In the history of Hollywood, there’s always been a phenomenon in which two films, very similar in plot and tone, are released in close proximity to one another. We’ve seen such pairings as Deep Impact/Armageddon, Wyatt Earp/Tombstone, Dante’s Peak/Volcano, Independence Day/Mars Attacks, and of course most recently, White House Down/Olympus Has Fallen. Usually in these cases, one film steals all the fame, leaving the other in obscurity.

Back in 2009, this occurred with Paul Blart: Mall Cop, and the incredibly superior film, Observe and Report. While the former was nothing more than a PG, Die Hard ripoff, it was given a sequel and still enjoys relevance in pop culture. Meanwhile, the latter, most unjustly, has largely been overlooked. But it’s actually a brilliant film deserving of far more praise than it gets.

Subversive Comedy

Every year, there’s a plethora of generic comedies released to theaters, and for the most part they’re quickly forgotten. Observe and Report stood out because rather than embrace all the clichés of generic comedies, it subverted them and ultimately mocked them. Throughout the entire film Ron (Seth Rogen) is on a mission to catch the mall flasher, completely disregarding the law and police in his pursuit, and thus reality always seems to escape him.

Rather than force heavy-handed dramatic moments, the film doubles down on its ridiculousness and comedy over and over. It’s incredibly unrealistic at times, but that’s the whole point. It was never trying to be a serious film about a mall security guard with greater aspirations, rather it knew what it was and maintained a tonal consistency many mainstream comedies fail to achieve.

Capturing the Spirit of the 00’s

In many ways, Observe and Report was released at the absolute perfect time in recent history. Back in 2009, the nation was just a year into the Great Recession, and many millennials, particularly those in college or those who had recently graduated were facing a monumental jobs crisis not seen in decades. The problem was not that people were unemployed, but rather underemployed. And millions of young people were working menial jobs in retail/food service that they didn’t think they’d be working at long term.

The character of Ron is the perfect representation of this. While there’s no mention of him having a college education, he’s clearly overqualified for his job as a security officer in a mall. This is evidenced by the fact that he physically fights and defeats a group of drug dealers, as well as a cadre of police (only to be subdued by Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta)). He also fancies himself a sort of detective as he attempts to bring the mall flasher to justice and even expresses interest in joining the police force. He is the perfect representation of an entire generation of job seekers, who believed that life had more in store for them career-wise.

Exercise in Delusion

Of course there’s another theory which would give the film an extra sense of brilliance and ingenuity. Given Ron’s detachment from reality, as well as his well-documented mental health issues, perhaps there’s another explanation for the film’s overabundance of unrealistic events. After all, we see him confront a gang of armed drug dealers and somehow walk away unharmed, we see him physically assault police officers and not be prosecuted, and we even see him shoot the mall flasher and then drag him bleeding to the police station without him dying or bleeding out on the way.

What if all along Ron is just an ordinary “mall cop” playing out fantasies in his head? What if in “real life” there was a mall flasher, and a blonde girl named Brandi (Anna Faris) that Ron had a crush on, but he made up everything else to make his mundane life more interesting? Either way, Observe and Report is much more nuanced and entertaining than most of its fellow comedies, and it deserves more than to be overlooked at best, or forgotten at worst.

David Pierdomenico is a former History/English Teacher, and a current HR Professional. His dorky passion is an absolute love of film, especially horror and comic book. He is also the author of horror novels Kushtaka and Veritas.

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