# Date rape in Observe and Report? (SPOILER warning) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 10, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648 "2009-04-10T15:14:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/1 "2009-04-10T15:14:18Z")
> **[Sexism Watch: Date Rape Gets Mainstream Film Release](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sexism-watch-date-rape-ge_b_185210)** > > Here's an idea. Don't see this movie this weekend. Stand up and say no. Why should we spend our good money watching a movie where we get raped for comedic purposes? From the link: > [@](#): > > Over the last day I’ve started to notice some disturbing posts about the film and date rape. So I forced myself to watch the trailer and there for all the world to see is Seth Rogen raping the passed out Anna Faris (a woman who is supposed to protect from a streaker.) She is clearly not able to make a conscious decision, her eyes are closed and there is a trail of vomit on the pillow. She is being raped but since it’s a comedy they can mitigate it by giving Rogen a moment where his brain goes “huh, maybe she’s unconscious” and stops pumping briefly only to hear Faris shout out something like “Why are you stopping motherfxxxer?” Like that makes it ok. Passed out screaming implies consent. Bad premise. Is this date rape? And is it funny? It does seem kind of creepy, but I guess she does kind of consent. Not that I’m going to see this movie unless it’s under EXTREME duress… ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/2 "2009-04-10T15:58:33Z")
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the “reviewer” hasn’t actually seen the movie, right? So just maybe there’s more to it. But hey, she’s willing to call for a boycott on a film she doesn’t want to see anyway, so that shows, um, principle? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/3 "2009-04-10T15:58:59Z")
I haven’t seen the movie yet (though I plan to), but part of the problem here is that it’s a Jody Hill movie (_Foot Fist Way_) being presented as a Judd Apatow comedy. From what I’ve heard, and what I would have assumed anyway, it is a weird, dark little movie that got screwed by the success of fucking _Mall Cop_, as was alluded to in a recent _SNL_. So instead of baw shucks underdog Paul Blart, you’ve got a royally fucked up, flawed (anti)hero who has serious issues with masculinity and with women. Again, haven’t seen it, and you can only tell so much from a trailer (even the R-rated one, which likely paints a more accurate picture than the TV spots). But yes, it looks as if Faris’s character was passed out after drinking (and on meds, I believe, according to another review), and Rogen’s character was pounding away. I guess the viewers are supposed to be a bit relieved when her (sort of) consent is given… but it’s not exactly clear what the deal was before that. Anyways, we’ll see. Right now I’m just cringing over how many 9-year-olds and their idiot parents are going to be in that audience. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/4 "2009-04-10T16:00:05Z")
From the New York Times review: > [@](#): > > During an ensuing date, Brandi gobbles pills, guzzles tequila and even sputters puke, prompting Ronnie to kiss her square on the messy mouth. What follows next should have been the shock of the movie: a cut to Ronnie having vigorous sex with Brandi who, from her closed eyes, slack body and the vomit trailing from her mouth to her pillow, appears to have passed out. But before the words “date rape” can form in your head, she rouses herself long enough to command Ronnie to keep going. I’ve added a spoiler warning to the thread title, although it’s probably pretty obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/5 "2009-04-10T16:24:47Z")
From the SXSW Review: > [@](#): > > If you think full frontal male nudity, “Old Boy”-style asskickings, date rape, and elderly incontinence are hilarious, you are in for a treat. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/6 "2009-04-10T17:05:23Z")
Anna Faris had a little something to say about her point of view of that scene and the movie recently in an [A.V. Club interview.](http://www.avclub.com/articles/anna-faris,26245/) _The unapologetic nature of Jody’s comedy was so appealing to me, and I really wanted be part of it. I’m so grateful I was cast, but when I read the script, I thought, “Well, this is Warner Brothers. This is a studio movie, so this is all gonna be softened up. It’s a comedy, right?” So when we were shooting it, even the date-rape scene—or as I refer to it, “The Tender Love-Making Scene”—I just thought, “We’ll shoot it, but it’s not gonna be in the movie. I don’t have to worry about that one.” And yet there it is._ ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/7 "2009-04-10T17:35:32Z")
The odd thing for me is, even most of the favorable reviews on RT make it sound horrible. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/8 "2009-04-10T20:04:31Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > I haven’t seen the movie yet (though I plan to), but part of the problem here is that it’s a Jody Hill movie (_Foot Fist Way_) being presented as a Judd Apatow comedy. From what I’ve heard, and what I would have assumed anyway, it is a weird, dark little movie that got screwed by the success of fucking _Mall Cop_, as was alluded to in a recent _SNL_. So instead of baw shucks underdog Paul Blart, you’ve got a royally fucked up, flawed (anti)hero who has serious issues with masculinity and with women. Interestingly, I was told by an insider that the makers of this and Paul Blart became aware of each other making a mall security guard movie during filming, and each inserted references to the other. But yeah, it sounds as though it’s a much darker comedy than the previews are making it out to be. Which of course means it will flop as hard as, say, _Cable Guy_ until DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/9 "2009-04-10T20:20:10Z")
I saw an advanced screening of this. I wish I hadn’t. I wasn’t particularly offended by anything (although there certainly was a lot more heaviness than I expected), it was just simply **Not a Good Movie** ™ ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/10 "2009-04-10T20:27:14Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > Interestingly, I was told by an insider that the makers of this and Paul Blart became aware of each other making a mall security guard movie during filming, and each inserted references to the other. Which is rather interesting, since it was pointed out that _Paul Blart: Mall Cop_ was lifted heavily from a sample script that appears on a script-ghostwriter-for-hire’s business Web page. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/11 "2009-04-13T01:44:05Z")
