Danny Djeljosevic">
Psycho Drive-In logo
Search
  • PDI Press
    Featured
    • ON SALE NOW! NOIRLATHOTEP 2: MORE TALES OF LOVECRAFTIAN CRIME!!

      Danny Djeljosevic
      December 31, 2018
      News, PDI Press, PDI Press Catalog
    Recent
    • ON SALE NOW! NOIRLATHOTEP 2: MORE TALES OF LOVECRAFTIAN CRIME!!

      psychodr
      December 31, 2018
    • VOICES FROM THE NIGHT: The Living Dead Tell Their Stories

      John E. Meredith
      October 31, 2018
    • American Carnage: Tales of Trumpian Dystopia

      psychodr
      March 24, 2018
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-S
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
  • Columns U-Z
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    Featured
    • Promising Young Woman (2020)

      Danny Djeljosevic
      January 1, 2021
      Movies, Reviews
    Recent
    • Promising Young Woman (2020)

      Nate Zoebl
      January 1, 2021
    • Possessor: Uncut (2020)

      Paul Brian McCoy
      December 31, 2020
    • Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

      Nate Zoebl
      December 24, 2020
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
    Featured
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      Danny Djeljosevic
      July 13, 2018
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      Dory Hoffman
      July 13, 2018
    • David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

      Dan Lee
      March 7, 2017
    • Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

      Andre Lamar
      September 29, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

      Jason Sacks
      July 28, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

      Dave Hearn, Paul Brian McCoy
      July 27, 2016
    • Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

      Gary Richardson, Laura Akers
      April 16, 2016
  • News
    Featured
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      Danny Djeljosevic
      July 30, 2019
      DVD/Blu-ray, News
    Recent
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      psychodr
      July 30, 2019
    • X-Men: Dark Phoenix arrives on Digital 9/3 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD 9/17

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 16, 2019
    • Avengers: Endgame arrives on Digital 7/30 and Blu-ray 8/13

      psychodr
      July 16, 2019
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Breaking
  • Promising Young Woman (2020)
  • Possessor: Uncut (2020)
  • Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
  • Tenet (2020)
  • I’m Your Woman (2020)
  • Westworld Season 3: The New World Blu-ray
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-S
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
  • Columns U-Z
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Home
DVD/Blu-ray

The Watch (2012) DVD Review

Danny Djeljosevic
November 15, 2012
DVD/Blu-ray, Movies, Reviews

No matter how hard you want to, you can’t engineer another Ghostbusters. The guys who made the first one didn’t even try to do it when given the opportunity, and Ivan Reitman on his lonesome certainly couldn’t do it. Ghostbusters is a special kind of movie, one where supremely talented folks came together to tell an original story because they wanted to — not because they were paid to or because they wanted to emulate the popularity of something else.

The Watch, on the other hand, is what happens when a group of talented people work with material with hackwork inextricably festering in its DNA.

The premise itself is solid — community busybody and Costco manager Evan (Ben Stiller) forms a neighborhood watch organization after the security guard at his store is brutally murdered. It’s the 21st century and nobody does anything, so the only people who sign up are an overprotective dad and good bro (Vince Vaughn), a mentally unstable police academy reject (Jonah Hill) and a polite British divorcee (Richard Ayoade) — a ragtag group who are a bit more focused on drinking beers in Vaughn’s man-cave than going out on interminable stakeouts.

Rounded out by Will Forte and Mel Rodriguez as antagonistic cops, Billy Crudup as a sexually threatening neighbor and Rosemarie DeWitt as Evan’s wife, the best part of The Watch is its cast, who are endlessly watchable, though on their own nobody’s exactly a standout. Stiller plays his stock neurotic straight man role which, as always, is nothing to write home about but remains a necessary element. Hill could have stood to do a lot more with his character’s mental state, but he has good chemistry with Vaughn, who for the first time in his career approaches somewhere in the realm of cuddly and lovable. And it’s always a joy to see Ayoade do anything, but unfortunately he doesn’t get very much to do in this film. Hardly heart-stopping roles individually, but together they end up being more than the sum of their parts as one might expect from four great comedic actors playing off of one another.

thewatch1

Eventually, amidst some drunken tomfoolery and a couple botched patrol nights, the quartet come to find out that aliens are invading their modest Ohio town and posing as human beings. The film doesn’t seem very interested in spending a whole lot of time on the threat of alien invasion or the fact that their neighbors might be aliens in favor of the more mundane aspects of the characters’ lives, so anything involving Doug Jones (!) in a creature suit feels like an afterthought.

