Several of Ben Stiller’s recent movies have been satires. 2008’s Tropic Thunder for example was about the movie industry. 2011’s Tower Heist was about heist films. The Watch was about the alien genre.
Ben Stiller plays Evan Trautwig a manager at Costco who decides to set up a neighborhood watch group after his friend, a security guard named Antonio (Joseph Nunez) at Costco is mysteriously killed. The group collects together a number of misfits starting with Vince Vaughn as Bob, Jonah Hill as Franklin, and Richard Ayoade as Jamarcus.
The movie hits the right note from the start when Antonio gets his citizenship and parties while doing his night watch at Costco. He listens to NWA, dances, watches big screen TV on a lounge chair before something kills him. When the neighborhood watch is brought together it’s nothing but trouble because of the cast or characters that join. Bob for example, thinks the Watch is a hang out group where he can get away from his family. He gets them to come over to his mancave at his house for drinks and a shouting match with his daughter. He then makes jackets for the group with a tiger’s face, wings and flames. Franklin on the other hand is a bit of a sociopath.
It turns out Antonio was killed by an alien. That’s made fun of as well when they think they’ve killed one they decide to take photos and dance with the body only for it to come alive on them. Evan tries to put a sleeper wrestling hold on it, which of course fails.
Ultimately there are some funny parts to the Watch but it doesn’t pay off in the end. There are some parts that don’t seem like they had any part in the story. Some better editing would have done this movie wonders.
C