Rogen, Faris talk mall cops
April 12, 2009
Within the past few years, comedy has seemed to find its new legends, and right now, a dynamic handful of loveable men and women are fearless in the world of creating all things lewd, nude and witty.
It’s no surprise then, to see two of comedy’s freshest faces partnering up for a comedy barely tiptoeing around the line of NC-17 territory-Observe and Report. The then-plump Seth Rogen, appearing on screen with his signature curly hair and beard buzzed down to an unlikely state, brings his unusual brand of dry humor and loveable, infectious laugh to the likes of a sex-driven mall cop. His character is an unrealistic match-up to the platinum blonde, Playboy-esque makeup counter character, played by Anna Faris.
But it’s the dynamic contrast and tendency to push their roles to the extreme that makes this unusual pairing of unlikeable characters strangely enjoyable to watch.
The Chronicle talked to Faris and Rogen about their new film, shooting drunken sex scenes together and how to pick up ladies at the mall.
The Chronicle: What did you do to prepare for this role?
Seth Rogen: I really did absolutely nothing. I’m not really the type of actor who does research or anything like that. I did talk to one security guard for five minutes a few days before filming, and didn’t really gather all that much from it. Everything was all created by Jody Hill [the director] and me, I guess.
What was the most fun part about making this film?
Rogen: I have to say, I think it was just, more than other movies I’ve done, it really felt like a little, independent film being shot by a bunch of friends. A lot of the guys went to film school together, and I’ve known all these guys for a while. We were all friends beforehand, so it really just felt like a group of friends making a movie. It was a lot of fun in that way … we felt like we had just stolen a bunch of movie cameras and started shooting in some random mall.
In your own experience playing the role of a mall cop trying to pick up a woman in a mall, what advice do you have for someone trying to do the same?
Rogen: Basically, you just need to masturbate in front of her. Yep.
What was the hardest scene to film?
Rogen: Definitely the scene where I fight all those cops in that mall. It’s one pretty long shot and I crack around 14 people in the head in that one shot and it looks really messy, but it’s actually really specific choreography. There wasn’t much time to rehearse, and I was, as you can see, very out of shape in that movie. The air in Albequerque is very thin because of the elevation, and that was just a real motherfucker to shoot, I’ll tell you that.
How do you decide whether a joke will fly or do you just go with it?
Anna Faris: I’m pretty willing to try anything, you need a lot of trust in your director. I know a lot of actresses probably wouldn’t want to be vomiting all over Seth Rogen, but I guess I have a twisted sense of humor so I think it’s funny. I’m not sure my mom thinks it’s funny.
Are there any types of characters that you hope to play one day that differ from material you’ve already done?
Faris: I’ve always hoped that there would be like a heroin addict, prostitute character in my future. But I’m not sure that there is. Actually, just 30 seconds ago, I was thinking of doing some sort of Lorena Bobbitt musical.
Were you surprised that the sex scene passed the ratings board?
Faris: The scene is, my character gets wasted and Seth ends up having sex with my character even after I vomit all over him, and it just looks like I’m completely passed out. It really doesn’t look that good. Seth and I were both like, “there is no way this is going to be kept in the movie. It’s way too offensive. And then there it is. So I gave my parents a glass of wine and I showed them that scene and told them to brace themselves.