Observe and Report: Enough with the security mall cop films already!

It's hard to figure out just why two films featuring mall security cops as their lead characters (this film and Paul Blart: Mall Cop) were released in the past year. Of the two, Observe and Report would have been the obvious choice as more likely to tickle one's funny bone due to its popular leading man Seth Rogen. Unfortunately, it's the Kevin James lead Paul Blart that wins the crown as "the least terrible" of the two.

Audiences have grown accustomed to seeing Seth Rogen in the funny, nice guy role due to his work in previous movies like Knocked Up, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, etc. But his role as Ronnie Barnhardt in Observe and Report cast him in a different light. Ronnie was bigoted, overbearing and hard, if not impossible, to like. There was no backstory to explain his rash behavior (he takes meds but his condition was never discussed), no room for his character to grow, he was just a disturbed weirdo with a penchant for weapons and spouting curse words. At least Paul Blart had some semblance of a recognizable story/plot, Observe and Report lacked a cohesive story structure and the editing was amateurish to boot. To top it all off, there was nothing funny in the film (save for Ronnie tasing a guy and beating up on some skateboarders). The jokes that were there fell flat, and Rogen was never given the chance to show any smarts, wit or even the slightest bit of the charm which he uesd to make the characters he played in those other films so memorable.

One kept waiting for something funny or even interesting to happen, but the joke was on them beacuse Observe and Report simply stunk.

Grade: D

Zack and Miri Make a Porno: That's right, a movie about a porno

If there is one director whose films I will rush out to see no questions asked, it would have to be Kevin Smith. Somehow his profanity-laced, pop culture referencing comedies connect with me and not only make me roll on the floor laughing my butt off, but also make me take stock of human relationships and all of those things (good and bad) that affect them. And while his latest film, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, delivers on the laughs, the deeper emotional touchtones are missing.

Zack and Miri are best friends who are struggling to get by. But after a fortuitous meeting at their 10 year high school reunion they come up with a plan to solve their financial issues, they'll make a porno. However they both discover that once the camera starts rolling, things become a little more complicated than they expected.

Some people become nervous when they hear the word "porno" in a film title and while there is a fair amount of nudity and sexual situations in "Zack and Miri" that should not prevent one from checking it out. In fact, Smith used the "staged" sex scenes between Lester (the always hilarious Jason Mewes) and Stacey as a counterpoint to the tender, more personal sex scene between Zack and Miri. It's obvious that Lester and Stacey were simply playing parts in a film so their sex scenes become almost comical whereas Zack and Miri, while trying to convince themselves that it was all for the movie, had deeper emotions attached to the act. Speaking of those two, Seth Rogen (Zack) and Elizabeth Banks (Miri) shared a great chemistry on screen. Their dynamic relationship propelled the story and their discussions (on subjects ranging from the proper title for their porno to the differences between male and female sex toys) were hilarious. More hilarious than those two however was Justin Long as Brandon St. Randy, the catalyst that inspired Zack to his pornographic business plan. All the character benefitted from the script which contained the type of dialogue Kevin Smith is known for.

Where the movie failed was in getting the audience completely invested in Zack and Miri's romance. Their actions and reactions after the on-screen tryst, as well as their prior personal history needed to be expanded upon. Yes, they have been best friends since elementary school, so how about some flashbacks to key moments in that friendship where romance which could have blossomed was cut short. Not only was their relationship mishandled but the ending felt rushed and almost too easy. It seemed as though Smith (or, more likely, the studio) just gave up after an hour and a half and plopped down the ending they thought everyone in the audience would like to see.

Still, Zack and Miri Make a Porno provided the kinds of laughs few comedies deliver anymore.

Grade: B