A Serious Man and Observe and Report

In the Coen Brothers’ latest exercise in esoteric cynicism, “A Serious Man,” Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is trying to do the right thing. He goes to work, comes home and, like the passive little worker bee he is, seldom tinkers with anything outside of the cozy confines of his suburban Jewish community. He’s the type of old-school neurotic who views the outside world as a secular, hyper-sexualized volcano waiting to erupt over the sacred values he once held dear. His wife has fallen for their close friend, his son would rather smoke pot and listen to Jefferson Airplane than be bar mitzvahed and his job as a Physics professor hangs in the balance following a student’s ill-advised attempt at bribery. The only thing keeping him grounded is the glimmer of hope that somehow, some way, his faith in Hashem will lead him to salvation.

In the past, critics have accused the Coens of showing little compassion for their characters, but this time things aren’t so cut and dry. We get the sense that they feel for Larry even though his misfortunes are played for biting comedic effect and they manage to craft an impeccable meditation on life through the eyes of a man whose quest for clarity is derailed by a string of spiritual speed bumps. No matter how many temples he attends or how many rabbis he talks to, he’s forced to discover that the true answer lies in one’s ability to wrestle their way out of any situation regardless of how bleak things get and Stuhlbarg conveys all of this with effortless resonance and panic.

It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it should challenge anyone who appreciates comedy that isn’t so much manufactured as it is a by-product of what R.E.M. fans already know as “life’s rich pageant.”

- **** out of 4

How’s this for a script?

We’ll take the endearing everyman mystique of Paul Blart and combine it with the post-Vietnam psychosis of Travis Bickle to create a static tale of an overweight mall cop with a creepy penchant for assault weapons and date rape. It’ll be a good, old-fashioned celebration of the second amendment and how anyone can take the law into their own hands whenever the mood strikes.

Sold yet?

If not, you’re probably wondering what exactly the point of it all is. Is it an argument in favor of gun control or a gratuitously brash comedy from Jody Hill and Seth Rogen called "Observe and Report" that makes the mayhem in “Pineapple Express” look tame in comparison? Is it both? I could take the time to explain whatever merits the creators think they have here but, outside of Rogen’s dedicated performance, the well runs dry rather quickly.

- ** out of 4