Observe and Report – Attitude is Everything
03 Thursday Dec 2009
Written by Josh Lipovetsky in Film Analysis
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Observe and Report is a very open-ended film. The main character, Ronnie (Seth Rogen), is suffering from bi-polar disorder. In this analysis, I will not psychoanalyze Ronnie. Nor will I state if the ending was in his imagination. I am writing under the presumption that the ending was real, and Ronnie became the hero. After all, it does make the film very motivational.
After watching Observe and Report, I felt pretty good about the movie. Most have said that it was too dark and depressing, but I believe that I viewed this film under a more uplifting light. This is most likely due to my naturally positive nature, and my tendency to find the good in every situation. The fact is, Ronnie may have been a little off-putting, too aggressive, and an uncomfortable character. But he knew what he wanted out of life. He wanted to be a police officer, and he wanted to help the people in his community by fighting crime. His character goes to show that you can have a low status, and still be excellent at what you do. It all depends on your mindset, and your attitude.
Ronnie was committed to stopping the pervert that was terrorizing his mall. He treated himself like Achilles, and his fellow mall cops as his warriors. He did not care about making other people happy. He just wanted to achieve his dream.
After applying to become an official police officer, he is rejected soon after. He goes on an emotional riot, and ends up at rock-bottom: Prison. When he gets out, he is very depressed. It isn’t until his encounter with the ‘mall flasher’, that he regains his strength to live.
He is willing to stand up for what he believes is right. When Nell’s manager was making fun of her for being unable to walk, Ronnie slammed his head on a metal plate. Ronnie took things personally, which was another one of his weaknesses. However, in his situation with Nell, it served him well.
Understand that Ronnie is not a very healthy individual. He does take things too seriously, but as a whole, he serves as a prime example for the ‘attitude is everything’ paradigm. He was so committed to what he did. Nothing could stand in his way of stopping the bad guys, and becoming a police officer.
When the police does not accept him, he is broken. But then he realizes an extremely important life lesson: Status doesn’t mean much. You can be a certified police officer, but still be a corrupt law breaker. Just because one is certified in their craft, does not make them better than those who are uncertified. And just because someone is on the bottom-level of their industry, does not mean that they can’t make a difference. Observe and Report is an inspirational film, that shows how anyone can make a difference in this world. No matter what position they hold.
“I don’t need your gun, or your badge, to tell me who the **** I am.”
In the end, Ronnie ‘became’ a police officer, and achieved his ultimate goal. He may not have gotten to join the police force, but he did what the other police officers couldn’t. He brought down the bad guy, because of his ‘can-do’ attitude. Let Ronnie serve as a role model for a persistent, and confident attitude. He has many undesirable traits; but where it matters most, he is most effective. Getting the job done, and always feeling important.
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5 comments
December 9, 2009 at 2:36 pm
I liked Rogen in Superbad and Knocked Up, but since then I’ve had an unsubstantiated aversion to his films. Like, my brain won’t give them a chance.
Maybe it’s because I’ve tired of Judd Apatow’s overpraised work, and Rogen is connected to him in my subconscious. The fact that Rogen just made a movie with Apatow and Adam Sandler (Funny People) doesn’t help me warm up to him.
December 10, 2009 at 12:44 am
Judd Apatow is overrated in the industry, but I still like his films. I love to formulate my own opinions about movies.
Observe and Report was pretty funny for me, albeit in a very different way. I have a tendency to enjoy most of the movies I watch. This is primarily due to the way I have always viewed movies from when I was very young. I always liked to see the good guys win in the end. Lots of movies interested me, and to this day, I like most of the movies that I see.
And that is exactly why I can’t be a film critic. I would be horrible beyond words. But I am able to blog about movies, and I don’t even have to review them! I just have to analyze them. For me, it was a great decision.
Again, thanks for your comment FilmFather, I really appreciate the kind words! Have you seen Funny People? I actually look forward to seeing it soon!
December 12, 2009 at 3:33 am
I’m impressed that your positive attitude was able to whitewash his date raping, darkly psychopathic behaviour. Don’t get me wrong: I was a big fan of Ronnie’s too, but it’s clear that without drama unfolding solely inside our hero’s head, this would be a story worthy only of a movie of the week.
Your review could totally psych out my wife into actually watching this, I’d be curious to read your bright side review of The Shining or Apocalypse Now.
December 12, 2009 at 4:36 am
Uh, that might have come off more “shithead” than I intended. I meant to say that it was great how you disarmed the dark underbelly of this flick.
December 12, 2009 at 8:27 am
Haha, no ‘shithead’ in your post, Steve. The ‘date-rape’ scene is very debatable, though. If you look at IMDB forums, there is a ton of argument about the scene.
Like my review said, if the end of the movie was imagined, then there is no bright side. However, if it was real, then the movie was pretty positive. I must say again, I did like Ronnie’s character. My favorite scene is when he slammed Nell’s boss on the metal ‘stove’. It felt good to see Ronnie stand up for what’s right!
Thanks Steve!
Josh Lipovetsky.
PS:
I saw “The Shining”. I am not sure if there is a positive way to look at it. The external message is: Don’t be isolated from society. We need human contact to survive, and to preserve our sanity. It’s an extremely terrifying film, which shows how a seemingly great person: Jack Torrance, can be dismantled by lack of human contact. Definitely one of the scariest of all time.
I have never seen “Apocalypse Now”, but it looks very interesting. Thanks for mentioning it!