The Watch

There are comedies, and then there's "The Watch". This is not just a comedy with a sci-fi element, but it has a certain amount of gruesomeness attached to it, which took me by surprise, considering anything that's horrific is usually reserved for the dramatic genre.

Four everyday suburban guys, Evan, Bob, Franklin, and Jamarcus (Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade) respectively, come together to form a neighborhood watch not only to get out of their day-to-day family routines, but then get diligent when one of Evan's night security guards, Antonio Guzman (Joe Nunez), at his Costco is brutally murdered. But when they discover that their town has become overrun with aliens posing as ordinary suburbanites, they have no choice but to save their neighborhood-- and the world from total extermination.

Others to round out the cast are Rosemarie DeWitt as Abby, Evan's frustrated wife, Will Forte as Sgt. Bressman, a doad of a cop, Mel Rodriguez as Chucho, Bressman's partner, Doug Jones as Hero Alien, Erin Moriarty as Chelsea, Bob's rebellious daughter, Nicholas Braun as Jason, Chelsea's boyfriend, and R. Lee Ermey as Manfred.

This was adequately directed by Akiva Schaffer ("Regarding Ardy" (TV movie) '03, "Hot Rod" '07) and a ton of SNL (Saturday Night Live) experience. It was written by Jared Stern, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg and was written in a way that is very akin to that of the SNL style, considering the over-the-top format. It was certainly better than I could have imagined after seeing the trailer, but It was not anything great. The chemistry between the guys was effective, but I believe the writing could've been definitely sharper and better delineated.

If you like SNL, this basically being an extended version of one of their skits, You'll probably love this romp. Otherwise, if you're waiting for substantial dialogue to tickle your funny bone, I would save your ten bucks and maybe wait for the DVD. It's not a total wash, but considering its premise, so much more could've gone into this to make you howl.

Out of 4 stars: 2                      Rated: R                      102min.