The Red Right Hand
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OBSERVE AND REPORT
Nothing Is Off The Record

Director
Jody Hill

Starring
Seth Rogen
Ray Liotta
Michael Pena
Anna Faris

To put this film in context, it's basically a warped, comical version of Taxi Driver. That's not necessarily a bad thing to try to produce but with such a delicate line between humorous and disturbing, this one largely misses the mark.

Telling the tale of bi-polar head of mall security, Ronnie Barnhardt [Rogen], Observe And Report is a bit of a strange one. Events kick off when a flasher exposes himself to several female shoppers, affording the shopping complex a small degree of media coverage. Following a break-in and the return of the flasher, police detective Harrison [Liotta] is called in to investigate. As one of the victims, a young air-headed makeup counter assistant named Brandi [Farris], is a point of obsession for Ronnie, he takes it upon himself to catch the criminal and win Brandi's affection; the arrival of Detective Harrison only serves to frustrate and intimidate the mall cop and tempers flare.

Accompanying Ronnie, Liotta and Farris are a small group of talented individuals that serve as buffers, continually elevating Rogen's quirks. First we have Michael Pena as Ronnie's eccentric second in command; John and Matt Yuen (played by John and Matt Yuan), the eerily polite Asian twins; Collette Wolfe as the sickeningly shy coffee shop employee, Nell and Celia Weston as Ronnie's mother. In places the humour is spot-on and Ronnie's antics are genuinely amusing but then you have the controversial date-rape scene and the severe mood swings which leave the audience just a tad uncomfortable, unsure whether they should laugh or not.

At the end of the day I understand what Jody Hill was trying to create and to a certain extent there is a great deal to praise and celebrate in this release but, to be fair, that's only really if your humour resides on the peripherals and you really 'get' subversive, obtuse comedies. I wouldn't be surprised if this movie quickly fades from memory, if only because all movies focusing on mall staff invariably do.

Release Date:
24th April 2009

The Scene To Look Out For:
**Cataclysmically large spoiler toward the end of this paragraph... only kidding**
Two scenes in particular come to mind, both prime examples of Ronnie's eccentric flamboyance and penchant for violence. The first comes about shortly after Ronnie is abandoned at an incredibly dangerous street corner. After man-handling a child attempting to sell him drugs, Ronnie is confronted by the boy's father. On his knees, whimpering, with a gun in his face, Ronnie pleads with the criminals before flipping out and flooring all five men. A few moments later we cut to the police station where Harrison is joking with the other officers about his actions. All of a sudden the door kicks open and Ronnie marches the young boy in before sitting him down and shouting, "Now stay there, you little fucker!" For some reason, almost everybody in the audience was behind this clearly deranged individual. Secondly, we have Ronnie's redemption in confronting the flasher. The whole sequence is strangely hysterical (not only for the obvious reasons) culminating in such a ridiculously over-the-top finale.

Notable Characters:
Like plenty of other Rogen releases, this is just a vehicle and an excuse for him to play another similar roll, generate a great deal of sick jokes and foul mouthed one-liners. Despite the very real possibility of quickly becoming type-cast, Rogen still manages to carry the entire movie with ease.

Highlighted Quote:
"You didn't bring enough pigs to hurt me"

In A Few Words:
"In places, an extremely humorous effort but too many elements fail to connect, leaving Observe And Report a rather underdeveloped piece"

Total Score:
6/10


Matthew Stogdon