Clichéd, crazy caper

EVEN the fnest ingredients can turn sour, and unfortunately the star-studded recipe used to make The Watch is outdated and at times boring. It was like watching The Ghostbusters gone wrong!

I usually love a good brom-com, especially when it stars Vince Vaughn, and I didn’t think that the flm was absolutely catastrophic, but I expected brilliance from a Seth Rogen/Evan Goldberg script, after all they did give us Superbad.

Sadly, ex-Saturday Night Live writer Akiva Schaffer, known for the hilarious Hot Rod, directed his fans into disappointment. The movie was supposed to be crazy fun, but it was simply just … crazy.

We’re frst introduced to suburban husband Evan (Stiller), the go-to guy for community action who works as a manager at a massive retailer, in a small town called Glenville, Ohio.

When one of his employees is murdered by a mysterious ‘animal’ that seems to remove its victim’s skin, he decides to form a neighbourhood watch to get to the bottom of the crime … who you gonna call? Fellow residents Bob (Vaughn), Franklin (Hill) and Jamarcus, played by Richard Ayoade.

The foursome patrol the community, annoying people in the neighbourhood, including the police department, to prevent further grisly activity.

One night, they discover that Glenville is actually ground zero for an impending alien invasion and they must do.

The laughs rarely came, and when they did, they felt forced. The cast’s talent was wasted on under-developed characters we have seen in every unsuccessful comedy. Not to mention the plot relied heavily on the use of inappropriate humour and trash talk to try to amuse the viewer. The over-the-top comedy antics made most characters unappealing, especially Will Forte’s police offcer who made me want to pull my hair out.

In addition, Stiller, Hill and Vaughn pretty much played the same roles they always do, making the flm a lazy mixture of alien clichés and familiar characters.
 
Schaffer tried to add a bit of emotional depth to Stiller’s character, making Evan keep a big secret from his wife (that the audience are only informed of half way through the flm), but it seems pointless to even have the sub-plot as it was completely dismissed by the end.

Ayoade’s character was a pleasant surprise. Having watched The IT Crowd I expected him to play the obvious computer nerd he does in the series. Instead he played a pervert wanting to meet a lonely Asian housewife and surprisingly he was the only likeable character. It was a shame, however, that he didn’t ft into the American alpha-male cast.

As far as sparse comedy escapes go, The Watch wasn’t too bad. It did supply a few rare chuckles but the underwhelming characters and plot left me disappointed. I’ll think twice before watching another Stiller movie. I wish I had waited for this flm to be released on DVD rather than going to the cinema to watch it, maybe that way I wouldn’t have minded wasting my time.

*Showing in Dana Cinema