy that offensive language and situations and "outrageous" behavior. You know what's funny? The complexities of human interaction, the social theatre we all have to act in every day, and the vagaries of language. Seth Rogen and Jody Hill and the rest of the Ferrell-Apatow-McBride-McKay Axis of Evil are clowns. Clowns don't make me laugh, and they don't make me laugh because they want me to laugh. You watch. That next Apatow movie, Funny People, is going to be a schmaltz-fest. And by the way: any movie with stand up comics as characters is inherently not funny because they always want to make sure that you know the stand up comic is funny by having the audience within the movie laugh at everything the stand up comic says.
Posted by MilkMan
at April 7, 2009 1:44 PM
comment #11
rr3333
says ...
Forget about Liotta's hair for a sec.
Did he go to Kenny Rogers' plastic surgeon? Zoinks shaggy!
Posted by rr3333
at April 7, 2009 1:53 PM
comment #12
rr3333
says ...
Rogen's a funny guy, but he better get the big paydays while he can, because his film career is going to be a short one (and has nothing to do with this piece of crap).
He has no range and cant do anything but shtick comedy.
I see a sitcom within 5 years.
Posted by rr3333
at April 7, 2009 1:56 PM
comment #13
Mark
says ...
"He has no range and cant do anything but shtick comedy."
How is he different than Carrey, Ferril, Sandler, etc. in this regard? Shtick comedy has an underrated shelf life with the American public.
Posted by Mark
at April 7, 2009 2:18 PM
comment #14
The Playlist
says ...
Gotta say I totally agree with Wells here. He's also spot-on about "amateurish, sloppy," it feels like it was made by first-year college students with a decent budget.
Posted by The Playlist
at April 7, 2009 2:27 PM
comment #15
Phatang!
says ...
No one cares about "story" anymore. It's so 70s. Story is for pussies who can't deliver disjointed scatological humor with a sentimental ending.
Posted by Phatang!
at April 7, 2009 2:35 PM
comment #16
homebroughtcake
says ...
There's no way you can listen to guys like New York's David Edelstein ("earns its cathartic climax") or Cinematical's Scott Weinberg ("a wonderful freakin' thing"). Trust me, they're jerking themselves off.
You're right and they're wrong. That's just the way it is. Just like the people at the hotel in Park City and the wait staff at the restaurant. Lol...
Posted by homebroughtcake
at April 7, 2009 2:56 PM
comment #17
AtticusRex
says ...
Without seeing this yet and based on some of what Jeff has written it seems that once the comedic elements are in place and everything is set we get to the third act and just like in Pineapple Express the 3rd act goes into silly, over the top, gore induced action scenes that for the last two-thirds never let on was a'comin.
Posted by AtticusRex
at April 7, 2009 3:08 PM
comment #18
Mike Ock
says ...
Thank you for having the balls to tell it like it is on this one Jeff. We finally agree. I laughed more during Fast and Furious than this piece of crap.
What did you think of Ana Farris' collagen enhanced lips?
Posted by Mike Ock
at April 7, 2009 3:11 PM
comment #19
moviemaniac2002
says ...
You don't need a fantasy ending for "Taxi Driver"
Listen to the last three music notes struck by
Bernard Herrmann's score.......it's the three-note
signature of Norman Bates from "Psycho".
Posted by moviemaniac2002
at April 7, 2009 3:27 PM
comment #20
MilkMan
says ...
Full disclosure: I am Seth Rogen.
Posted by MilkMan
at April 7, 2009 3:43 PM
comment #21
York "Budd" Durden
says ...
Wouldn't the old fat Rogen have been a good physical choice for Curly in the 3 Stooges movie?
Posted by York "Budd" Durden
at April 7, 2009 3:59 PM
comment #22
MilkMan
says ...
Better than Jim Carrey.
Posted by MilkMan
at April 7, 2009 4:15 PM
comment #23
KC
says ...
Not entirely sure this isn't just Wells being Granpa Simpson but Rogen does seem to be playing it way too jokey for my tastes just looking at the ads. Would have liked to see Danny McBride do this instead, he held Foot Fist together and nobody cussed as well as he does.
Of course even if I knew this thing was completely wretched I'd probably still have to go bid a wistful farewell to Rogen's bear cub heartthrob days
Posted by KC
at April 7, 2009 4:18 PM
comment #24
azmoviegoer
says ...
