By Melissa Garza
I started watching Observe and Report because it was listed under Aziz Ansari’s filmography and I’m officially on the Ansari bandwagon – a couple years too late, but better late than never. Most will know Ansari’s work from Parks and Recreation. My introduction to his genius was a little different.
It started with a major obsession with the podcast How Did This Get Made which is beyond awesome. My husband introduced it to me after he found it as we always made fun of Mac & Me. From that moment on we were hooked. Well as I am proudly OCD, my obsession went from the podcast to the host: Paul Scheer. I sought him out and found his television shows NTSF SD SUV and The League which are also freaking awesome. Then, I bought his first major show, the first season of Human Giant (shockingly, a great show from MTV) which starred Ansari. Then Ansari was on NTSF. From there we watched his comedy specials and finally made our way just this week to Parks and Recreation.
So, now I’m on his filmography. I do this a lot. I get hooked on someone and then have to watch everything they’re in
Sadly, Ansari has a small part in Observe and Report. He’s still hilarious but nonetheless, I would have liked to see him more.
Still, even with the absence of Ansari, the movie is quite underrated. It gives the outward appearance of being a dark comedy all the while staying light and fun.
Seth Rogan stars as Ronnie who is a bi-polar, racist, mall security guard. He also has an infatuation with Brandi (Anna Faris) a skanky party girl who works at a make-up counter. Despite his obvious flaws, he does take care of his alcoholic mother and defends Nell (Collette Wolf) when she is being made fun of by her boss.
His soft side is the only thing that makes Ronnie tolerable as throughout he can often be a jerk.
When a shoe store gets robbed and a flasher begins sexually harassing women at the mall, Ronnie takes it personal and wants to find out who the culprits are. So does the police and Detective Harrison (Sexy Ray Liotta who just gets better with age) is sent in.
Ronnie’s ridiculous tactics of finding out who the criminals are drives Harrison crazy. When Harrison gets in Ronnie’s face and calls him a ‘rent-a-cop’, Ronnie decides to trade in his security badge for that of a police officer’s.
The movie is really quite good. It’s funny and paced well. I highly recommend it. Though the subject matter may be serious, it’s done in a light hearted manner. Even in the darkest scenes, optimism and hope remain the theme.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7.5/10 – Next Time More Ansari!
