I took in a viewing of Observe and Report tonight. The new movie by up and coming director/writer Jody Hill. Who previous to this made The Foot Fist Way with Danny McBride, and has also directed some of the episodes of his show Eastbound & Down.
Now, although I am sick with a cold which may have slightly obscured my whole perception of Observe & Report...I can honestly say I'm really split on whether or not or I like it. Which although it is incredibly unique, and incredibly dark there is something that sort of leaves me unsettled about it all. Maybe that's the point, but I still can't say I truly enjoy his films. Seth Rogen is amazing though, as usual and his performance is a bit of a distance away from his usual stoner/slacker roles. This time he plays a bipolar mall cop. There is a mound of dark humour through out this whole film and some genuine laughs..no doubt about it. It is exactly what everyone is saying it is, a comedic version of Taxi Driver (didn't think that was possible, but Hill does succeed in getting this message across fairly well). I figure if you love Seth Rogen you'll see any film of his because you pretty much know what to expect.
I do get kind of irritated to see Anna Faris in another role where she plays a dumb blonde. Which is getting to be the grand stretch of her career, and is beginning to wear thin. It's sort of sad for me to see a girl who obviously has comedic talent waste it on these rather generic roles. Jessie (my boyfriend) states that at least Hill goes to the ultimate extreme of the dumb blonde (i.e particularly a scene where Rogen has sex with her while she has drunkenly passed out, vomit smeared across her pillow). Still...it's disappointing.
Another aspect of Hill's films that kind of irks me is the fact that you only ever get to experience a very bland understanding of where these characters are coming from. There are brief moments where you get to know these characters and their backgrounds, but not enough. To the point where the characters seem a bit too empty for me. They're big balls of energy, people who swear, steal, drink, do lot's of drugs and waste a lot of time. Despite knowing that Rogen's character has a drunk Mom and his father left him (and it was probably his fault), and he takes medication for his bipolar disorder there is nothing else. I couldn't get emotionally involved with any of the characters, which made it difficult for me to relate to some extent or really know how to feel about them. Maybe this sounds like bullshit. I get that they're all living shitty lives, working shitty jobs, and getting nowhere with their lives no matter how hard they try..but I've seen this many other times (i.e Mall Rats/Clerks, Office Space, Waiting) I get that mediocre lower class jobs suck..to the point where some people want to kill themselves or go crazy. This movie falls into that same category except perhaps going go the extreme.
A pretty good movie that doesn't go a long the same line as most those films is The Promotion with John C. Reiley and Sean William Scott. Yeah it's a lot more down played, but still has this dark edge to it. It also isn't what you'd typically expect from one of these kinds of movies. I can say although it was a straight to DVD movie it's pretty underrated and I'm sure I preferred it to Observe & Report.
To rant some more..
I'm also kind of sad to see that there really aren't many good comedic woman being featured in good comedies these days. It's very much a boys club. Apatow and the like are really tame when it comes to female roles. If there is one thing that kind of gets me about these movies is the fact that there really are no females that can stand up to the likes of the boys in most of these movies. The girls are so tame! So prim and proper. Flighty and bitchy. Including Katharine Heigl in Knocked Up.
Apatow's real life wife is often featured in most of his films, other wise he always aims to cast pretty and quaint little ladies which almost always float around in the background. Girls who spend most of their time chatting with their girlfriends/family, concentrating on their entertaining careers, worrying about their looks or looking after their kids. Except for maybe Rosie Perez in Pineapple Express. Which from what I can remember has been the only stand out role by any lady in comedic roles as of late. I don't mean to say I think there should be more "tomboy" roles for woman.I kind of hate the word "tomboy". I think it's good when woman can balance femininity on screen with a strong sense of empowerment. Girls who can still be attractive, but not encased in some sort of beauty mistique. Girls that are smart, powerful, but also down to earth. The kind of girl who has balls, knows what's what and can talk just as dirty as all of these fellas. I enjoyed Jaime Pressly in I Love You, Man. She has a bit of that spunk I'm looking for in a funny woman. But she also spends the whole movie kind of catering to her over baring misogynistic husband.
There is also that scene in Knocked Up with
Charlyne Yi (who may or may not be banging my boyfriend Michael Cera behind my back) She's amazing...hilarious...and so cute. But is also in the film for a total of 10 minutes?! Ugh! Oh wells. Check out a scene from her cute film
Paper Heart with Michael Cera.Which hopefully comes out soon?
I guess there just aren't too many independent ladies out there. It always seems like these girls just can't let go, smoke some weed and shoot the shit with the boys. They're always in the kitchen, dealing with their woman problems. Being over baring, giggling or shopping with their husbands money. It's really irritating because there are tons of ladies who don't fit into this box. The kind of girls (like me) who avoid marriage and babies at all cost, take empowerment in what they do with their lives, love video games, good music, humour, etc.
Anyway, I found a cool article in relation to this that is well worth the read:
Check it out!
"I explained that I am a fan of Apatow's work, but that I feel it is my responsibility as a feminist to point out sexism when I see it, no matter how subtle or how well-meaning the source."She makes some good points with regard to Apatow's films and feminism in general. I also can't focus primarily on Apatow as the guy giving shitty roles to woman..it seems to be a common case in most movies of the comedy variety. Including Observe & Report, The Promotion, and others. The only comedic director I have been impressed with is Kevin Smith. Who to me, does write good roles for women in his movies. Most of the woman in his movies aren't pussies and I can appreciate that.
Maybe there is hope for us?
