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Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, Rosemarie DeWitt ... see more see more... , Will Forte , Mel Rodriguez , Doug Jones , Erin Moriarty , Nicholas Braun , R. Lee Ermey , Joseph A. Nuñez , Liz Cackowski , Johnny Pemberton , Sharon Gee , Eric Lee Goins , Robert C. Sibley , Grace Fronebarger , Bonnie Silver , Jill Jane Clements , Paul Barlow, Jr. , Thomas Elliott , Sean Robert Goulding , Amy Napier Viteri , Flax Dame , Ryan Girard , Katie Kneeland , Ted Huckabee , Jeremiah "J.J." Williams Jr. , Ethan Shapanka , Marla Malcolm , Lindsey Coley , LaDonna Allison , Andy Samberg , Jorma Taccone , Akiva Schaffer , Cathy Shim , Carissa Capobianco , Kelsey Talley , Melia Talley , Patricia French , Erinn Hayes , Zack Mines , Emily Yuye Sikes , Billy Crudup , Marla Malcom

Four everyday suburban guys come together as an excuse to escape their humdrum lives one night a week. But when they accidentally discover that their town has become overrun with aliens posing as ordi... read more read more...nary suburbanites, they have no choice but to save their neighborhood -- and the world -- from total extermination. -- (C) 20th Century Fox

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41% liked it

72,275 ratings

Critics

16% liked it

152 critics

R, 1 hr. 41 min.

Directed by: Akiva Schaffer

Release Date: July 27, 2012

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DVD Release Date: November 13, 2012

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Stats: 3,901 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (3,901)

  • fb1463751009
    May 17, 2013
    fb1463751009
    Don't expect big laughs and you'll get a somewhat entertaining premise.
  • itsjustme2004
    March 5, 2013
    itsjustme2004
    Oh come on guys! Your talents are worth much more than what you put into this average at best movie....sigh.
  • mrbungle7821
    March 3, 2013
    mrbungle7821
    If scientists could take time away from, you know, curing diseases, and craft the perfect blend of "meh" in a lab, I would be The Watch. It's not particularly offensive or terrible but it's certainly not good. The humor of boys misbehaving and talking tough doesn't ever seem to g... read moreet further than the initial concept. The movie ends up becoming a more crass version of Ghostbusters, with an especially fascination for the male member. This is a very penis-obsessive movie. Usually guy-centric sex raunchy comedies will definitely feature strong discussion/comedy revolving around male genitalia, but this is one of the few movies where complete storylines hinge upon penises (weird imagery, I'll admit). Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jonah Hill are more annoying than anything else. Poor Rosemarie DeWitt as the underwritten wife role in what is essentially a boys-behaving-badly movie (also her second 2012 movie where she's trying to get pregnant). When the movie goes full-force into action mode, it loses just about any semblance of comedy. I laughed about three times, and that was thanks to Richard Ayoade (TV's The IT Crowd) and, believe it or not, Will Forte (MacGruber). Sitting through 105 minutes with little laughs, irritating characters, and poorly conceived action in place of genuine comedic payoffs, well it's not exactly a recipe for a successful summer comedy. And yet, with all its obvious faults, I couldn't hate the movie as others have. It's certainly not likeable but it does go about its business with a certain swagger, albeit misguided. Cocky loudmouths failing at entertainment are still marginally better than artists who don't even try. It sounds like I'm reaching, and I am, but The Watch, certainly a bad comedy, may eventually be worth a watch when, you know, it's on TV and you can half-heartedly pay attention to it while you go about your day.

    Nate's Grade: C-
  • bbcfloridabound
    February 9, 2013
    bbcfloridabound
    Skip it. Not totally horrible but this movie seems to have been made for 13 year olds by 13 year olds. The kind of humor that works on the playground but not in the cinema. Just enough sex jokes and nudity to keep the 7th graders interested with a few explosions and gunfights add... read moreed for good measure. I rented this movie because I am a fan of the seemingly stellar cast but Stiller, Vaughn, and Hill seem to just be rehashing characters from previous roles and the usually watchable Rosemarie Dewitt's talent is totally wasted here. Dumb and stupid, not in the good way. 2 Stars 1-14-13
  • skactopus
    January 16, 2013
    skactopus
    Akiva Schaffer's mixture of sci-fi and comedy never blends well in The Watch.

    For a 95 minute story, there are very few laughs to be had, if any. The story feels like forever before it gets going and when it finally does, it dies down again. Fortunately, a plot twist a

    ... read morend the final 20 minutes tend to pick things up a bit. Not a whole lot. Just a bit.

