Click here for my on-camera interview with Seth Rogen.

If you like your comedy without any sugar or cream then you’re at least in the ballpark of people who may appreciate the humor in “Observe and Report,” a comedy that is alternately laugh-out-loud shocking and flat-out baffling. A minor character sums up the film nicely when he says about a joke he was in on, “I thought this was going to be funny, but instead it’s just kind of sad.”

Anyone who’s ever seen director Jody Hill’s first movie “The Foot Fist Way” or his HBO series “East Bound and Down” (both starring Danny McBride, who makes a cameo here) will have a better idea of what to expect from his new Seth Rogen-led film “Observe and Report.”

Hill specializes in a certain type of protagonist—a loud, obnoxious man-child who loves pushing others around, especially those who threaten him. Ronnie Barnhardt (Rogen) fits the bill perfectly. He’s a pill-popping, bipolar mall cop who yearns to be a real policeman, mainly so he can carry a gun. (This is about as far as you can get from that PG movie starring Kevin James.) When a streaker starts flashing the ladies in the parking lot—especially blonde make-up countergirl Brandi (an underused Anna Faris), Ronnie feels like catching him is his ticket to the big leagues.

Other freakish over-the-top types float in and out of Ronnie’s world in the most haphazard of ways. Michael Peña (“Crash,” “World Trade Center”) hangs around in the background with a lisp until he’s called up for one deviously hilarious montage. Thick-spectacled identical twins John and Matt Yuan have a natural, funny charisma, but have little more to do than add scenery. And I’m pretty sure Jesse Plemons (TV’s “Friday Night Lights”) played another, lesser mall cop guy, but he didn’t have much to do either.

Ray Liotta—as menacing an actor as you’ll find—is Detective Harrison. By turns, he is Ronnie’s sworn enemy and greatest inspiration. As Ronnie starts to believe he will inevitably be peers with the policeman, though, Harrison resorts to ugliness as well.

“Observe and Report” is refreshing and frustrating in equal measure. The herky-jerky rhythm of the movie suggests that a lot of subplots and introductions were cut in favor of more “funny” and a slimmer running time. (Even at 82 minutes, it sometimes feels a little long.) There are wild mood swings between so many of the scenes and certain plot points are just dropped altogether.

At the same time, Hill is finding his own voice as an original comedic filmmaker, however spotty he may be. Some of his jokes land with a thud once, and some—like Ronnie proclaiming virtually everyone in the mall as guilty at one time or another—are repeat offenders. But the writer/director is also developing his own signature.

One stylistic constant is his frequent use of jump cuts to accentuate punchlines (if you can even call them that) and get out of scenes as quick as possible. Rather than ease the audience out of some of the more reprehensible humor, Hill prefers to cut while everyone is still digesting what happened. More than once during the screening I attended, I could hear astonished gasps just before the laughter.

Because the movie has such an odd pace and so many uncomfortable moments, the slo-mo music montages (set to musical oddities such as Little River Band’s “Help is on the Way” and a needless cover of Pixies’ “Where is my Mind?”) actually add some welcome familiarity in terms of movie language, which Hill then packs full of the maximum amount of absurdity possible.

Lastly, we come to the formula of “Observe and Report,” which is this: Build a scene up in the most typical way possible and make the audience expect what they usually get. Then, do the exact opposite. Example: Ronnie gets some much-needed consoling from his mother and a shoulder to cry on. This is where the violins come in and Mom is supposed to deliver a few kind words to help her son turn his life around, but when Ronnie asks her what she’s trying to say, she replies, “I don’t know, I’m drunk.”

This formula is also applied to the over-arching plot of the entire film. Nothing works out the way it usually does.

If you’re going to have a formula, at least make it one that willfully flees the convention of other films. Hill is throwing out the rulebook on how to make a satisfying movie, but somehow in the midst of the most politically incorrect humor you’re likely to find at the multiplex—maybe ever—he and Rogen actually do make the pig-headed and stupid Ronnie someone you can empathize with. Ironically, they do it without seeming to care at all.

Epilogue: (SPOILERS LIE AHEAD!) Much has been made of the supposed date-rape scene in “Observe and Report.” Is it really date rape? Does she actually give consent? The answer to both of those questions could go either way depending on how you view it, but here is what I think is important to consider. In the realm of this movie—which is completely absurd—and knowing what we know about these characters, the scene that’s depicted would have gone down exactly the way it did in the film. Brandi may or may not have remembered it, but I guarantee you that she could have cared less either way when she woke up, right or wrong. That’s her character. For the record, I gasped out loud during this scene and it stuck with me far after I left the theater. I’m not surprised people are making a big deal about it now. Frankly, I was surprised the MPAA let them keep it in the cut.

