‘Observe and Report’ is the funniest sad movie you can see

Rape, balls, and a small penis are used for comedic purposes in telling the story of security officer Ronnie (Seth Rogen) in the new movie, Observe and Report, which premiered on Monday at SXSW. Ronnie and his gang ofx security officers put the mall on high alert in an attempt to take down a flasher who has targeted make up counter girl Brandi, played by Anna Farris. The security officers cannot handle capturing the flasher and defending the mall from a new robber on their own, so Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) comes in. When the Detective crosses Ronnie, all hell breaks loose.

Awesome guest stars include Danny McBride, Patton Oswalt, and Aziz Ansari, who has one particularly great line which writer/director Jody Hill acknowledged was totally improvised.

While the film contains some outstanding one-liners, the final product still feels a bit off. Because so much of the humor rises from being shocked or repulsed, it always seemed like you were watching more than one movie. There are comedy, drama and action elements within the film that were well done, but felt unnecessary. Hill stated at the panel that this was more of a melodrama, which isn’t exactly what is portrayed in trailers for the film. Hill also described the movie as Taxi-Driver-esque, which is clearly seen through the development of Ronnie. With Rogen leading the way there is a certain guarantee that people will go to theaters, but if they are expecting Rogen to play a character similar to any of his previous movies they are in for a surprise. The punchlines are there, but not always as clear-cut as the “you know how I know your gay?” segments from The 40-Year-Old Virgin, for example

Observe and Report is a darkly funny movie, but struggles with the line between melodrama and gross-out comedy.