Review: The Watch
By Christine Petralia
Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox
August 5, 2012
*Spoiler Alert
I was on the fence about seeing this film for fear that all of the funny scenes were in the previews, however, there were a ton more. Originally named The Neighborhood Watch, it’s now just called The Watch. When we went to see it, I thought it was rated PG-13, hence my hesitation, however, after the third use of the word fuck, I realized it was rated R and would probably be awesome. And I was right. I laughed the entire time.
Evan (Ben Stiller) is a community activist in the town of Glenview, Ohio. After the security guard at Costco, where Evan is manager, is killed, Evan forms a neighborhood watch group to ‘solve’ the guard’s murder. Bob (Vince Vaughn), Franklin (Jonah Hill) and Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade) show up at the first meeting. However, the three guys use the group as an excuse to socialize and drink beer, much to Evan’s dismay. However, with his leadership, the group does go on patrols. One night, they hit something in the road and discover a sphere which, when activated, can destroy things instantly.
After more patrols, Evan and Jamarcus have an encounter with an alien, which Evan ‘kills’ and they bring back to Bob’s house. After a very funny scene of the group taking pictures with the alien, he comes back to life and after a struggle, warns the group that ‘they are already among us.’ It takes the device and runs off. The group, now aware that aliens are among us, using human skin to fit in, vows to track down more aliens and destroy them.
One night, on a hunch that his neighbor is an alien, the group stakes out, but Bob and Franklin leave to get Bob’s daughter from a high school drinking party. Evan and Jamarcus get ‘caught’ and the neighbor takes the pair inside his home to an orgy. Jamarcus stays, while a defeated and frustrated Evan, leaves.
After an argument with Bob, the group essentially disbands until Jamarcus reveals he is, in fact, an alien and his race is planning to destroy Earth, starting with the town of Glenview. Since he realizes he likes the human race (and oral sex), he wanted to warn his new friends so they could try to escape before the invasion happens. Instead of running, the group, including Evan’s wife Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt), head to Costco, where the aliens are planning the invasion, to stop them.
And just when Evan, Franklin and Bob think its over, Jamarcus comes back and kills the aliens by shooting them in the crotch, the aliens’ brain. Evan dismantles the machine just before more aliens arrive. The group escapes out of Costco and then destroys it, and the aliens inside, with the sphere they found earlier.
Throw in the typical comedy shenanigans of Vaughn and Hill, along with some cameos by Will Forte and Andy Samburg, and you have a great summer comedy. I don’t really know why the critics ripped this film apart, because I was laughing the entire time. Again, the premise is a little far-fetched, but that’s the point of movies, to entertain and be a little bit out there. If you open your mind and just accept that aliens just might exist, then you can accept this film and it’s silliness.
3.5 stars
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