Movie Review: The Watch
Nov 08 2012.
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It’s been so long since Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn starred in anything vaguely credible that it just isn’t funny anymore. Have the two Hollywood comedy giants lost their touch? Should Ben Stiller still make Night at the Museum 3: Time to Throw in the Towel? That Zoolander…he’s so not hot right now…
When extraterrestrials attack the fictitious town of Glenview, Ohio, uptight model citizen Evan (Ben Stiller), overprotective daddy Bob (Vince Vaughn), halfwitted Franklin (Jonah Hill) and purported nerd Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade) set up Neighbourhood Watch to serve and protect.
Half-arsed one-liners, Ridley Scott’s Aliens and unexpected neighbourhood orgies follow.
Sure, this beats Stiller’s insufferable kiddie flick Night at the Museum but it’s far from a return to form. Imperfect dialogue may be half the reason, but Stiller seems to have lost it in the delivery too.
And this is truly disturbing for the acclaimed comedian who brought us the bumbling Gaylord Focker and the riotously obsessive Chas Tenenbaum. Vaughn? Ditto.
Hill and Ayoade are the Frat Pack’s latest additions; the former breathing life into Seth Rogen’s underwhelming script, the latter simply embarrassing.
Hill’s articulation of Franklin’s imbecilic comments immediately sets the actor apart from his older, more famous American co-stars, signaling the staleness of their hackneyed humour.
Ayoade, a British export, has been written into a clichéd role, albeit one he is far too familiar with. The twist at the end may justify his strange behavior but does not make up for an unamusing performance.
Roll on Zoolander 2? Er….
Stars - ★★
Reviewed by Rehan Mudannayake
The Watch (2012)
Comedy | Sci-Fi
Four men who form a neighborhood watch group as a way to get out of their day-to-day family routines find themselves defending the Earth from an alien invasion.
Director: Akiva Schaffer
Writers: Jared Stern, Seth Rogen
Stars: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2X-R_PR6xs
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