Newest Rogen film Observes comedy through a darker lens

Students may have noticed posters around the city that depict a chubby face in a security guard uniform. Thankfully, they are not forgotten advertisements for the January film Paul Blart: Mall Cop but for the new film Observe and Report, starring Seth Rogen and Anna Faris, which will be released nationwide this Friday. In a conference call with Spectator earlier this week, Rogen, Faris, and director Jody Hill discussed the new release.

This very dark comedy tells the story of Ronnie Barnhardt (Rogen)—a bipolar, highly medicated mall security-guard who seizes the opportunity to kick ass and assert control when an exhibitionist pervert terrorizes the mall by flashing patrons.

Some people might be tired of Rogen’s lovable, harmless characters—the ones that were featured in Pineapple Express and Knocked Up. Yet this film should not be mistaken for another cute Rogen movie. It explores far darker territory, and his character in this film is by no means harmless. Bernhardt has violent fantasies, beats up on teenagers, and loves to use his Taser gun.

Rogen explained that he signed on to the project before even seeing a script because he was so impressed with Hill’s earlier work. “Foot Fist Way isn’t even the type of movie I usually like, but this one just blew me away. It had a strong comedic voice and made me laugh my ass off,” Rogen said, referring to Hill’s debut film, which gained the director the notice of comedic giants Judd Apatow and Will Ferrell.

In the past few months, Hill has seen himself launched from obscurity into fame both with the opening of this film and the new HBO series Eastbound and Down, which he writes and directs.
Rogen enjoyed the set because of the individuals who Hill has repeatedly worked with. “It felt like a little independent film shot by a bunch of friends. Most of the guys went to film school together, and I’ve known these guys for a while, so it just felt like a group of friends making movies,” Rogen said.

While the mood on the set may have always been fun, the film explores some heavy ideas. According to Hill, Observe and Report was modeled on movies about isolation and despair like Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. “I wanted to write something that kind of drove a character to insanity,” Hill said. “I hate malls so I thought that would be a good place to do it.”

Hill, who claims to have financed The Foot Fist Way on a credit card, said that the fact this was a major studio film did not change his attitude greatly.

“In terms of screens and exposure for the film, it’ll be bigger than anything I’ve ever done before,” he said. “But I try to just do my own thing when making the stories and hopefully will continue that whether I make big studio films or independent ones.”