Ooo, the Big Speech: Observe and Report

We are living in the age of Seth Rogan films, where the dorky guy undergoes a rite of passage, prevailing in the end and coming out on top.

Last night I saw Observe and Report, which I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting to be that great. I’m thinking (maybe in jealousy) that this movie is going to be a slapstick comedy where the guy gets the unattainable girl in the end, because he all of a sudden becomes handsome or cool in her eyes in the end—like that ever happens—and in the end everybody’s happy. Pessimistic you say? The proof is in the pudding, think of Rogen’s other films (Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin, Zack and Miri Make a Porno) and you’ll see that he usually follows the same suit. This one however, kind of threw me for a loop. Though he still plays the slightly unaware character he always plays, his character doesn’t change in the end, just becomes more confident in who he already is. Has the audience of this generation become enamored with Ronald Millers again?

I remember a time where it seemed there was a shortage of films where the underdog comes out on top. I’m thinking of movies like 10 Things I Hate About You, Cruel Intentions, even I Know What You Did Last Summer, where all the stars play popular and beautiful character, obsessing about problems the rest of us can’t identify with. But the underdog films have made their comeback again for sure. Corky, imperfect actors now dominate the silver screen, in very common, relative coming of age movies. All of a sudden Michael Cera is everywhere, and where was Paul Rudd for all those years after Clueless, and now I see him everywhere. I’m enticed by this new era of Rat/Brat Pack players who seem to be ever so present in all of the popular films these days. With films like I Love You, Man, Observe and Report, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, I Hate You, Sarah Marshall, I’m seeing the same actors switched in and out. Though deeply typecast for their roles, I’m still impressed by the range of their humor, and feel included in the camaraderie these actors have built. Really, that is the tipping point when you think about it: we like these actors and this genre of film so much because there is a little bit of underdog in all of us, the normal people with normal points of views and dilemmas. Whoever said it was bad to be typecast anyway?

We are who we are, and we very rarely change, or feel we should have to, so doesn’t it make sense that we feel comfortable with movies that reveal a little bit of ourselves in it. We are narcissistic animals and will continue to want to see our reflections in everything, especially glorified films, so I don’t see Rogen films getting tiresome for a long time. Observe and Report proved to me that his characters will continue to be developed, light hearted, and not always as predictable as I expected. And that is one change I am comfortable with.