I came across The Watch the other day having scrolled through Prime Video's very thin library, searching for something different to check out and feeling a bit of a film itch, having mostly just been watching series as of late. Convinced I had seen this film before, but not remembering a single thing, I figured it could be a fun watch due to its runtime, 2012 release date, and its cast. Halfway through it came to my attention that the director of the film was none other than Akiva Schaffer, known for being a member of the trio of The Lonely Island. While it was a surprise to see him taking a director role for a relatively large project, much of it made perfect sense; the film being one that is pretty good when it comes to the comedy side of things. Though this applies to its cast that have a good history of participating in Saturday Night Live. I recognised faces from the few series I had been watching lately, though certainly strange to see them a decade prior, much more youthful.
With this established cast, relatively normal runtime, and its comedy genre pursuit, The Watch felt like one of the few final entries of a genre that seemed to have died from blockbuster Hollywood. From a time in which Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill still made their comedies; but also that people would actually watch them. The same could be said about Ben Stiller, too, who with age moved more into his positions behind the camera rather than in front of it. The Watch was a bit of a strange film to watch through due to the realisation of how much time had passed, seeing actors that wouldn't really be considered huge anymore. Mostly forgotten, rarely cast, and leaving behind a genre that seems abandoned alongside the A List status of celebrity actors, as younger generations flood the film industry. All this slight context behind the industry and the film sets this review up for praise. Being a film that is just fun. Something that seems to be rare these days with all the pursuit of insane profit and the reduction of potential risk in filmmaking; pushing everything into a franchise if possible.
So even from here, I can already tell you that The Watch is a pretty good film. One that's simple, fun, and very easy to enjoy.
The Watch
The Watch doesn't take much time to get itself moving, pretty much instantly starting with our protagonist that works at a Costco. Handing over the store to the security guard one evening only to be told the security guy had died. Feeling the sadness of having lost someone he knew, and without the death going properly investigated, he takes it upon himself to form a neighbourhood watch that aims to improve the security of the area, but also attempt to investigate and solve the crime, finding out who is responsible for the death of the security guard. The film introduces its main characters in a pretty efficient manner that has them introduced through various manners; Vince Vaughn's character the second character introduced, but almost overlooked as he has a seemingly minor role as some consumerist manchild drooling over a 3D television. With the forming of the neighbourhood watch, our main character played by Ben Stiller roams the night streets in search of mischieve. Only to come to a realisation that something otherworldly is in fact taking place.
I've avoided discussing major spoilers in summarising this narrative, but this is a narrative that is quite simple. Much of the film instead of really being about the otherworldly events being more of a group's friendship formed. Each of the members facing their own struggles in life and ultimately void of community to guide them forward. A single father that is raising a daughter and using consumerism to fill the void. A failed cop that struggles to push forward. And our main character that has done nothing but escape the inability to start a family with his wife. At a glance these issues could easily be overlooked, after all it is a comedy film and the film is trying to make you laugh. But there are some more serious moments that add not just depth to our characters, but some humanity that serves as a reason for bringing them all together. Each of them missing something and coming to form a neighbourhood watch in attempt to do good and pursue something greater. There's something rather wholesome in these characters and the way they're introduced and written, making them very easy to connect with and feel for.
I was quite surprised at this due to the era's reliance on humour that resulted in very immature characters that don't have much depth to them beyond their humour. The Watch somehow with its runtime manages to form a group of characters that are actually quite real, making them immature in some ways but also flawed. It is with these flaws that we see them as people; people attempting to help others and do better even if things around them aren't that great. Though that isn't to also say that the film doesn't have its moments of immaturity too. The humour coming from the ways that these characters interact with each other from the start, being very different people. But there's a degree of dark and asburdist humour that finds its way into scenes sometimes. A cow being blown up by some alien technology they discover, followed by a montage of sheer destruction by them. Or the group during guns at things for far longer than is necessary merely for the fun of it. These scenes lingering on to show their growth as a community but also their immaturity.
It was interesting to see how well the film paces itself through a good balance of humour, serious moments, character development, and the actual story. Much of the actual story coming in the last 30 minutes of the runtime. But I found I didn't care, instead I was more interested in the activities the characters were getting into. Seeing more of their behaviours and the neighbourhood events. Their interactions with each other and locals as they now take on some assumed role of authority. I definitely think Akiva Schaffer did a great job directing this, managing to handle various themes all at once without it seeming like something was lacking or not really utilised. Ultimately it's a very tight script that does what it needs to to get things moving and very rarely takes time to relax and do something unexpected. I only felt two moments where I did feel it relaxed a bit, but again it worked well into the comedic side of things; especially as it was used to subvert your expectations a little as it teases as to what's going on and who might be involved.
Still, even after watching the film I still can't tell whether I had seen it or not in the past. Even though it was only released just about a decade ago, it feels mostly ignored and forgotten now. A film with many big names and a fun little story, but drowned out by the noise of more modern blockbuster Hollywood. A fun film, worthy of a watch over the weekend to relax.
