Observe & Report (2009/Warner Blu-ray + DVD)
Picture:
B/C Sound: B/C+ Extras: C/D Film: C
Seth
Rogen had been on a roll and was becoming the next big comedy star, but some of
his recent films have bet their fortunes on his star power to be instead of a
strong script and as a result, the films (Pineapple
Express for example) fall apart at the end when they should be home runs
like the films that made him a star to begin with. Jody Hill’s Observe & Report (2009) has an interesting twist in a dull
premise that brought it comparisons to the inexplicable hit Paul Blart – Mall Cop, which was
released on a few weeks before.
Malls can
be obnoxious and unlike Blart, does
not see the mall as unquestionably fun, but as a dark place where the only joy
is to spend money. That does not make it
a George Romero film, but Rogen is a guy who takes himself too seriously and
has issues. We do not know this at
first, but it turns out he is angry the security department he works for has
not been able to stop a flasher, stop a series of robberies or get more respect
from his bosses. He is also obsessed
with a beautiful mall employee (Anna Faris) who he gets to know better when she
becomes a victim of the flasher.
Along
with a series of hit and miss jokes, gags and other funny ideas from Hill’s
script come more missed opportunities than there should be, especially because
the film is willing to get Taxi Driver
darker as it moves along. Adding Ray
Liotta as a real police officer with his own issues turns out better than
expected, but does not save the film.
Like a fresh orange about to go bad, see the film once to squeeze all
the good jokes out of it and move on.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is sharper and clearer than the anamorphically
enhanced DVD in shocking ways, though it is not as sharp as the 35mm print I
saw. Why the drop in widescreen picture
quality might be from mass production or that the widescreen edition is on the
same DVD as a 1.33 X 1 pan and scan version of the film, but it is not
good. Color saves the Blu-ray from being
worse and is the preferred way to see this on disc.
The Dolby
TrueHD 5.1 mix is not bad considering this is mostly dialogue, with some good
fullness and good soundfield throughout.
The DVD’s Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is likely poorer and weaker due to that
old codec’s compression, but it could just be all that space taken by two
versions. If the DVD had extras, it
would be worse. That leaves extras are
only on the Blu-ray including BD Live functions, additional scenes, Gag Reel,
Outtakes with the leads and two featurettes: Basically Training and Forest
Ridge Mall: Security Recruitment Video.
- Nicholas Sheffo
