Observe and Report

Stars: Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Ray Liotta, Michael Pena, Dan Bakkedahl, Collette Wolfe, Celia Weston

Director: Jody Hill

Too dark for its own good, this is the creepier side of the more enjoyable Paul Blart Mall Cop. Here, it's a crop-haired Rogen as Ronnie Burkhardt, a really thick mall cop - he insists on 'head of mall security' - who thinks he knows it all and, like Paul Blart, longs to be a real policeman.

Ronnie is a deeply dislikeable, possibly psychotic character who lives with his alcoholic mother (Weston). He fancies the Cosmetics babe (Faris), a vulgar trollop anxious to bed anyone but Ronnie, dreams of catching the mall flasher and, just like Paul Blart, falls victim to the right-hand man (Pena) who robs the mall blind.

This ramshackle black comedy is nowhere near as well put together as its predecessor, and only half as believable. Burkhardt is clearly deranged and dangerous, yet still wins his job back and the right girl (Wolfe) at the end. And the film's nasty streak makes early laughs dry up pretty quickly.

David Quinlan

USA 2008. UK Distributor: Warner Brothers . Technicolor.
86 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 2, Swearing 3.

Review date: 18 Apr 2009