Rising star Rogen trades in ‘schlub’ image for mature roles
Seth Rogen at the premieres of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" in 2005 (right) and the premiere of his latest film, "Observe and Report" (left) in which the slimmed-down actor reveals a new serious side to his screen persona.
By A.J. Fox, The Dartmouth Senior Staff
Published on Thursday, April 16, 2009
When "Observe and Report," a wickedly dark comedy about a sociopathic mall cop, opened last weekend to mixed reviews and an indifferent box office, the few brave souls who ventured out to see it were united on a single point: Seth Rogen, the movie's formerly jovial star, had suddenly gotten all serious on us. Whether or not this was a good thing was a matter of some debate. "Seth Rogen, a consistently genial stoner presence in what seems like every fourth movie these days, shows he can actually act," wrote The New York Post's Lou Lumenick in an appreciative review of the film. Not so, dissented Dana Stevens in Slate Magazine, writing "Rogen goes deeper than he ever has -- and that's not a good thing."
An angry clown is a strange sight to behold, and most critics seemed to regard "Observe and Report" with an appropriately quizzical attitude. Why, they pondered, had Rogen -- a swiftly rising star in the firmament of American comedy -- chosen to shed his loveable (and bankable) screen persona, in favor of this morbid confection? Rogen's performance as Ronnie Barnhardt, the racist, sexist, violent nut-job of "Observe and Report," embodies all of the characteristics that a mainstream comedian should presumably avoid. Even the film's most vociferous detractors seemed humbled by the audacity of the stunt, which few of Rogen's fellow comics would ever dare attempt. When was the last time you saw Will Ferrell or Jim Carrey beat a drug dealer to death with a nightstick?
For most of his brief but fertile career, Rogen has offered countless variations on the prototypical American schlub. His characters are mostly plump, unshaven slackers who stumble into all manner of misadventures in pursuit of sex and drugs. Most of these roles are interchangeable ("Observe and Report" notwithstanding), but there seems to be something in Rogen's particular brand of slovenly fecklessness that has captured the public's attention. The actor, who turned 27 on Wednesday, has built a voluminous body of work in just a few years and has enjoyed relatively lucrative box office returns. With "Observe and Report" moving him into more mature territory, and a couple of franchise films on the horizon, it seems that Rogen is perilously close to becoming a leading man.
Not bad for an actor who once described himself to CBS as "an overweight Canadian Jewish boy." Originally from Vancouver, Rogen got his start in Hollywood playing a surly, angst-ridden teenager on the television series "Freaks and Geeks." The show barely lasted a season, but it spawned a cult of loyal viewers who have followed Rogen ever since. Even more auspiciously, "Freaks and Geeks" introduced Rogen to Judd Apatow, the show's executive producer, who has since become the most successful figure in mainstream American comedy. Beginning with "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" in 2005, Apatow has produced (and, in some cases, directed) a succession of raunchy, middlebrow comedies that have proven immensely popular with a range of demographics. Rogen, who appears in many of these films, has fed off Apatow's success, while simultaneously cultivating a prolific career in his own right.
Watching Rogen caper about as Cal -- the shaggy horn-dog who counsels Steve Carell on how to vanquish his celibacy in "Virgin" -- one can't help but ponder what an unlikely seduction tutor he appears to be. Rogen has an amiable face whose bland features are softened by pudginess and a wealth of facial hair. When he smiles, his puffy cheeks manifest adorably childlike dimples. His rumbling, jocular baritone recalls the voice of a Saturday morning cartoon character (unsurprisingly, much of Rogen's most acclaimed work has been in voiceover -- in "Monsters Vs. Aliens," he charmed critics as a cheerful blob monster). Overall, he projects an aura of cuddly innocence, an effect that contrasts weirdly -- and sometimes hilariously -- with the bawdy scoundrels he usually plays. Rogen is not much of an actor -- he relies too readily on the same arsenal of oafish mannerisms, regardless of the role -- but he's still one of the most amusing screen-fillers in recent memory. His unwashed stoner persona reached a zenith of sorts in "Knocked Up" (2007), an Apatow comedy that starred Rogen as an unshaven boor unhappily saddled with the burden of impending parenthood. The film offered a rather cruel jest at Rogen's expense; the pregnant love interest was played by Katherine Heigl, a luminous actress whose romance with Rogen was made to seem comically improbable. Kevin Smith repeated the same gag by casting Rogen opposite Elizabeth Banks in "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" (2008), but even Banks, with her sparky sexual assertiveness, couldn't quite tame the unkempt beast.
Indeed, there is something almost exclusively masculine in Rogen's onscreen persona, which may explain why he seems so comfortable in Apatow's wheelhouse of dude comedy. It also elucidates why Rogen's most memorable onscreen pairings have been with other males. "Pineapple Express" (2008) offered him the pretense of a female love interest (played by the nubile Amber Heard), but that film seemed far more focused on the homoerotic chemistry between Rogen's bewildered pot-head and his carefree drug dealer (James Franco). Likewise, there was little in "Superbad" (2007) that could match the nervy comic banter between Rogen (who co-wrote the script) and Bill Hader, playing two clueless cops who get caught up in a tangle of high school hijinks.
By subverting the sexual expectations that accompany the star personae of Hollywood's leading men, Rogen has effectively positioned himself as the latest chapter in the narrative of onscreen Jewish manhood that began in the 1970s with actors like Dustin Hoffman, Elliott Gould and Woody Allen. Rogen is a coarser breed of performer to be sure, but his stardom may have emerged from the same cultural impulse. Just as the Jewish actors of the 1970s rose to prominence during a time when American machismo had been undermined by the folly of the Vietnam War, Rogen's speedy ascent may be a response to the cowboy culture of the Bush regime. But whereas his predecessors redefined American manhood by playing upon their nebbish images, Rogen is more of a slob than a nerd -- he undermines cultural standards of masculinity not by contradicting them, but by trying to embrace them and failing. Rogen's character in "Knocked Up" praises the sleek Semitic cool of Eric Bana in "Munich" (2005), but he's still just an oversexed puppy dog.
Or not. The Seth Rogen that appeared on the red carpet last week to promote "Observe and Report" had shed his flab and fuzz, and looked uncharacteristically respectable in his svelte tuxedo. With Apatow's "Funny People" out this summer, Rogen's next project is reportedly "The Green Hornet," a superhero movie based on the popular comic book series. A superhero movie. Starring Seth Rogen.
Coupled with the actor's recent physical transformation, this news suggests that Hollywood's most popular goofball is about to become much more popular, and much less goofy.
One can only wonder how much of the old Rogen -- the lovable, unwashed schlub whose libidinous exploits have brought joy to so many -- will survive the transition.