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Saturday 7 February 2009

One-Shot (07/02/09)

Rather than further bore you with the boring tales of my continuing misadventures with boring, 50+ minute "movie scenes" and occasional game-play, I'll switch gears.

In Episode One of the aural sex-you-up-real-nice that is our podcast*, Christophe asked if Paul Rudd is in danger of doing an Owen Wilson. On the evidence of the underwhelming Red Band trailer for Observe & Report**, Seth Rogen may soon find himself on the business end of similar musings.

Underwhelming and Seth Rogen are not entirely foreign notions of late, following Zack and Miri Make A Porno and Pineapple Express. He's fine, in both, parlaying riffs on his usual affable chump routine. But he's easily outquaffed (by Craig Robinson and James Franco + Craig Robinson, respectively) in both. For a guy who's talked about as a fully-fledged leading man, it isn't good enough.

This early in a comic's career, signs that his "I didn't do it" is starting to wane are worrying. More worrying, though, is the increasingly smug impression he emits in interviews. When the underrated Jason Segels and Jonah Hills of his oeuvre are consistently beating him laugh-for-laugh, his arrogance is grating.

And Observe... hardly looks set to change things. On paper, MallCopRambo sounds like it is; the trailer suggests otherwise. A few good moments (clotheslining punk kids is always funny) didn't convince this curmudgeon. Maybe, replacing immaturity with rage will rejuvenate him.*** Here's hoping it'll be Ace Ventura before nature called. Failing that, there's always Funny People.

Also...

(insert generic "come on Ireland!" remark.)

* http://media.switchpod.com/users/grandiloquentvagaries/tbepisode1.mp4
** http://observe-and-report.warnerbros.com/restricted/index.html
*** If Rogen consulted our hilarious/intimidating new work security guard for research, case closed.

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