OBERVE AND REPORT: SHORT BITE

OBSERVE AND REPORT: HERE GOES MY CREDIBILITY

NOT for the faint of heart. I couldn’t find the count for how many times the F bomb was dropped (or mouthed) but it was up there. Yes, I watched it in its entirety and I laughed, not at everything, but at the dumb, politically incorrect places. The movie is about a ‘mall cop’ Ronnie Barnhardt (funny man Seth Rogen) who has aspirations of becoming a police officer, most likely to be able to abuse his power. He loves his iron and hits the target, repeatedly. He believes in and uses excessive force whenever possible. With all this in mind, this movie is dumb, offensive in oh so many ways and dumb and offensive. His character is Bipolar, which I thought was a neat twist, but it wasn’t an accurate portrayal at all. His fixation and date rape of his love interest was also offensive. Ronnie lives with his mother and she is an alcoholic, also not a funny topic. Thing is, this film is so dumb and offensive, you have to take it as just that. If I wanted to know more about Bipolar disorder I wouldn’t seek this film out as a reference. If you can take it as it is, a stupid and stupid movie about a mall cop, there are some funny parts. I haven’t seen male full-frontal like that before, but it didn’t offend or make me laugh. It just was. So, take it as it is and if you are easily offended, don’t watch it. Easy.


½ Bite: For a stupid and offensive movie, I found some laughs. Not for everyone.

OUR VERY OWN

OUR VERY OWN HOMEGROWN AND WELL DONE

In the 70's, a small-town group of friends anxiously await the return of Sondra Locke to her hometown, Shelbyville, Tennessee. They hang out together, drive to Nashville together, in fact, they seem to do everything together, except for Clancy Whitfield (an enduring Jason Ritter). He keeps secrets from his friends; well, as best he can. When his dad (Keith Carradine) is the town drunk people talk and everyone listens. His mother Joan (Allison Janney) does her best to keep a "happy face" and enable (a word not used so freely then) her husband while fighting off the re-possessors, banks, and other creditors. This isn't an action film; no explosions, no murders or escapes. This is a people film where the moves are made on the inside. Wonderfully enough, acting like Ritter and Janney let us in on those subtle differences. Janney owns every scene and Ritter isn't far behind. Clancy's friends are a bit stereotypical, but there's reason for that; stereotypes aren't imagined, they are based on something, but it doesn't detract from the movie in any way. This was a sweet movie, full of nostalgia and small town dreams.

Rating: Worth watching on a quiet night at home.