At the Forest Ridge Mall, head of security Ronnie Barnhardt patrols his jurisdiction with an iron fist, combating skateboarders, shoplifters and the occasional unruly customer while dreaming of the day when he can swap his flashlight for a badge and a gun. His delusions of grandeur are put to the test when the mall is struck by a flasher. Driven to protect and serve the mall and its patrons, Ronnie seizes the opportunity to showcase his underappreciated law enforcement talents on a grand scale, hoping his solution of this crime will earn a coveted spot at the police academy and the heart of his elusive dream girl Brandi, the hot make-up counter clerk who won't give him the time of day. But his single-minded pursuit of glory launches a turf war with the equally competitive Detective Harrison of the Conway Police, and Ronnie is confronted with the challenge of not only catching the flasher, but getting him before the real cops do.

I get the fact that the movie is being stupid for stupid’s sake but that doesn’t mean the movie is necessarily funny nor any good for that matter. Just because you set out to be stupid and moronic and you managed to pull these feats off masterfully doesn’t mean you made a good movie or a funny movie it just means you made a very stupid movie. A movie so moronic it is almost insulting at times like the screenwriters are laughing at you and thinking you are brain dead masses that will laugh at anything as long as they dumb it down enough. I understand tongue in cheek humor and that might have been what they were setting out to do but in the end they dumbed the movie down so much that tongue in cheek humor just really doesn’t describe the movie anymore.

Granted there were several times that I did laugh as the movie did have its funny moments and at times did seem to be a very tongue in cheek movie. But more often than not I grimaced at really bad and moronic jokes or found myself sitting there wondering how anyone anywhere could think half of the gags were even possible. Killing six crack dealers and just bringing in their young son who also was a crack dealer doesn’t even raise an eyebrow for the police. Wait shouldn’t we check out the claim that this guy just killed six crack dealers or the fact that he hasn’t even told us why he brought this kid in, nah screw it that would take up plot time that we could use for stupid and awkward jokes. That’s how a lot of the movie plays out as they let Ronnie Barnhardt run wild and rarely check him in as if they are waiting to see what he will do next. That is until they decide to all show up and put a beat down on him that results in at least 50 offenses of assaulting a police offices that garners Ronnie a single night in jail. Ridiculous you say well I think that was the point.

I haven’t see Paul Blart Mall Cop yet and I really don’t have the desire to see it either. I am not sure what this sudden fascination of mall cops is of late but I am praying it doesn’t become a trend in Hollywood. If Observe and Report had come out later this year or maybe early next year I might have thought they were trying to make fun of Paul Blart but since the movies were released within two months of each other it is obvious Observe and Report is not a satire on Paul Blart. That means somewhere in Hollywood two different screenwriters thought mall cops were comedy gold which leaves me perplexed. Observe and Report could have been genuinely funny had they just reigned it in a little bit rather than always trying to be so over the top and moromic.

I have to admit I am growing a little tired of Seth Rogen as he seems to be playing the same character over and over and over again, the loveable but slightly askew funny man. It’s time to see if Rogen actually has anything else in him maybe try his hand at a drama or an action thriller type of film. I am also not a very big fan or Ray Liotta as he is very dry and also always seem to be playing the same characters. The same could be said for Anna Faris as surprise surprise she plays a ditzy blonde once more. The movie has its moments but they are too few and too far in between.

Grade: C-