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It was obvious that in trailers for “Observe and Report” that it wasn’t going to be the typical Seth Rogen movie. He wasn’t going to be playing a loveable goofball, but a more dark and disturbing character.The question was, “Could he pull it off?”

The answer is “yes.” Rogen plays Ronnie Barnhardt, head of security at a New Mexico mall. Ronnie is devoted to keeping law and order at the mall. A flasher is scaring women in the parking lot and eventually gets to cosmetics saleswoman, Brandi (Anna Faris),
who’s the love of Ronnie’s life. When Ronnie feels that Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) has failed to bring in the flasher, he decides to fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer. Ronnie’s sure that he’s police material but a secret that he’s been hiding will alter his plans and spin him out of control.

Rogen is excellent as Ronnie. He’s proves that he can handle heavier material and convincingly play a more complex character.

Farris also successfully branches out by playing a woman who’s just plain awful. Liotta is very good as the Detective and delivers the film’s funniest lines. There’s also good supporting work from Celia Watson as Ronnie’s alcoholic mother, Michael Pena as Ronnie’s sidekick, Dennis and Collette Wolfe as Nell, who develops a crush on Ronnie.

The problem with “Observe and Report” is that it goes from a decent black comedy to downright unpleasant to watch. Jody Hill, the film’s writer, only skims what causes Ronnie’s delusions and his devotion to his job. It’s also hard to believe that nobody ever files a lawsuit, arrests or terminates Ronnie sooner. Donald De Line, the director, loses his grip towards the end of the picture with an “Taxi Driver” style sequence that is completely unnecessary.

Warner Brothers, “Observer’s” distributor, should be given credit for not misleading audiences about the film. Rogen and the rest of the cast are the film’s strongest assets. It’s Hill and De Line that seemed to have lost focus on what they were doing. The best way to describe my reaction to “Observe” comes from actor Ben Best who plays Detective Nicholas in the film, “ So, I thought this was going to be funny, but it’s actually kind of sad.”

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