“Observe and Report” is splitting critics down the middle … no surprise there.
Seth Rogen plays a psychotic mall guard who takes advantage of a minor crisis to boost his ego and woo the girl of his moist dreams.
Rogen also goes too far with said girl, played by Anna Faris.
The film’s most outrageous moment has the pair in coitus, with Faris’ character seemingly unconscious. She wakes up briefly to let loose with a pretty gutsy punch line.
Not everyone is laughing.
Nikki Finke, the doyenne of Deadline Hollywood Daily, declared the scene as “utter crap.”
“Everyone connected with this pic should be ashamed,” she cried.
Actually, Faris’ laugh line tends to negate the brutality of the scene, at least partially. But far more important is the fact that films today showcase much rougher sequences, especially those featuring an anti-hero like Rogen’s character.
I’m sure Bad Santa’s behavior in that Billy Bob Thornton romp isn’t to be idealized by elfs or humans alike, but I don’t remember a hue and cry about it.
I don’t condone what Rogen’s character is up to in “Observe and Report,” but audiences – and bloggers – shouldn’t be so quick to label a scene off limits.
(Photo: Seth Rogen plays an unsavory mall cop in “Observer and Report.”)
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I haven’t seen it (and don’t plan to), but that scenes sounds a lot like a date rape scene.
Am I wrong?
It comes dangerously close … but the character in question is a psychopath … so if you’re gonna point to one awful thing he does, how ’bout how he goes around shooting people? But that kind of thing doesn’t make people bat an eye …
And Faris’ comment does negate the date rape aspect …. somewhat. It’s tough material.
I guess Finke never saw “The Accused.”
Is it the scene itself doing the outraging or the politically correct sensibilities of the critics?
It doesn’t sound like a comedy.
It’s a comedy … sort of.
And yeah, JFNW, why single out this scene when movies show us so much worse behavior? And the scene in question can justifiably be argued isn’t date rape … you could also make a case that that’s precisely what it is. It’s an air ball … but characters are allowed to do both good … and bad … things on screen.
Where “Observe and Report” fails is that it tries to make the lead character oddly sympathetic, when he should be locked up.