With all of the comic darkness and bleaker view of humanity in "Observe and Report," one might expect its creator, writer and director, Jody Hill, to be something of a misanthrope -- the Daniel Plainview of comedy. He's not (at least in one conversation), and comes off as cleverly bemused by his characters and the darker aspects of life. In person, the 32-year-old North Carolinian is polite, smart, quick to laugh and unpretentious. He's not going to give you a long dissertation on why his characters are so addled, and yet he's clearly philosophical about it. He's quite obviously experienced, knowledgeable about film (we talked about everything from the greatness of Robert Altman's "California Split" to Mike Hodges' "Flash Gordon"), and has seen the people and places that inhabit his creations, which is one reason why his work manages to come off less obvious and, though harsh, not insultingly mocking.

For instance, when discussing Rogen's rage-filled, delusional Ronnie, he summons a man he knew as a kid. Laughing at the reminiscence, Hill says, "I remember being like 12 years old, and [this guy] kind of looked like Ronnie ... This guy was outside smoking a cigarette and like, literally, he reached in his pocket and said, 'Hey check this out,' and he pulled out a handgun and showed it to me. And he says [with bravado]: 'I sleep with this baby every night.'"

This is what makes Hill so different than other comedy filmmakers. In Hill's universe, that scary guy flashing the handgun isn't a wacky side character, he's the lead. Kind of like if Diedrich Bader's rough, likable construction worker neighbor in Mike Judge's "Office Space," the guy who took such an understandably strong rejection to the saying "case of the Mondays" ("I believe you'd get your ass kicked for saying something like that"), took more psychotic center stage.

And hopefully those kinds of men can endure in bigger budget comedy. "Observe and Report" puts Hill in an interesting, challenging position within the Hollywood system. In a matter of a few years, he has moved from cult filmmaker, with his hilarious and distinct "The Foot Fist Way" (starring co-writer and last year's breakout comedy star, Danny McBride) -- the movie for which Will Ferrell and Adam McKay helped Hill secure a release (the film was made in 2006 and released last year) -- to the director of a major studio film. Ferrell, McKay and Patton Oswalt rightly championed the movie as one of the funniest they'd ever seen, and the picture showcased a terrific lead performance by McBride as a ridiculously overconfident yet strangely lovable tae kwon do instructor.

Not to disappoint, Hill went above and beyond the call of comedy duty by creating the best show of this year, HBO's "Eastbound & Down," in which McBride plays Kenny Powers, a bitter, washed-up baseball pitcher. After a stint in rehab, he returns home only to struggle with proper self-reflection while working as a substitute gym teacher. Executive produced by Ferrell, and with episodes directed by McKay and friend and collaborator David Gordon Green, this work of what you might call "hicksploitation" (but isn't) features a daringly unlikable character who drinks too much, snorts cocaine, bullies, brags and yells but, by season's end, is remarkably sympathetic. Heartbreaking, in fact.