Hollywood likes to work in pairs. Baz Luhrman had to cancel his Alexander the Great movie because Oliver Stone beat him to production. A couple of years ago there were two Truman Capote biopics. I’m sure if your search your subconscious, you’ll remember skads more.
We thought it would be fun to roll the clock back to Q1 of 2009 and watch such a pair. Two movies focusing on mall security guards (or officers?). Paul Blart: Mall Cop and the Seth Rogen starring Observe and Report.
On the surface, these two movies appear to be completely different… and they are. One starring a network prime-time sitcom star, the other an Apatow first-teamer. The first would seem to be cotton candy, and the second… special brownies. We, of course, start with the brownies.
Observe and Report is listed as a comedy. It is funny, but not funny ‘ha, ha’. It really isn’t funny ‘huh?’ either. The more I think about it, the less sure I am that it’s funny at all. in fact, I’m starting to wonder if that’s the point. Let me think about ‘the point’ more and get back to you…
On to Paul Blart, a kinder gentler film. Paul is a socially awkward man with an intellect much younger than his years. He takes his responsibilities seriously, and even his co-workers give him flak for that. He is still aspiring to be a real gun-toting man of the badge, but can’t quite hack the physical requirements. Based on the movie’s format and ironic soundtrack, viewers can be certain that he will overcome and emerge heroic. I won’t say that doesn’t happen, but I’m not one for spoilers. What does happen are instances of awkward delusions, social interactions that can only be explained with the help of an abnormal psych book and slapstick/fat jokes. Run through the standard filters, it teeters between hokey and jokey. Thumbs up or thumbs down depends on your mood, and possibly your bud. With a refresher halfway, through, it was more than bearable, but not something I’ll be repeating.
What was more interesting about these two films was not their differences, but their similarities. He is single, living with mom, no dad, trying (and failing) to get a real law enforcement job, infatuated with a girl in the mall, overly serious about his job and unlucky in love. The similarities go way beyond that. From the opening credits all the way to the slogan painted on Paul Blart’s mall security bunker wall, part of Paul’s mission is to… wait for it…. ‘Observe and Report’. It really seems like both teams used the same research. And that is where things get Haute.
Paul Blart is a nice guy. Much nicer than Seth Rogen’s Ronnie Barnhardt. But they have so many similarities, how are these films so different? One so light and one so dark. As I noodled on my cotton candy, the movies flipped. I started to feel that maybe Blart was more cruel than O&R. In O&R, the personal and psychological struggles are laid out in a ludicrous, but almost relatable way. I don’t see myself in Barnhardt, not in a long shot. I do, however, see someone. Blart is laid out as the tinseltown polished clown version. Set side by side, you feel that everyone is laughing at the disenfranchised and marginalized, only no one is laughing in O&R. “Oh my GOD. Look at the stupid Mall Cop. He is SO funny.” O&R certainly leads you down tried and true ‘Ha ha… he’s so pathetic’ paths, but just before the punch line, they drop the pedal to the floor and go well past the border. In at least one case (and maybe more than once) this reveals the director’s poor judgement. Other times, the shock can cut right to the core. The more I think of it, maybe the fact that Observe and Report is marketed as a comedy, but is not funny, hints at a heart. I find that hint intriguing. I am still mulling my true feelings, but I enjoy that part of the journey. Many out there have better uses for there free time than rehashing movies in their mind. Hopefully, you know what camp you are in. If you have the hankering for a disturbingly unfunny, but tightly wound movie, roll the fattest one you got and Observe and Report. If you would rather laugh at the misfortunes of a quasi-charming, but sad mall cop, I won’t steer you away from Paul Blart, but you might as well wait until they air it on TBS this Christmas.
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