Observe and Report
Dir: Jody Hill
2009
*
The Foot Fist way wasn't particularly funny but I thought director/writer Jody Hill was onto a good idea but after watching the dreadful Observe and Report, I can clearly see now that he is a great pretender, although really not that great. Observe and Report is one of the most misjudged films I have ever seen. It is a dark/black comedy for people who don't understand what a dark/black comedy is and have no concept of what satire is. It fails to parody Taxi Driver, which was obviously part of its intention, mainly due to the fact that it's not funny (first rule of parody) and secondly because it completely misses the point of what Taxi Driver is about. Just by claiming the main character is bi-polar does not excuse said character's bad behaviour, in fact it's woefully offensive and I'll bet money that Jody Hill knows very little about the condition. The script is a mess and the story is insulting. This is not the clever black comedy 'with an independent movie feel' that I suspect was the intention, instead, it is one of the most offensive and awful films I have ever seen. Call me a party-pooper but I just don't find rape and racism particularly funny and the 'holding up a mirror to society' argument doesn't wash with me either. You've done something wrong when Paul Blart: Mall Cop is a better film than yours.

The Foot Fist Way
Dir: Jody Hill
2006
**
I'd heard nothing but good things about this film but after watching it I'm not sure why. It reminded me of the original Office but done badly and in a martial art school. That's basically what it is, I'm not a huge fan of the original Office (although I quite like the American version) and this wasn't even as good as that. I can't believe Danny McBride is almost the same age as me either but that's beside the point. He has been much funnier than this, although well done to him for playing it straight for the entire duration and well done to the film makers for making it for under $20,000. It's just a shame it wasn't very funny.