It does look stupid. I guess I’m having a hard time viewing it as rape the more I think about it. A lot of people on another board I read are saying it is rape because if you’re that drunk, you can’t give consent. It sort of makes me think of a lot of ambiguous rape situations, or gray rape, but I feel like if someone genuinely doesn’t say no, and in fact says yes, then it kind of infantilizes the woman to say she’s a victim, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/12 "2009-04-13T03:26:12Z")
It _is_ very dark, and probably not what people are expecting from a Seth Rogen movie. Especially since he’s currently voicing a cartoon monster in another hit movie. But you know what? I just came back from this movie and it was damn funny. Good acting, funny jokes, memorable scenes. It’s not going to set the world on fire, but I thought it was really good. That said, I think, as **JSexton** points out, people are going to hate it. Along with being very dark, it’s also not really a “laugh out loud” movie aside from a few parts. Seth Rogen is _not_ his loveable stoner self in this. He’s an insensitive, power-hungry bipolar bully with severe anger management issues. And he’s the good guy. Audiences will largely hate it, but it’s actually an awesome little movie. Cult classic in the making, I’d wager. \*Edited to add: There was hardly anybody in the theater I saw the movie in, but what audience there was audibly gasped when they cut to Seth Rogen plowing an apparently unconscious Anna Faris. Her line in that scene (“Keep going, motherfucker” or something like that) did get laughs. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/13 "2009-04-13T03:35:23Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I feel like if someone genuinely doesn’t say no, and in fact says yes, then it kind of infantilizes the woman to say she’s a victim, doesn’t it? No, it doesn’t - it acknowledges the fact that alcohol takes away your ability to think straight and make rational decisions. It’s no more infantalizing than laws against drunk driving are infantalizing. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/14 "2009-04-13T03:38:23Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > No, it doesn’t - it acknowledges the fact that alcohol takes away your ability to think straight and make rational decisions. > > It’s no more infantalizing than laws against drunk driving are infantalizing. But if someone chooses to drink and drive, then they’ve committed an illegal act. If someone gets drunk and chooses to have sex, then how are they the victim? I understand if someone’s drunk and passes out and literally can’t consent, but I don’t understand how they stop being responsible for their actions if they say, “Yes, let’s have sex.” If they say no, and they’re too drunk to extricate themselves, that seems clearly like rape. But that didn’t happen here. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/15 "2009-04-13T04:47:25Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > But if someone chooses to drink and drive, then they’ve committed an illegal act. If someone gets drunk and chooses to have sex, then how are they the victim? That’s the point – did she choose to do it? How can you make a “choice” when you’re incapable of rational thought? (Or even walking upright without help, for that matter.) Even if you can fashion your mouth to say “okay” in a situation like this, do you know what you’re saying “okay” to? Do you understand the nuances and risks of what you’re undertaking? You can’t really compare this with drinking and driving; people who attempt to drive under the influence have far more control of their motor functions (let alone their mental faculties) than this woman has in the scene that’s depicted. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/16 "2009-04-13T13:16:56Z")
If the guy AND the girl are both drunk, and therefore “incapable of rational thought,” is the drunk guy still guilty of rape if the drunk girl gives her drunken consent before he begins drunkenly screwing her? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/17 "2009-04-13T14:34:13Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > [COLOR=“Gray”]It sort of makes me think of a lot of ambiguous rape situations, or gray rape This post has been gray raped by the Gray Rapist![/COLOR] ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/18 "2009-04-13T17:16:54Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > That’s the point – did she choose to do it? How can you make a “choice” when you’re incapable of rational thought? (Or even walking upright without help, for that matter.) Even if you can fashion your mouth to say “okay” in a situation like this, do you know what you’re saying “okay” to? Do you understand the nuances and risks of what you’re undertaking? > > You can’t really compare this with drinking and driving; people who attempt to drive under the influence have far more control of their motor functions (let alone their mental faculties) than this woman has in the scene that’s depicted. But if someone were drunk enough to not know what they were doing, but could still walk around/move/operate a car, we’d blame them for driving. If someone genuinely is passed out or about to pass out, then I’d see that as rape. But if I have sex with someone and I’m really drunk, and they ask me if I’m sure and I say yes, I’d feel infantilized to be told “No, you don’t really want that.” I mean, if the person said yes and then passed out unconscious, then it would be rape. But if there were any ambiguity, I wouldn’t blame the other person for being a rapist–I’d just try not to get that tanked next time. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/19 "2009-04-13T17:54:05Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > This post has been gray raped by the Gray Rapist! you have so made my day. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648/20 "2009-04-13T18:20:02Z")
I saw the movie. She wasn’t unconscious. The gag (such as it is) is that Rogen is pounding away, looks down to see that she appears to have passed out and stops. Farris then opens her eyes and says, “why are you stopping, motherfucker?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-rape-in-observe-and-report-spoiler-warning/492648.md?page=2)