Day 47: June 16th, 2010

Funny People.



Apatow Matures As A Filmmaker, But Forgot To Tell Us..

George Simmons is dying of a rare disease. Upon reflecting on his life, he becomes aware of all his past mistakes, choosing the money and fame over more important things. He tries to go back to his roots, stand up comedy. Be bombs on his set, but takes to the liking of Ira Wright, an up and coming comedian. He hires Ira to writes jokes for him and to become his assistant. When Simmons discovers that he might have beaten the disease, he decides to try and win back the love of his life, taking Ira on the trip with him.

That last part is not a spoiler of any kind, since every trailer states that he doesn't die and does indeed beat the disease. There are numerous things that misfire with Funny People and many things that it nails right on the head. The biggest problem is that people were not expecting it to be so dramatic. Apatow has matured as a director and writer, but he forgot to tell the audience, which resulted in a mediocre reception to an otherwise decent film.

The film stars the usual Apatow crew, Jonah Hill, Leslie Mann, Seth Rogen, but the main star is long time friend of Apatow, Adam Sandler. This role is a bit odd for Sandler, he is basically playing himself, but a more serious and dramatic side of himself. Simmons starts out in stand up comedy, makes it big with goofy films like being a Merman or having his adult head stuck on a child's body. The life mirrors Sandler's career, and the film acknowledges this with old tapes of Sandler in his younger days. Seeing Sandler that young doing his thing was what stood out the most to me. It was the most genuine moments in the film, an older man reflecting back on his career, the memories and the more funny times.

Funny People tries to be too many things and while some of it is really funny, the depressing subject matter of death and lost love is a bit too much for people going in expecting another Knocked Up or Virgin. The fact that the film plays out like two different movies doesn't help either. What at first looks to be a film about a man trying to accept his fate in life or death, quickly becomes a film about trying to win back your lost love. Is Funny People also a romantic comedy? The film is really long, there were so many parts that could have been cut out. This is coming from the guy who thought Virgin had the right running time. I think the switch in the narrative of the film attributes a lot to the film dragging out longer than it has to. Apatow needs to learn to cut stuff out of his films. Make them shorter, this isn't The Ten Commandments.

Funny People hosts a lot of great cameos from comedians though, many of which are really funny. Eric Bana has the funniest role out of everyone, which is surprising considering he's in a film with dozens of comedians. I guess it's true, seeing the straight laced guys do something fun is always the most entertaining part.. Sandler and Rogen both do well in their roles, even if at times I found their character traits to be a bit odd. Rogen specifically, I can't place my finger on it but he seems to be playing a more mature, drug free loser version of Ben Stone. His weight loss jokes were funny and a nice addition of humour from Apatow and crew.

Funny People is a good movie, marketed as something funnier than what it was. The film is a serious look at life, just from a comedians point of view. It's hard not know that most of the material is from both of their background in stand up and their lives, Sandler and Apatow. You can see the sense of history from comedians in this film and that is interesting. Funny People is funny, just not hysterical. It's depressing, just not cry worthy. It's good, just not great.

7/10