Synopsis: Small town store manager Ben Stiller gets way more than he bargined for when he forms a neighbourhood watch team with a motley crew of misfits. Nek minute, aliens masquerading as humans are intent on taking over - starting with his town! Look out aliens! Here comes the watch!
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Confession time. I love comedies, I really do. I can recommend many that are very very funny. This is not one of them! "Comedy is hard. Dying is easy" is a phrase that is both well worn, but well suited when it comes to describing just what makes any comedic piece funny - or not funny - depending on your view of the specific material presented. Some things tickle your funny bone effortlessly, others? Well, perhaps you weren't the 'target market'? Perhaps, it was only intended for a certain segement - such as 18-25 yr old males? Certainly, that target group is hugely important to Hollywood producers. This group providing a lions share of the revenue generated, year on year. Consequently, any studio that ignores this vital statistic does so at their peril. Make it 'R' rated, and goodbye to a few squillion or more. It is the difference between making a huge profit - or tanking spectacularly. No-one wants a box office bomb. Obviously, you could draw a conclusion that if you fall outside of this demographic, then, well, you make be hard pressed (Like I was) to love this 'product'. However, if you're a young guy in this category, then hey, have I got a movie for you! Not!
Part of me feels obliged as reviewer to actually review the movie properly, i.e. go through all the various parts that make up the completed product, but as I finished watching this, I decided that it would be futile in doing so. With certain movies, you actually crave for the cliches, you want them, you get them, you feel satisfied that the movie delivered exactly what you expected because you thought that's exactly what you were going to get. A perfect example of a movie falling into this category is "The Expendables 2". C'mon, a movie with that many ego's and testerone, jam-packed into a single feature with the exact kinda dialogue you would expect from such an event is not going to ever fall into the category of "Gee, I didn't see that coming" - ever! So, from that point of view, its entirely acceptable when it is cliche ridden. No surprises then, that "The Watch" is at the opposite end of this scale. In sad fact, its the polar opposite!
That it fails on so many levels draws me to this unsurprising conclusion. Save your money. Watch anything else. I don't feel the need to go on at length about its short comings 'cause I feel I'm doing you all a favour! Hence the brief 'review'.
Who you gonna call? Not these guys :(
Jamie's Rating...
J for... JOKE! (As in - a very bad one!)
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