Observe And Report is easily one of the darkest, strangest, and ballsy-est comedies to ever come out of a Hollywood studio. It’s a film unlike anything else playing in theaters right now and the filmmakers deserve applause for their bravery. The only problem is that the movie is so dark and out there that I’m not even sure if I can give it a blanket recommendation. I truly believe that it’s one of the most original and bleak comedies to ever come out of Hollywood, but I also imagine that more people will despise the movie than will like it. There’s no flinching in Observe And Report. From the beginning the movie sets out to mine some of the darkest recesses of the human psyche for laughs and writer/director Jody Hill doesn’t hold back for a second. The easily offended need not apply. It would be better for everybody if they never know what happens in this movie.

Seth Rogen stars as Ronnie Barnhardt, a mall security guard. Before you get upset, don’t worry this movie is about as far from Paul Blart 2: Mall Cop Boogaloo as you can possibly get (in fact, everyone who liked that Kevin James drivel should be forced to watch Observe And Report just to have their minds warped.). Ronnie is delusional and views his rent-a-cop position as a means of keeping the streets safe and a jumping off point for a long and fruitful career as a badass vigilante cop like Dirty Harry. The problem is that no one else sees him that way. Given his minimal power and low position in life, this doesn’t really affect anybody until an overweight flasher and a late night thief start terrorizing the mall.

These fairly low key crimes are all Ronnie needs to unleash his delusions of grandeur. Soon he’s arguing over the case with an angry detective played by Ray Liotta and taking the law into his own hands. While Ronnie’s hero fantasies are being turned into a twisted reality, he also tries to woo the dirty alcoholic girl working the perfume counter. In his head, all of Ronnie’s fantasies are coming true, but unfortunately Ronnie’s head is not in sync with reality and it all comes crashing down.

Early reviews of Observe And Report described it as a comedic Taxi Driver. That description initially sounded like a contradiction in terms, but having finally seen the movie, I can think of no better way to describe it. Like Taxi Driver, this is a film about the downfall of a man teetering on the edge of sanity and a deconstruction of the vigilante hero who populates so many American movies. Granted writer/director Jody Hill might not examine the themes as thoroughly as Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader were able to do, but they weren’t making a comedy. The fact that so much is going on thematically while the movie is generating big laughs out of every scene is a pretty big accomplishment. Hollywood comedies tend to be vapid braindead yuckfests, but this film has a brain and a big ol’ pair of balls.