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Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn short on laughs in 'The Watch'

( R ) ( Monitor Movie Guide )

'The Watch' has lots of gross-out CGI monster splatter, but falls short on comedy.

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Melinda Sue Gordon/20th Century Fox/AP
'The Watch' is all blah buddy comedy.
  • By Peter Rainer Film critic

In the new Ben Stiller comedy “The Watch,” four guys come together in suburban Glenview, Ohio, to form a neighborhood-watch group after a series of gruesome and inexplicable murders. They should have been on the look-out for theaters playing “The Watch” instead.

You may remember that this film was originally supposed to open under the title “The Neighborhood Watch” around the time of the Trayvon Martin incident. But there’s nothing real-world about “The Watch,” which is about how a gaggle of doofuses – played by Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade – take down an alien invasion. It’s a mash-up of blah buddy comedy and gross-out CGI monster splatter, with nary a laugh to be had. Grade: D (Rated R for some strong sexual content including references, pervasive language and violent images.)

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