BEN STILLER AND VINCE VAUGHN WARD OFF ALIENS IN “THE WATCH”

Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn reunite in “The Watch” along with Jonah Hill and British comedian Richard Ayoade who band together in the film to uncover the mysterious events happening in their neighborhood.  

Photo courtesy: 20th Century Fox

   Ben Stiller’s Evan is a senior manager at the superstore Costco, having made a not-so-lightning-fast ascent to that position from assistant manager.  Evan is a dedicated employee, but his heart is with the Glenview Neighborhood Watch, of which he is the founder and CEO.   “Evan is very community-oriented,” says Stiller, “because he has so few friends, and these clubs give him the opportunity to meet new people.” 

               

Evan’s straight-laced, buttoned-down personality is a perfect fit for organizing clubs, but it’s not paying off socially.  Stiller says he found it challenging to figure out the mindset of a man whose life is defined by a relentless pursuit of order.  “I’m not very orderly,” explains the actor, who is currently starring in and directing “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”  “It wasn’t easy getting inside the mind of a meticulous, stoic and organized guy.” 

               

Regarding the role’s more physical requirements, Stiller was comfortable with the fight scenes, where The Watch takes on the would-be conquerors from a distant world, but less so with a scene that required him to drive a forklift during a climactic battle.  “There was lots of action captured on camera, but driving the forklift made for some of the most frightening times on the set – for the crew,” says the actor.

               

Evan’s polar opposite is Vince Vaughn’s Bob, who is the id to Evan’s superego, the yang to his yin, and, says Schaffer, “a fun loving family man – to the max.”  For Bob, The Watch is his fraternal Shangri-La – an escape from the everyday responsibilities of family life.  The Watch means hanging with his new friends; enjoying some titty magazines, dirty jokes, and beers; and saying things like, “We’re gonna tear up shit, boys.”

               

“Bob is longing to hang out with the guys, have some drinks, talk about guy stuff, and let off some steam,” says Vaughn.  And ground zero for all the raucous fun is Bob’s tricked-out garage/man-cave and its wet bar, massage chairs, widescreen TV, and pool table.

               

“Bob is a big Teddy bear of a guy,” says Levy, who is currently directing Vaughn, along with Owen Wilson, in the comedy “The Internship.”  “He’s boisterous and gregarious and in The Watch as much for the bromance as for the responsibilities of ensuring his neighbors’ safety.”

               

The actors and filmmakers were determined to bring an audacity and boldness to THE WATCH.  “The film’s DNA doesn’t feel familiar,” notes producer Shawn Levy (“Real Steel,” “Night at the Museum”), “so we needed a director with a fresh sensibility and who would never play it safe.”  Enter Akiva Schaffer, who directs, co-writes and edits most of the iconic “Saturday Night Live” Digital Shorts. Says Ben Stiller:  “Akiva has a comedy chip in his brain.  He’s a genius editor and a true child of the digital age.”

The script required a high level of envelope-pushing.  “We had a great script from [co-screenwriter] Jared Stern, but we didn’t want to play it safe and we were determined to make it daring and unexpected,” says Levy.  Seth Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg, who had collaborated on screenplays for “Superbad” and “Pineapple Express,” came aboard the project, and their script delved deeply into the group’s skewed dynamics. “The alchemy of the script and Schaffer’s unique voice felt like a really good match,” says Levy.  “This is the real thing, not only in its use of language but in its sensibilities, which far exceed the boundaries of good taste.”

“The Watch” is released by  20^th Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros.

BRITISH COMEDY ACTOR RICHARD AYOADE JOINS BEN STILLER IN “THE WATCH”

Fast-rising British comedy talent Richard Ayoade joins Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill in the neighborhood comedy “The Watch” directed by award-winning writer and musician Akiva Schaffer (“Saturday Night Live”).

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

                “The Watch” follows four suburban men who formed a group to guard their neighborhood after a series of unexplained fatalities start to toll in their town.  Headed by the civic-minded Evan (Stiller), along with Bob (Vaughn), Franklin (Hill) and Jamarcus (Ayoade), the group initially follows some dubious teens who stay way past their bedtime, thinking they might find the culprit in their midst.  It wasn’t long before they realize that they’re fighting forces greater than they have imagined.  The four eventually comes to terms to settle their differences when the aliens start rummaging and rampaging through their watch in an attempt to take full control of earth. 

                To play the four members of “The Watch,” Levy and director Akiva Schaffer (a creative force on several famed “Saturday Night Live” short films) tapped three comedy icons and a new talent.  “We wanted the best,” says Levy,” and so we went out and got the best – three titans …together in the same movie!  And then we threw in the ‘grenade’ of ‘what the hell are you going to get with Richard Ayoade?’”

                Ayoade is a British comedian, writer and director best known for his iconic portrayal of Maurice Moss, the beloved über-geek in the award-winning British sitcom, “The IT Crowd.”  Ayoade’s innovative twist on the high-tech misfit has garnered him nationwide acclaim and honors including the Monte-Carlo Television Festival’s award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Comedy Series.

                Equally masterful behind the camera, Ayoade’s foray into directing began with helming music videos for English indie rock bands such as the Arctic Monkeys and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. In 2010, he made his directorial feature debut with the coming-of-age adaptation, “Submarine,” which he also wrote that received rave reviews and garnered Ayoade a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding Debut.

                Ayoade’s role Jamarcus, who is newly divorced and perpetually hungry for love, eagerly embraced The Watch’s off-kilter camaraderie.  “Jamarcus feels that The Watch is an opportunity to burst out of his shell,” says Ayoade, who is also a noted filmmaker, having written and directed the acclaimed British film “Submarine.”  Adds Schaffer: “He’s just looking to get out of the house and meet some ladies – and have sex with them.”

On the surface, Jamarcus is kind of an odd duck, but he may prove to be a secret weapon in the looming battle against the forces threatening the neighborhood.  Levy says it was Ayoade’s “idiosyncratic energy” that made him perfect for the role.  “He’s wildly inventive and completely strange in the best possible way. You never know what you’re going to get next with Richard.”  “Richard is the one the audience isn’t expecting, so he can sucker-punch them…with lovable jokes,” Schaffer concurs.

Beyond the R-13 rated hilarity lies a story about four guys who were not complete, or their best selves, until they joined forces.  As Bob admits to Evan: “You took a ragtag group of misfits and taught us there was something bigger than a few beers and some bro-time.  You taught us about community and how important it is.”

               

                “The Watch” is released by 20^th Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros.

The Watch

Story: Gruesome murder of a night shift security guard compelled a store owner to organize a neighborhood watch. Starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill.

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

 

Review: After Tower Heist, Ben Stiller is back with another comedy/action, The Watch. Stiller is known for his slapstick comedy like There's Something About Mary and The Fockers movies. Since Tower Heist, he teams up with the comedians and mixed with action. Vince Vaughn's comedy adds more charisma but it was predictable because it's quite the same with Wedding Crashers and Old School. Jonah Hill gets a piece of the action with comedy after 21 Jump Street. What I didn't expect was when they were joined by another comedian that I am not familiar. Richard Ayoade was a good addition for the group.

 

Thge story has some science fiction with it that it reminds me of Ivan Reitman's works like Ghostbusters and Evolution. In comparison to Evolution, I like The Watch better. As for the comedy, expect it has adult humor. There are some cinemas that may show it in R-16 but it may have deleted scenes. I think the movie was originally R-18.

 

The movie will start showing September 5 in Philippine cinemas and is released and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox. Blcok screening was held at SM Megamall last September 3, 2012 with 99.5 RT.

JUMPSTREET’S JONAH HILL IN ANOTHER OUTRAGEOUS COMEDY – “THE WATCH”

After debuting in the comedy “I Heart Huckabees,” Jonah Hill has steadily posited himself as a solid hilarious support in the string of his movies that followed.  Appearing afterwards in acclaimed hits like “The 40-Year Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” “Superbad,” “Forgettting Sarah Marshall,” “Get Him to the Greek,” “Moneyball” and the most recent “21 Jump Street” with Channing Tatum which is Hill’s highest grossing film after “Superbad.”

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

            His latest movie “The Watch” which is about to open in cinemas this September 5 (in Phils. cinemas) allowed him to work with Ben Stiller, one of moviedom’s great comic talents.  In “The Watch,”  four suburban guys formed a patrol which they tagged as ‘Neighborhood Watch’ after a mysterious incident left a security guard lifeless in the town’s superstore Costco.  Headed by the civic minded Evan (Ben Stiller), he recruits fun-loving family guy Bob (Vince Vaughn), tough-talking ‘wild card’ Franklin (Jonah Hill) and the recent divorcé Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade).

            “When they formed this ‘band of brothers’, the guys thought, sure, they might encounter some weird neighborhood stuff – maybe a burglar here, or peeping tom there – but suddenly they realize they’ve facing something extraordinary,” says producer Shawn Levy, the director of such hits as “Night at the Museum” and “Real Steel.”  “And The Watch is not just unprepared or unqualified, it’s not remotely equipped to deal with this problem; yet it’s all on them to stop it.”

                The youngest member of the team is Franklin (Jonah Hill), a twentysomething, militant looking tough guy with, notes Schaffer “a sweetness just underneath.”  (He still lives at home with his mom.)   So for Franklin, The Watch is the only way he can legally kick ass and take names.   

            Coming off his Oscar®-nominated performance in the drama “Moneyball,” and executive producing and starring in the critically-hailed hit “21 Jump Street,” Hill was not looking to return to the kind of raucous comedy that had propelled him to superstardom (like “Superbad” and “Pineapple Express”), but he “couldn’t resist the chance to perform opposite alongside Ben, Vince and Richard,” notes the actor.  “It was something I had to do.”  Moreover, “if I was going to do another broad comedy, I wanted it to have no basis in reality, and portray a character that could say or do anything.  Plus, anytime you put an extreme amount of danger in the hands of irresponsible people, you know the results are going to be really wild.”

More of Jonah Hill and the movie in this interactive trailer of “The Watch” http://www.youtube.com/thewatchintl.

            “The Watch” is a 20^th Century Fox movie and distributed by Warner Bros. in local cinemas.