Film
“The Watch” Is Very Funny
By LaDale Anderson
Jul 27, 2012 - 12:23:40 AM

HOLLYWOOD—To all the moviegoers out there looking for a great escape from reality and a movie full of bellyaching laughs, look no further than “The Watch.” The comedy stars Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade who form a neighborhood watch to escape their dreadful family lives.  They soon discover an alien plot to destroy the world and are forced into action.

The movie has a great deal of chemistry from the quartet which works incredibly well on the screen.  The audience will believe these guys are pals in real life.  The comedic timing in this picture is impeccable.  A writer and director could not ask for a better set of guys who just feed off of the other person’s energy level.   The picture does address suburban life; there’s the belief that in suburbia everything is nice and dainty, but things aren’t always what they appear to be.  People have secrets behind closed doors and the movie brings those things to the forefront.

The audience is treated to an inside viewpoint of what goes down and its hilarious to see Evan (Ben Stiller), Bob (Vince Vaughn), Franklin (Jonah Hill) and Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade) exploit those things.  Take a look at Evan; he seems to have the perfect life.  A beautiful family, he works at Costco; who doesn’t like Costco.  The problem is he has no friends.   Evan’s way of coping with that is to join as many groups as he can to make himself appear as if he belongs.

Franklin (Jonah Hill), Evan (Ben Stiller), Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade) and Bob (Vince Vaughn) in "The Watch."

Bob is over the top.  On a scale of 1-10, he’s a 20.  It’s a character some would say they’ve seen from Vaughn time and time again, and I would agree, but it works so well here it doesn’t matter.  Bob is an eccentric guy and he brings that energy to the group with his hilarious antics.

Hill is having a stellar year in comedy; first “ 21 Jump Street” and now “The Watch.”  He portrays the emotional Franklin, who has a bit of a grudge with the police force for not allowing him to join the team.  There is a hilarious moment between him and his mom that will have audiences falling from the theater seat in laughter.

The movie ups the laughs once the group stumbles upon a conspiracy involving an alien invasion.  They begin to suspect everyone in their neighborhood and anyone who comes across as ‘normal’ in their eyes.  Evan and Hill’s interrogation of a teenager takes the cake of all interrogations; just imagine if the police actually did that; it would unnerve any criminal.

“The Watch” has plenty of laughs for the adults; while the language and antics are a bit risqué at times, it’s not likely to offend many as you’ll be laughing to hard to notice.  If you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend “The Watch” should be on your list.