Tags: anna, cop, faris, film, hill, jody, mall, movie, Observe and Report, rating, review, rogen, seth, synopsis

The new Seth Rogen movie “Observe and Report” opens Friday Apr. 10. We have one poster that is signed by the director (Jody Hill) and cast and we want you to have it! All you need to do is fill out the form below and we will have a random drawing on Thursday, April 16 to determine the winner. You can check out Eric’s on-camera interview with Seth Rogen here. The poster is signed by

Seth Rogen

Jody Hill

Anna Faris

Michael Peña

Good luck!

Open to residents of the U.S. 13+. 

Tags: autograph, contest, free, giveaway, Jody Hill, Observe and Report, poster, Seth Rogen, signed, sweepstakes

Eric interviews Seth Rogen the morning after the red carpet premiere of Rogen’s new movie “Observe and Report” in Austin, Texas. At SXSW 2009, Eric picks Rogen’s brain about the new Jody Hill-directed film, “Freaks and Geeks,” Scorsese, and lots more. We also have exclusive interview footage with some details on Rogen’s new project “The Green Hornet.” With Michel Gondry behind the lens, it will be exciting to see how this unfolds.

Tags: 2009, austin, Freaks and Geeks, green hornet, interview, Jody Hill, Michel Gondry, Observe and Report, scorsese, SXSW, Texas, The Green Hornet.

Your pals at Scene-Stealers are happy to announce that we have 50 ‘admit-two’ passes to the new Seth Rogen movie, “Observe and Report,” and we want to give some to you (provided you live somewhere in the Kansas City area). The screening is Tuesday, April 7 at the Cinemark Palace on the Plaza (500 Nichols Rd Kansas City, MO 64112) at 7:30pm, and the passes will be given out via email. All you need to do is sign up below, and we’ll have a random drawing on Friday, April 3 to determine the 50 lucky winners. Click here to win a movie poster signed by Seth Rogen! The winners will get an email on that day with instructions on how they can print out their passes to the screening. Here’s a little bit about the movie, which is NOT your typical Seth Rogen movie and was written and directed by Jody Hill (”The Foot Fist Way, HBO’s “Eastbound and Down”):

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 occasional unruly customer while dreaming of the day when he can swap his flashlight for a badge and a gun. Ronnie’s delusions of grandeur are put to the test when the mall is struck by a flasher. Driven by his personal duty to protect and serve the mall and its patrons, Ronnie seizes the opportunity to showcase his underappreciated law enforcement talents on a grand scale, hoping his solution of this crime will earn him a coveted spot at the police academy and the heart of his elusive dream girl Brandi (ANNA FARIS), the hot make-up counter clerk who won’t give him the time of day. But his single-minded pursuit of glory launches a turf war with the equally competitive Detective Harrison (RAY LIOTTA) of the Conway Police, and Ronnie is confronted with the challenge of not only catching the flasher, but getting him before the real cops do.

Seth Rogen stars in the dark comedy “Observe and Report,” written and directed by Jody Hill (“The Foot Fist Way”). The film also stars Anna Faris (“The House Bunny”), Michael Peña (“Crash”) and Ray Liotta (“Goodfellas”).

If you’ve won, you will receive an email on Friday, April 3 with instructions on how to print off your ‘admit-two’ pass online. Please bring it to the screening, and remember to get there early. These screenings are overbooked to ensure a full house. This film is rated “R” for pervasive language, graphic nudity, drug use, sexual content and violence. No one under 17 will be admitted to see this film unless accompanied by a
parent or adult guardian. Good luck!

Tags: Advance Screening, free passes, giveaway, kansas city, Observe and Report

This is the fifth and last in a series of reports from the SXSW Film/Interactive Festival in Austin, TX. Scene-Stealers hosted the Bacon-Flavored Interactive Afterparty, the Harpoon Happy Hour, and the free SenoReality screening, all of which were held at the coolest bar in town, Red 7. While we were down there, Dustin (our executive producer) and I attended several screenings and did lots of cool interviews with the directors and stars as we could. Enjoy!

