The Watch - C

Rated R, 100 minutes

Ill-timed mix of potty humor and aliens make for an uneasy "Watch"

Richard Ayoade, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill

"The Watch" is a uncomfortable, dark comedy with a great cast and writers that would be funnier if it weren't for the news. Sometimes things happen you just can't stop, which is the case with this new low-brow comedy co-written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.  A group of suburbanites (Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade) form a neighborhood watch group to allow them time to escape from their families and boring lives. However, when the group discovers an alien plot that threatens the entire world, they are forced to confront it head on. "The Watch" has unfortunate timing coming after the whole tragic Trayvon Martin shooting; originally called "Neighborhood Watch" but later changed, producers should've delayed the film longer or sent it directly to DVD or pay-per-view, where it could find a more devoted audience. "The Watch" is a strictly hit-or-miss, uneasy mixture of buddy-buddy comedy, immature humor and aliens, and while it bears little resemblance to the Martin case, it's simply a case of being too soon. It's nice pairing Stiller and Vaughn together, and Vaughn in particular seems back in good form with some humorous rants and riffs and there are some nice elements to the dark humor, but overall much of it falls flat and or seems in bad taste (guns and violence are very present, which doesn't help its case), which is truly unfortunate for such a talented cast, all who've done better before. The normally likable Hill has a few good moments but his character seems the most creepy, while British comedian Ayoade is considerably underused and falls prey to the script's predictable conventions. "The Watch" isn't a terrible film, filled with a few good reflex, profane laughs and overall is more entertaining than the trailers make it out to be. But in a case where art imitates life and vice versa, "The Watch" could've been more relevant (and funnier) had it waited.