    The comedy is unfulfilling and unfunny, since so much of it is sexually oriented. The science fiction elements are good thanks to the creature and special effects. Unfortunately, it's hard to take serious with the way the film plays out.

    Ben Stiller is too serious for this comedy while Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill are too comedic for the serious sci-fi. It's not that they delivered terrible performances, but once again the pieces just don't fall into place.

    The Watch is a film to not watch; move on to something else.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    January 13, 2013
    TheDudeLebowski65
    The Watch has received a lot of flack for being one of the unfunniest comedies of 2012. Although not the worst, I felt that this film was decent and it could have been much better. The worst part of this movie is, is that it had potential of being such a memorable comedy. As it i... read mores, it is a film that at times is pretty funny, but is limited with too many weak moments to make it stand out. Considering the cast at hand, you'd expect something very funny from start to finish. The jokes can give you a few chuckles, but the script could have used a bit more polishing. This is a mindless comedy, but could have been much better too. I've seen worst comedies than this, and for what it is, it is pretty entertaining. The film is a series of clichés, so don't expect anything original in terms of a good story. I thought this film was funny, but it wasn't the comedy I hoped it would be. Is it the worst comedy 2012? Definitely not, but it's far from the best as well. Considering some good comedic talent, this one could have been very funny, but at times the film is clumsy with its material and the filmmakers clearly can't seem to come up with great jokes. The funny bits here are good, but in the end, you realize that the Watch had the potential to be a great film, but in the end it simply is a decent one at best. Expect some laughs, but never anything too original or memorable in the long run. This is the type of film to view if you have nothing else better to watch.
  • LWOODS04
    December 26, 2012
    LWOODS04
    Jamarcus: I have this one scenario in my mind. I kinda hope it plays out like this: young, sexy, Asian housewife, alone at night, frightened. A noise out by the trash cans. Best call the neighbourhood watch. I show up, look heroic, and then... get this - she sucks my balls... read more.
    Franklin: I'm also interested in that happening to me.

    The Watch is a raunchy, somewhat funny film. It's not as funny as I was hoping it would be, but still funny enough. I think Richard, Vince, and Jonah were what made this. Ben was just there. Will Forte as Sergeant Bressman was really odd and funny. Billy Crudup did creepy quite well. He weirded me out. The movie is a lot of fun. But I wish there was more going on. It just needed some more funny action scenes. I like the whole bit with bob and his daughter. Franklin was my favorite. He's a little bit crazy. Not a bad comedy. I would watch it again."
  • jlewis07
    December 11, 2012
    jlewis07
    I admittedly have not watched very many panned movies over the years for good reason, but my fiancé wanted to see this and I fought to not waste our money on it in theaters and wait for DVD based on the horrendous reviews. I'm glad I won that battle because this is the worst movi... read moree I have seen in awhile. Awful raunchy and vulgar jokes at every turn, a nonsensical story that is only there to further serve the raunchiness, and the biggest problem: It wastes a fantastic cast. The only positive is the decent creature effects, but again they are wasted. I will admit that there's a lot more gory horror elements in this than I was expecting based on previews and it caught me off guard quite a bit. I'm sure mainstream audiences expecting a straight raunchy comedy like The Hangover will be incredibly turned off. I can't recommend this filth to anyone.
  • FrizzDrop
    November 26, 2012
    FrizzDrop
    Oh, what a horrific waste of time. It looked generic, it smelled generic, but it wasn't generic, it was wasteful. You wouldn't think something that contains such a diverse and funny cast could be such a blatant cop out. It's not their fault, it really isn't, because though some o... read moref them have become complacent over the years (I'm looking at you Vince Vaughan) many of them do try to find really interesting and comedic projects. Though Vaughan may have chosen some stinkers in the past several years, he truly tries with the material he is given and same goes for Stiller, Hill, and Ayoade. The film itself was simply a vehicle, pitched by an executive that was written four years ago, and retooled by Seth Rogen and childhood friend Evan Goldberg. Though this comedic pairing usually does a great job with scripts, they were not the prime people for this project. This was already a colossal waste of time, and they couldn't do much with it except bring their usual brand of humor which simply failed. The concept of the film is that of a "Ghostbustery teen comedy," and instead of working well with that they tried to do what they do best, and that is to make vulgar, gross out humor consumable for audiences. The genre mashing is horrific, the humor makes no sense, and it possesses no tone, no viable characters, and nothing to make this any more significant or original than the rest of the schlock out there. People try to defend this massacre of cinema by boasting that the cast tried, and I will contest there is a general ease with their performances. Still, these are easy roles for each of them: Stiller as the naive do-gooder, Vaughan as the inappropriate clod, Hill as the repressed young person, and Ayoade as an oddball in a sea of reservationists with the same heart? They have been in films, on television, etc. etc. many times before, and it's awkwardly apparent they are all phoning it in. The plot is dumb, the ending is trivial, and overall, I felt sapped of energy by the end. Nothing was funny, nothing was worth salvaging, and people should simply stop defending trash.
  • fb100000145236770
    November 17, 2012
    fb100000145236770
    I gotta say, you see a movie with Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, and Jonah Hill you think it would be awesome. Instead, you get "The Watch" a very uneven sci-fi/comedy/action movie that doesn't work. It's about four guys who form a neighborhood watch after a murder in their town. ... read moreBut they quickly find out it wasn't a person who did the murdering, it was an alien. So now they have to fight aliens to save their town. First the good, Vaughn is awesome and plays pretty much the same character he did in "Old School". Mouthy, quick witted, and just comes off as a cool jerk. Also, there is an awesome cameo by R. Lee Emry, which is the absolute highlight of the movie and makes it worth a watch. However, after the Emry scene it goes way downhill, and you will probably fall asleep(took me two nights to get through this). The first half of the movie is good and very funny. Then I don't know what happened but it just gets stupid and incoherent. It may work for some people and that's fine, but it didn't work for me. I was pretty disappointed.

