Not having experienced Paul Blart: Mall Cop, it’s hard to comment on the similarities between it and this film. Having gashed my head open on gravel and glass when I was nine however, I can see how watching this movie is alike to that situation. This film is tacky, often discriminatory, unsubtle shit. The story follows Ronnie (Seth Rogan), a mall cop whose delusions of happiness seem to revolve around his penchant for hurting/shooting things. Writer/director Jody Hill attributes this terrible disposition to his bipolar disorder. He’s a scary, unbalanced individual with a chip on his shoulder. Observe and Report does for mental illness what Wolf Creek did for utes and akubras. It tells us that if you’re at a distance, point and laugh at the sufferer but don’t get too close, cause they’re violent bastards. Obviously cinematic history tells us it’s possible to make mental illness hilarious, but that’s when you laugh at situations that arise because of it. There’s no punchline to the scenario presented here. Ronnie’s angry and abusive – that’s the highlight of the comedy. As a character he has no redeeming features and is surrounded by a swathe of similarly dislikeable people. Even the wafer-thin plot of Ronnie pursuing a career as a cop doesn’t lead anywhere. On top of this, the scenes are punctuated by intense brutality which comes out of nowhere and jars terribly. Save yourself the price of a ticket to this film. If you really want to create the same effect, underscore Shindler’s List with a canned-laughter track. Oh the hilarity.
