The Watch

The Watch is a newly released comedy about the inhabitants of suburban Glenview, Ohio. When the normally quiet town is plagued by a series of murders, a few of the town’s members decide to take action, thus, The Watch is created. The members deal with taunts from the police, an increasing body pile-up, and a little bit of self-discovery.

Ben Stiller plays Evan Trautwig, the neighborhood watch’s leader and founder. Evan is active in his community and takes the watch very seriously. His uptight personality was different from Stiller’s roles in Zoolander and Dodgeball, and more similar to his role in the Night at the Museum series. Stiller played the character well and proved that he can do a normal, well-rounded character.

Vince Vaughn stole the show in his role as Bob Finnerty. The overprotective father took center stage with his random outbursts and witty commentary. Vaughn did the character well and was able to take the more serious moments and put more of his character’s essence into them.

Jonah Hill’s role as Franklin, a police recruit reject and high school dropout, was performed very well. As far as comedies go, this isn’t one of Jonah Hill’s best. His role in 21 Jump Street made people take notice of him, and, through no fault of his own, his role in The Watch fell just short of those expectations. The movie’s humor just wasn’t up to Hill’s standards.

The film was not quite what I had expected. The moments that had me rolling on the floor were few and far between. I expected a lot more from the starring cast, but the writing just didn’t live up to the hype.