Seth Rogen is the heart of Observe and Report, for better or worse. He is featured in nearly every scene, and some of them just don’t work.

Rogen nearly saves this film, but I place the blame for its shortcomings on director and screenwriter Jody Hill. Observe has a definite mean streak that will not appeal to all audiences. And while some of the comedy is in-your-face and quite funny, the movie is heavy-handed and slow at times.

Ronnie Barnhart (Rogen) is not the bumbling loser from Knocked Up or Pineapple Express, and this film is certainly not a Judd Apatow comedy. Barnhart is a sexist, racist, delusional mall cop with bipolar disorder, yet we cannot help but root for him. After a pervert flasher begins to terrorize the mall, Ronnie begins his self-absorbed quest to catch the bad guy, woo the girl of his dreams (played by the ditzy and hilarious Anna Faris), and kick some ass. And he just stopped taking his medication.

The concept of Hill’s film is excellent, but in execution it fails to deliver. Rogen’s Ronnie is angry and delusional for much of the film, and while some of the supporting characters (like Faris’ Brandi or perpetually drunk mother Celia Weston) lighten the mood, Observe and Report is bogged down by its obsession with guns and violence. The director uses far too many slow-mo shots of fighting brutality, running, and just Seth Rogen staring at the camera.

The film is both silly and sadistic, and although I found myself rooting for Ronnie, I was a bit afraid of what he’d do next. Rogen can be funny, and this is to some extent new territory for him, but Observe and Report is too mean-spirited and not quite funny enough. ~Max Gindi

Grade: C