Monday, March 16

I felt very bad for Bacon Shoe. Their flight left at six in the morning or something like that, so when we got back to the hotel room we were sharing (sleeping on the floor just like touring in the old days), they were bleary-eyed and saggy tailed, ready to catch a cab to the airport. We went to sleep after they left and didn’t wake up ’til late. We had just enough time to return the rented PA gear, grab some Don Juan tacos at the famous Juan in a Million restaurant, and head back to the Convention Center.

The panel I was there to see was called Robert Rodriguez and Henry Selick: A Conversation From the Third Dimension, and featured the groundbreaking filmmakers discussing past experiments with and the future of 3D in cinema. It’s pretty obvious that the advancements in technology and the growing home market that 3D will continue to be a good way to get people’s asses into theaters. It’s not going anywhere. That said, Selick’s “Coraline” is the perfect example of a 3D movie that uses the stereoscopic imagery in service of the story. (See our video review here.)

On the panel, Rodriguez said his original idea was to use 3D on the second half of his vampire-nightmare flick “From Dusk Till Dawn.” He said that once Clooney, Tarantino, Keitel and family enter the lair of vampires, the audience would then put their 3D glasses on and watch the rest of the film that way. Ironically, even though he didn’t use it, he shot the movie as if it were 3D anyway. I suppose they could always go back and re-format the film later if it was shot with that in mind. (Suggestion: It should start just before Salma Hayek shows up.)

Rodriguez’s experience with 3D comes mainly from “Spy Kids 3D: Game Over” and “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D.” He commented that shooting a film in 3D these days will guarantee its longevity in the marketplace, and that the format will be around a lot longer these days than it was in its golden era in the mid-1950s and revival in the early 1980.

Selick explained how “Coraline” did more than make objects jump out of the screen at its audience, using the technology to “transform space” in his stop-motion world, arranging some perspectives of Coraline’s nightmare world for maximum uncomfortability.The goal was to envelop the audience, not merely trick them. Selick is also assured of the eventual death of the film projector, noting that doors will open for 3D, since that makes it an easy “add-on.” To shoot in 3D, Selick says, adds only $5 million to a film’s budget.

In other Rodriguez news, when asked about the date “Sin City 2″ will finally go into production, he says: “It’s right around the corner. But it could be a very long corner.” About “Machete,” the trailer that played before his half of “Grindhouse,” he says: “We are making ‘Machete.’ The script is done, and [Danny] Trejo is ready to go.” He’s also wrapped on “Shorts,” a kid’s movie due later this year starring Kat Dennings, William H. Macy, Leslie Mann, and James Spader. The next Rodriguez movie to go in production, however, is called “Nerveracker,” and it starts filming in June. He sold the name to the Weinsteins 10 years ago, and has finally finished writing the screenplay. About “Nerveracker”: “It’s kind of like ‘Blade Runner,’ but that was ‘Blade Walker.’ This is ‘Blade Runner.’”"Nerveracker” is set in a perfect future where a man must fight crime, so the set-up is similar, but if Rodriguez just does a straight action take on the philosophical sci-fi classic, it could end up more like “Total Recall.”

I also caught the tail end of a discussion with IMDb founder Col Needham where he reiterated the long term goal of the hugely popular website: “A play button on every page.”

Wow. He certainly thinks big. The site is already on its way with a small collection of movies and more TV shows, but that is scary … and probably also the very near future. Short term goals? To help new feature NewsDesk grow, and international expansion.

Lastly, Dustin and I sped off to the red carpet premiere of “Observe and Report,” Jody Hill’s second movie, following “The Foot Fist Way.” Standing on the red carpet, we got a couple really quick interviews with  writer/director Hill, stars Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Michael Peña, and the Yuan brothers. I can’t talk about the movie until it opens on April 10, but let’s just say this: If you are expecting a funny-ha-ha cute mall cop movie, you are in for a surprise. If you’ve seen”Foot Fist,” you’ll know more to expect. When I interviewed Rogen the next afternoon, he said he and Hill watched Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” and “The King of Comedy”to get in the right frame of mind. Heavy. And I’m not just talking about his Rogen’s weight in the film (which he has shed most of to get ready for the “Green Hornet”)!

All those interviews will be coming up soon. Stay tuned!

Tags: film, Henry Selick, Observe and Report, panel, Robert Rodriguez, screening, SXSW, SXSW 2009