TRAILER REVIEW: 'Observe and Report'

UPDATE: Warner Brothers yanked the trailer off YouTube. Another version is here at Trailer Addict, however. Good times.

A little bit’s been said about “Observe and Report” for two reasons: 1) It’s Seth Rogen’s next comedy, and his movies are now essentially events among the Apatow-converted. And 2) It’s a comedy about a mall cop.

“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” and “Observe and Report” couldn’t be more different, however. This Red Band trailer, which leaked on YouTube, is probably the darkest, most twisted thing Rogen has been in to date. It’s written and directed by Jody Hill, a little-known North Carolina director who made “The Foot Fist Way,” one of the more promising comedies of the last five years. And one that introduced the brilliance of Danny McBride to the world. McBride is also the link between the recent, unlikely merging of two of the most talented filmmaking teams in the country: the Apatow family and the acolytes of David Gordon Green.

Not that this is of any interest to anyone, but McBride got in with Apatow after Apatow saw “The Foot Fist Way,” which was made for less than $100,000 charged to a few people’s credit cards. When Apatow was looking for a director for “Pineapple Express,” McBride recommended Green, whose art-house movies tend to be oddly funny. Green got the job.

Now, McBride has gotten Jody Hill his first big-time gig behind the camera. “Observe and Report” has the same sort of demented, low-budget comedy that made “The Foot Fist Way” an underground hit. Pay particular attention to two Chinese security guards doing target practice at a shooting range with automatic rifles then Rogen telling them, “If one of you dies, God gave you another one.”

Also, Anna Faris, who deserves to eventually star in a classic movie befitting of her talents, is in this, and she’s great.

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