The Watch:
Evan Trautwig is a semi-neurotic, control freak guy. He's really nice and has a sweet and caring wife. He starts a neighborhood watch program when a kind colleague of his (who was just recently made a US citizen) is brutally murdered. He (and the 3 other guys he recruits) begin to suspect an alien invasion of the neighborhood. This film is a mixed bag. There are certain bits that are very funny, others that fall flat. The critics at Spill.com described it perfectly: it feels like these 4 comedians got together, decided to make a film similar to Ghostbusters in the way it was famous comedians teaming up against monster, but then decided to give it an R-rating. In my opinion, it was decent. it's directed by Akiva Schaffer, a member of the SNL comedic music group "The Lonely Island", known for producing such hilarious hits as "I'm on a Boat", "Boombox", "Like a Boss", "Jack Sparrow", "Great Day", "Dick in a Box", "Motherlover", "YOLO", and "Threw it on the Ground". He, and his fellow members Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone in one of the few funny scenes in the film. Ben Stiller plays the same character as always: a slightly neurotic, nice guy. Vince Vaughn plays a similar character to what he plays: the kind of partier dude. Jonah Hil almost gave up a role in Django Unchained for this. He plays the slightly psychotic Franklin, a young man not accepted into the police department due to not passing the physical or background check. He was one of the best parts of the movie, and I'm glad he was able to appear in a cameo for Django. But after his Oscar nomination with baseball drama Moneyball, and huge success with hilarious buddy cop comedy 21 Jump Street, this feels like a step back. Richard Ayoade from BBC's hit sitcom The IT Crowd plays Jamarcus. He did a good job as the slightly odd, but friendly new guy in town. Rosemaire DeWitt plays Ben Stiller's supportive and attractive wife. The rest of the cast include cameos by Will Forte, Billy Crudup, Doug Jones, and R. Lee Ermey. The movie actually starts off as a normal comedy first, and I feel the addition of aliens feels a little dumb. They barely play a role in the film until halfway through, and it feel like the film gets lost around that point. They should have left it with the guys starting a watchdog group and getting into everyday troubles, that would have been more clever, more original, and more comical. The whole plot and structure feels uneven, and the jokes, while crude, just come off as vanilla. A little too "same-old, same-old" type of humor. Unfortunately, these guys (excluding Hill and Ayoade) are just not as funny as they were from the late 90's to mid-2000's. They need to make a comeback, or their careers will die faster than some of the jokes from this movie. Not to mention the special effects on the aliens are below average. I know it's a comedy, it's not gonna be a top-notch science fiction production, but at least put a little more effort in. Oh, and the twist involving a supporting character in the film's climax is absolutely unnecessary and ridiculous (Actually, there's two of those.) The Watch is decent. It's passable. But that's all it is. It lacks the wit of previous films from Stiller and Vaughn, such as Zoolander, Old School, Tropic Thunder, Greenberg, Starsky and Hutch, Wedding Crashers, and Meet the Parents. It's just mediocre, and in my opinion, that's the worst of all. I'd rather be laughing my ass off at the badness of a movie, or getting angry at it than have no reaction at all. 2.5/5 stars.
(Image: Wikipedia)
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