Originally titled Neighborhood Watch*, the project was conceived as a teen-friendly PG-13 comedy under producer Shawn Levy (I’ll let his filmography speak for itself) to be directed by men like David Dobkin and Peter Segal, at some point it was decided that they should maybe get in on that Judd Apatow money and hire dudes who could write a good dick joke.

thewatch2

Those dudes were Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, to whom a Ghostbusters-y film like The Watch is totally up their alley. They’re clearly comedy nerds in their own right; Ghostbusters is a film that combines a genius high concept with serious laughs. But the thing about Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis’ script is that it’s so loosey-goosey with actual plotting that there’s room for the kind of laugh-out-loud comedy (read: constant Bill Murray ad-libbing) that made the film stand out. It’s something the pair also attempted in The Green Hornet, albeit with more success. With The Watch, they’re basically doing a rewrite job to make some hacky script a little less so. The result is something that rests firmly between original comedy and some asshole’s formulaic spec script, so it attempts nothing new but features some good jokes.

Behind the camera is Akiva Schaffer, who does decent work with what he’s given. As one third of The Lonely Island and the man who directed the genius-before-its-time Hot Rod**, one expects more of an anarchic, playful film than something as comparatively subdued as The Watch. He and his Lonely Island cohorts take part in a three-way masturbation cameo that certainly signals a much weirder movie than what came out, so I’m seriously hoping Schaffer took this job as a stepping stone to create a much weirder future film.

thewatch3

I’d hardly call The Watch a waste of time by any stretch, but it’s not nearly as good as the apparent talent would signal or any knowledgeable viewer should expect. At best it’s good for a laugh, a pleasant enough 90 minute distraction for cinematic comedy lovers. In other words, if you’ve already seen 21 Jump Street, you’re probably ready to kill some time with The Watch.

THE DVD

There are some deleted scenes that are decent for a laugh, a gag reel, a featurette of interview footage about what the cast and crew would do if an alien invasion happened, and a mock interview with the lead alien from the movie. Nothing necessarily making this release worth the money if you’ve already seen it and aren’t currently trying to decide if you want to buy it at a Big Lots.

thewatch4

*The project was originally titled Neighborhood Watch, but the Trayvon Martin shooting apparently made Fox marketing a bit nervous. To be honest, I’m not sure I would have ever made the connection between a frivolous comedy and a real-life tragedy.

**I’m not kidding — Hot Rod was unjustly ignored as another post-Anchorman ironic mustache comedy, but in light of the Lonely Island’s success you should give it a watch and see what people who perform karaoke renditions of “I’m on a Boat” missed out on four years earlier.

(Visited 32 times, 1 visits today)
The Watch (2012) DVD Review
3.0Overall Score

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Akiva SchafferBen StillerDanny DjeljosevicDoug JonesJonah HillRichard AyoadeThe WatchVince Vaughn

The Vampire Diaries 4.05 “The Killer”
Once Upon a Time 2.07 “Child of the Moon”

About The Author

Danny Djeljosevic
Creative Dynamo / Tightrope Walker

Danny Djeljosevic is a comic book creator, award-winning filmmaker (assuming you have absolutely no follow-up questions). Follow him on Twitter at @djeljosevic or find him somewhere in San Diego, often wearing a hat. Read his comic with Mike Prezzato, ”Sgt. Death and his Metachromatic Men,” over at Champion City Comics, his webcomic The Ghost Engine, with artist Eric Zawadzki, and check out his Tumblr.

FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK

Daily Top Ten

  • The Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about Racism, Rape, and RemorseThe Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about… by Thom V. Young
  • Gender, Transformation and Mr. Angel: A Chat with Buck Angel and His Wife Elayne AngelGender, Transformation and Mr. Angel: A Chat with… by Nate Abernethy
  • Superman II (1980)Superman II (1980) by John Clark
  • Sick Flix: 964 Pinocchio (1991)Sick Flix: 964 Pinocchio (1991) by Corin Totin
  • Lost in Translation 287: Carmen SandiegoLost in Translation 287: Carmen Sandiego by Scott Delahunt
  • Adventure Time 6.06 “Breezy”Adventure Time 6.06 “Breezy” by Dave Hearn
  • Advance Review: Judge Archer (2012) DVDAdvance Review: Judge Archer (2012) DVD by Paul Brian McCoy
  • POPCORN CINEMA 33: LASER MISSION, or Feminism With a Heaving BosomPOPCORN CINEMA 33: LASER MISSION, or Feminism With a… by John E. Meredith
  • Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) by Corin Totin
  • Drive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)Drive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) by Alex Wolfe

PDI Press Bestsellers

Entertainment Earth

Weekly Top Ten

  • Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! – Apocalypse MaleFaster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! – Apocalypse Male by Paul Brian McCoy
  • If It Ain't Funk He Don't Feel It: Howard the Duck (1986)If It Ain’t Funk He Don’t Feel It:… by Paul Brian McCoy
  • The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Drive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)Drive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) by Alex Wolfe
  • Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012)Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012) by Brooke Brewer
  • Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) by Corin Totin
  • The Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about Racism, Rape, and RemorseThe Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about… by Thom V. Young
  • Sick Flix: Guinea Pig 2 – Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985)Sick Flix: Guinea Pig 2 – Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985) by Corin Totin
  • Scream 4: Sidney’s Final KillScream 4: Sidney’s Final Kill by The Final Girl
Entertainment Earth

Latest Reviews

  • Promising Young Woman (2020)

    Nate Zoebl
    January 1, 2021
  • Possessor: Uncut (2020)

    Paul Brian McCoy
    December 31, 2020
  • Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

    Nate Zoebl
    December 24, 2020

Latest Columns

  • Lost in Translation 371: Spitting Image

    Scott Delahunt
    January 15, 2021
  • Anything Joes: Unboxing: Symbiote Studios 12″ G.I. Joe Plush Cobra Commander & Snake Eyes

    Greg Engle
    January 13, 2021
  • Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! – Apocalypse Male

    Paul Brian McCoy
    January 9, 2021

INSTAGRAM

psychodrivein

Psycho Drive-In
Today at http://psychodrivein.com In Memoriam: Si Today at http://psychodrivein.com

In Memoriam: Sir Sean Connery (1930-2020)

But without further ado, here are some of our favorite performances by the late, great Sir Sean Connery.
---
Read more of our tribute at the link in our profile!

#Marnie #RobinAndMarian #Outland #TimeBandits #TheUntouchables #IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade #FindingForrester #SeanConnery #JamesBond #SirSeanConnery #Zardoz
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transla Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 362: Remaking Airwolf

The pilot could be used with the same beats, with String holding Airwolf as collateral to force the Firm to find St-John. 
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #Airwolf
Today at http://psychodrivein.com In Memoriam: Al Today at http://psychodrivein.com

In Memoriam: Alex Trebek

Trebek seemed to have a good sense of humor and did not shy away from poking fun at himself. 
---
Read more of Jessica's tribute to Trebek at the link in our profile!

#AlexTrebek #Jeopardy #PepperAnn #Rugrats #FamilyGuy #MamasFamily #TheGoldenGirls #TheXFiles
Today at http://psychodrivein.com The Best of The Today at http://psychodrivein.com

The Best of The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror Episodes

The Simpsons’ Halloween Specials/Treehouse of Horror episodes are some of the best episodes of the show.
---
Read more of Jessica's list at the link in our profile!

#TheSimpsons #TheSimpsonsHalloweenSpecial #TreehouseOfHorror #31DaysOfHalloween #31DaysOfHalloween2020
Today at http://psychodrivein.com The Psycho Driv Today at http://psychodrivein.com

The Psycho Drive-In Halloween Party Playlist

For your Halloween enjoyment, here are 161 songs - around 10 hours of music for you - cultivated by the Psychos here at the Drive-In!
---
Listen to the Psycho Drive-In Halloween Party Playlist at the link in our profile!

