Observe and Report

The gist of the story goes like this: A flasher starts, well, flashing innocent shoppers at a small-town mall. Nothing seems to happen about the phenomenon until a ditzy makeup-counter girl (Anna Faris) gets an eyeful in the parking lot one day. Mall cop Ronnie (Seth Rogan), who obviously has a thing for Ms. Ditz, is on the case. Much to his chagrin, so is the local PD and Det. Harrison (Ray Liotta). In the middle of the real action, a whole lot of other stuff happens, making you wonder what the story is really about. For example, there’s a lengthy montage of Ronnie trying to be a “real cop”—going through psychological counseling, taking exams, etc. There are a lot of snippets that, when put together, make a pretty lousy, downright dirty film. From drugs and racism to an extended scene of the flasher’s privates, there’s little here to laugh at. There are some laughs, sure, and Rogen, considering what he’s been given to work with, is decent. But the movie—from The Foot Fist Way’s Jody Hill—is little more than background music. Tinseltown. Rated R