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Critic Reviews

Guy Lodge
August 21, 2012
Guy Lodge, Time Out

A film packaged as pure product, aiming to snare the combined markets for loudmouth comics, sci-fi action and, er, Richard Ayoade - who, however seemingly misplaced, is the freshest thing here. Full Review

Peter Rainer
August 3, 2012
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

It's a mash-up of blah buddy comedy and gross-out CGI monster splatter, with nary a laugh to be had. Full Review

Linda Barnard
July 27, 2012
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star

The Watch is a predictable and lazy comedy wrapped around a penis joke occasionally enlivened with some funny lines. Full Review

Peter Travers
July 27, 2012
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

What should have been at least Ghostbusters lite ends up sliming audiences with sloppy seconds. Full Review

Ann Hornaday
July 26, 2012
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

"The Watch" takes the same ethos of male bonding, obsession with sex and sardonic violence that has proved so profitable in recent years on yet another summer spin. Full Review

Rick Groen
July 26, 2012
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

Improvisation is definitely The Watch-word, with Vaughn and Hill in particular winging just about every line they speak - most of them filthy, few of them funny. Full Review

Rafer Guzman
July 26, 2012
Rafer Guzman, Newsday

For hang time with the guys, you could do worse than "The Watch." Full Review

Tom Long
July 26, 2012
Tom Long, Detroit News

Really, wait for it on cable. At least then you'll be able to change the channel. Full Review

Kyle Smith
July 26, 2012
Kyle Smith, New York Post

The "action" scenes come across as brief, noisy periods of rest from the lame comedy, which counts for something, if not quite what the filmmakers intended. Full Review

J. R. Jones
July 26, 2012
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Much of the action takes place after hours in the Costco managed by Stiller's character, but the laughs are not available in bulk. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Facts

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    • Jamarcus: In a few hours, a transmitter will become operational. When it signals, our armada will commence a global invasion starting here in Glenview, which is clearly not ideal for you.
    • Bob: What?
    • Franklin: Why?
    • Jamarcus: We're aliens, that's what we do.
    • Franklin: Look there's that kid from Costco with the big fat dick. Walking around with his massive cock like he owns the joint. That shits just banging against his knee caps. $20 that guys dick dips in the toilet as he's taking a shit.
    • Franklin: I have one important question that I need you to answer for me right now, are you with us?
    • Sergeant Bressman: Are you a cup?
    • Franklin: No, you rejected me because I was too awesome for you.
    • Jamarcus: Nice to meet you.
    • Retiree #1: Fuck you curly.
    • Jamarcus: Bob, this is the shits.
    • Jason: It's just shit.
    • Jamarcus: This, is just shit.
    • Bob: Who is this boy toy named Jason? What's his toy story?
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The Watch : Watch Free on TV

The Watch Trivia

  • In Gremlins, what's the significance of the movie titles 'A Boys Life' and 'Watch the Skies' (seen on the cinema board)?  Answer »
  • What was the prayer in Cradle 2 the Grave that DMX and his daughter recited?  Answer »
  • Who said this quote and in what fim? "I'm dishonest and a dishonest person you can always trust to be dishonest! Honestly! It's the honest ones you have to watch out for coz you never know when they'll do something incredibly stpid!"  Answer »
  • In the movie Titanic, how did the watch men get distracted before the ship hit thye ice burg??  Answer »
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