#Halloween #HalloweenPartyPlaylist #Playlist #Music #Spotify
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transla Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 361: Bean the Movie

The plot is simple enough; Mr. Bean has to accompany the painting, Whistler’s Mother, from the Royal National Gallery in London to its new home at the Grierson Art Gallery. 
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #BeanTheMovie #MrBean #RowanAtkinson #PeterMacNicol
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Pegg and Frost Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Pegg and Frost Return in Time for Halloween: Truth Seekers

It is an unexpected treat this Halloween season that Frost is in Truth Seekers, a Prime series dropping a first season of eight episodes on October 30.
---
Read more of Mike's article at the link in our profile!

#TruthSeekers #SimonPegg #NickFrost #SusanWokoma #JulianBarrett #MalcolmMcDowell
Today at http://psychodrivein.com The Existential Today at http://psychodrivein.com

The Existential Horror of Charles Burns’ Last Look Trilogy 

Last Look tells the story of pretentious art school loser and punk rock scene hanger-on, Doug, as we weave our way through his memories and dreams.
---
Read more of Paul's recommendation at the link in our profile!

#CharlesBurns #LastLook #XedOut #TheHive #SugarSkull #BlackHole #GraphicNovel #31DaysOfHorror #31DaysOfHorror2020 #Halloween
Today at http://psychodrivein.com How That Thing Today at http://psychodrivein.com

How That Thing Ended Up on my Porch: Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated

Underneath all the monsters and mayhem in Mystery Incorporated, the core of the show is the sometimes irrational love we have for the animals in our lives.
---
Read more of Mike's article at the link in our profile!

#ScoobyDoo #ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated #MysteryIncorporated #UdoKier #HarlanEllison #JeffreyCombs #31DaysOfHalloween #31DaysOfHalloween2020 #Halloween
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Nosferatu (1979 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Nosferatu (1979)

With Nosferatu, Herzog isn’t interested in crafting a horror film with easy scares. 
---
Read more of Peterson's article at the link in our profile!

#Nosferatu #Nosferatu1979 #WernerHerzog #KlausKinski #IsabelleAdjani #31DaysOfHalloween #31DaysOfHalloween2020 #Halloween #Vampire
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Terrifies, Horr Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Terrifies, Horrifies, Forever Scares—Roky Erickson and the Return of the Living Dead

Like many others, possibly even you, I first heard Roky Erickson’s music in Return of the Living Dead (1985). 
---
Read more of Fred's article at the link in our profile!

#RokyErickson #BurnTheFlames #ReturnOfTheLivingDead #31DaysOfHalloween #31DaysOfHalloween2020 #Halloween #TwoHeadedDog #2HeadedDog
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Stay Alive (200 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Stay Alive (2006)

Being listed as “Disney’s only slasher film,” my interest in Stay Alive was definitely piqued.
---
Read more of Jessica's review at the link in our profile!

#StayAlive #31DaysOfHalloween #31DaysOfHalloween2020 #Halloween #JimmiSimpson #FrankieMuniz #JonFoster #SamaireArmstrong #CountessElizabethBathory #VideoGame #Slasher #Disney
Follow on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

Log in as an administrator and view the Instagram Feed settings page for more details.

TWITTER

My Tweets

Look Who's Talking

Amari Wolfe
Amari Wolfe - 12/11/2020
Popcorn Cinema: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
Don't know why, but the mention of Whammo Air Blasters made me laugh until it hurt. Very nicely...
mega leo
mega leo - 12/5/2020
Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
To torture someone takes a cold kind of sadism. One that exceeds rage or revenge. One that shows a...
Dignan
Dignan - 10/29/2020
Nosferatu (1979)
Thanks for that, I can never seem to nail down that movie!
RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

Archives

Large_rectangle_336X280
All work on this site is Copyright © each individual writer.
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-S
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
  • Columns U-Z
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
%d bloggers like this: