SYNOPSIS:
Bargain hunters at Forest Ridge Mall get more than they bargained for: a chubby flasher in a ratty bathrobe. They’re repulsed. Security guard Ronnie Barnhardt isn’t: “This disgusting pervert is the best thing that ever happened to me!” Catching the flasher may be his ticket to a real police job and to romance with a hot cosmetics-counter princess. Only one thing stands between Ronnie and destiny: a tall, handsome cop who actually knows what he’s doing. Seth Rogen ("Knocked Up"), Anna Faris (the "Scary Movie" series) and Ray Liotta ("GoodFellas") star in this mall-to-wall comedy covering acres of wild, sometimes raunchy, up-in-your-grill funny--all under one roof.
MOVIE REVIEW:
You know which direction a movie is going when a minute is spent on two characters shouting the “f” word to each other. Repeatedly. Without any constructive development. Funny? You have to judge for yourself, knowing your own preference for movie genres. But we know that Jody Hill is one filmmaker who seeks fun and enjoyment in playing out mean jokes and coarse language. Otherwise, he would not have written and directed this farce comedy starring Seth Rogen (Funny People, Monsters vs. Aliens) as a, err, shopping mall security cop.
Incidentally, Rogen’s character is also chief security guard at the mall, where he is in love with a cosmetic counter girl played by Anna Faris (The House Bunny, Scary Movie 4), who puts her blonde personality to good use. The other girl in question is a bland girl in the food court who gives him free coffee everyday, played by Collette Wolfe (Four Christmases, Semi Pro). This is about his love life. On the professional front, he wants to be a police officer, and goes all out to arrest the criminals who raid the mall, which includes a flasher who steals the limelight early in the 86 minute movie.
With Rogen on board, you can expect slapstick humour which may not go down well with everyone. Body jokes, racist gags and toilet humour are the mainstay of this comedy. If these aren’t your thing, we’d advise that you stay off this DVD. To be fair, the story is a rather innovative one. Who would have thought of having a mall cop as its central character to bring out what it takes to redeem oneself in love and career? Sure, these are probably unrealistic setups, but we are sure there would be viewers out there who can guiltily connect with this outcast (admit it Rogen, you are not exactly dashing male lead material), and strive to attain bigger goals in life. Yeah, that is if you believe that movies have such inspirational powers.
Moving on, the cast does seem like they had a good time indulging in this nonsensical mess. There is a pair of twins (John and Matt Yuan) who look ridiculously stupid as cops, Ray Liotta (Wild Hogs, Smokin’ Aces) who tries his best to look handsome (not a difficult job next to Rogen), Michael Pena (Lions for Lambs, World Trade Center) who plays a friend with a dark secret – and all of them look like they enjoyed being part of this production, shouting “f” words and doing dim witted things.
One more word of caution: If seeing a mosaic-ed male private part isn’t your thing, you’d better run far far away from this movie, because Rogen pastes a picture of it on his forehead at one point, and the flasher lets it hang out in one scene. We shall not elaborate further. We think you get our point.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
There is a 12 minute Gag Reel which will prove to you how much fun the cast had shooting this movie. Yes, you can see Rogen and his Middle Eastern co-star hurling vulgarities at each other for a full minute.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
There is nothing to complain about the movie’s visual transfer. It is presented in its original English audio track.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
Posted on 31 January 2010
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