The stand-up scenes in Funny People reminded me of some the worst ones done during Seinfleld...where the jokes Seinfeld was telling were really lame and the audience was laughing its asses off.
Also, the editor of the trailer for Funny People deserves a flogging for giving away every major plot point in the movie. Sad to say, I'm still stupid enough that I'll pay my five bucks to go anyway.
I'm still hoping to get some laughs from O and R, but am definitely less optimistic about doing so after the feedback from everyone here. Thanks for the warning.
I
Posted by azmoviegoer
at April 7, 2009 7:59 PM
comment #25
raygo
says ...
As I am reading this thread, the Knocked Up credits are rolling on HBO. Leslie Mann rocks.
Posted by raygo
at April 7, 2009 8:25 PM
comment #26
erniesouchak
says ...
"Observe and Report" is strange and awful, and not at all funny.
Posted by erniesouchak
at April 7, 2009 9:10 PM
comment #27
rsgoald
says ...
Considering Mr. Hill, a graduate of the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts, he must have learned very little in his screenwriting classes.
Tarantino learned a lot more in a video store! This film is a deplorable and reprehensible piece of stupid schtick!
Posted by rsgoald
at April 7, 2009 10:20 PM
comment #28
TVMCCA
says ...
rr3333 wrote:
Forget about Liotta's hair for a sec.
Did he go to Kenny Rogers' plastic surgeon? Zoinks shaggy!
To me, Kenny Rogers' disastrous facial work must have come from a desire to look just like GENERAL HOSPITAL's Anthony Geary.
Posted by TVMCCA
at April 7, 2009 10:32 PM
comment #29
TVMCCA
says ...
Observe and Report is basically absurdist shtick with no investment in any kind of human behavior you can even begin to half-believe.
Which describes most of the problems I had a decade-plus ago with THE CABLE GUY. Carrey's fight in the men's room was when the film began to go to hell for me.
Posted by TVMCCA
at April 7, 2009 10:35 PM
comment #30
TVMCCA
says ...
MilkMan wrote:
You watch. That next Apatow movie, Funny People, is going to be a schmaltz-fest. And by the way: any movie with stand up comics as characters is inherently not funny because they always want to make sure that you know the stand up comic is funny by having the audience within the movie laugh at everything the stand up comic says.
Saw part of the trailer over the weekend and it played like a James Brooks offering, Presuming Judd will pick some soft-touch journalists and launch the "I'm doing more mature films now" campaign.
Posted by TVMCCA
at April 7, 2009 10:38 PM
comment #31
corey3rd
says ...
I can assure you that the screenwriting program at NCSA was a joke that was being run by a bunch of writers who would be starving if they had to live off their talent instead of a state paycheck. I'm still working on undoing the crap they taught us in class. Most of their advice was bogus. Their connections were non-existent. I was taking research tips from Laura Hart McKinney. This is the woman who's research allowed OJ Simpson to kill two people and walk free for over a decade. She was all about her process.
Being stuck in the writing program was the booby prize for not being loved by the hacks that ran the directing program.
My memories of film school classes at NCSA pretty much are bitter and ripped off by a bunch of con artists. Thank goodness for the massive 35mm archive that occupied most of my time.
Posted by corey3rd
at April 8, 2009 7:37 AM
comment #32
televisiontears
says ...
corey3rd, 99 percent of screenwriting classes are absolute bullshit. If you listen to anything anything any one of these people say, you betray yourself and your love of original, true cinema. I almost dropped out of film school because I refused to take a screenwriting class. I probably should have.
Screenwriting classes are THE reason why every film that sees a wide release is exactly the same as a million that came before it - and it's not solely the fault of the writers. Readers, agents, producers, etc. have all had some ludicrous idea of what makes a decent story hammered into their fucking heads from day one. Now, when a script lands on someone's desk that is truly, uniquely engrossing, some Pavlovian response kicks in, and these idiots think, "This isn't what makes a good story. Ambivalence doesn't make an interesting character. Why isn't there an action beat every ten minutes? It's three pages in, and I'm bored. I wanna be told exactly what the rest of the movie will be like on the first page."
And yes, as you could probably gather, I've had some trouble selling my screenplay.
Posted by televisiontears
at April 8, 2009 2:18 PM
comment #33
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dd
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Hill should not have ever mentioned Taxi Driver in any interview, nor used all Scorsese music in the trailers.
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