 Jake LaMotta would've made a hell of a comedian |
| Review Date: November 2, 2009 |
| Reviewer: S. Rosen, NJ USA |
Judd Apatow's Funny People is going to divide audiences (it certainly has divided critics). Those going in expecting a comedy along the lines of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up or any other of the films in the Apatow-verse will enjoy it but not love it. But that reaction may be more a product of the misdirection in the marketing of the film than anything else. Funny People is going for something more emotionally complex, and it succeeds on that count.
Without dwelling on plot, the film focuses, by and large, on the professional and personal lives of a group of comics and comic actors at various rungs of the show business ladder, from Adam Sandler's George Simmons, a hugely successful film comedy star who came out of the stand-up comedy world, to Seth Rogan's Ira Wright, a novice comic who is drawn into George's world, to Ira's friends, who are his roommates, who are his competitors.
The common thread running through these characters is anger and aggression, both explicit and sublimated. They steal jokes, jobs and women from each other (listed here in order of importance to the comics). The relationship between the performers and their audiences is similarly complicated (it's become a cliched observation that comics talk about "killing" the crowd).
Interestingly, although all the comedians share this anger and aggression, it's only those who ride those dark emotions into similarly dark comedy that have preserved their spark. The farther the comics stray from their anger, the worse their comedy - as evidenced by Sandler's character, who churns out family-friendly claptrap and co-star Jason Schwartzman's Yo, Teach!, a self-important sitcom (both brilliantly captured in clips woven into Funny People).
In Funny People, comedy is the universal language by which these emotionally-constricted characters communicate. There are awkward hugs and half-hearted attempts at compassion, but the most tender moment, coming late in the film, involves one character expressing love by writing jokes for another.
All this aside, I don't want to lose sight of the fact that this is a funny, entertaining, emotionally-involving film. But that said, in an odd way, Funny People echoes Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull. Both films are about angry and aggressive people who channel those drives in socially acceptable ways. (Even more oddly, Billy Crystal's horrific and mawkish Mr. Saturday Night attempted more overtly to be the Raging Bull of comedy, and the less said about that effort the better.)
It wasn't until the ride home from the movie that it occurred to me that the "funny" in the title Funny People could have two meanings; there's funny ha-ha, and funny-odd. Here, the people are intentionally, compellingly both. |
Flawed and Meandering Yet Still a Worthwhile Look Inside a Stand-Up Comic's Mind
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| Review Date: November 27, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Ed Uyeshima, San Francisco, CA USA |
The psyche of the stand-up comedian is the subject of Judd Apatow's third and most ambitious directorial effort, but the elliptical, rather skewed characters that inhabit this serious-minded 2009 comedy obscure the personal revelations that he ironically attempts to mine. In certain ways, it's a dramatically audacious film, yet in others, Apatow comes back to the comfortably off-kilter humor of his previous ensemble efforts, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Sometimes the balance feels very off here, primarily because the protagonist is so hard to read from the outside. It was inevitable that the director cast his former roommate Adam Sandler as George Simmons, a comic who has become a major movie star based on the type of juvenilia he constantly ridicules. Sandler accurately captures both the demented comedy mind and the innate cruelty that keeps everyone at arm's length. It's a tricky part that has quite a few autobiographical elements for both director and star, but he plays it with melancholic deftness.
The meandering plot begins with George receiving bad news. He finds out he's dying of a rare blood disease and recognizes a need to reassess his priorities. George spots a struggling young comic, Ira Wright, at a local comedy club and hires him to write material and become his gopher. They bond quickly, and Ira becomes George's confidant, the only one who knows of his fatal diagnosis. Ira also has two roommates, another stand-up comic and an actor who has already caught his break starring as a teacher in a high school-set sitcom. Both become envious of Ira's budding relationship with George. Meanwhile, an old flame reenters George's life, Laura, a former actress who has turned into a suburbanite married to an Aussie exporter and raising two daughters in Marin County. Sparks are rekindled, and relationships start to get messy all around. As both writer and director, Apatow handles the situations dexterously but excessively. The film runs on far too long at a marathon 153 minutes and then simply trails off.
Newly trimmed down, Apatow protégé Seth Rogen plays his familiar dweebish persona as Ira, although he brings more depth to his submissive character with each humiliating act. Leslie Mann, Apatow's wife, has been promoted to leading lady this time as Laura, and she excels with her endearingly brittle style. In another justified act of nepotism, the director recruited their children to play the two precocious daughters. Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman play the roommates with their usual deadpan aplomb. The film's biggest surprise is the usually dour Eric Bana (Munich) lightening up quite a bit as Laura's suspicious husband. Cameos from well-known comics (Ray Romano, Andy Dick, Paul Reiser, Sarah Silverman, etc.) and even comic turns from the likes of Eminem and James Taylor are sprinkled throughout to give the film an air of Hollywood-style realism. The esteemed cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List) provides the film a bright, sharp look throughout.
The two-disc 2009 DVD set smacks of overkill, but there are highlights to consider, chief among them the amusing commentary from Apatow, Sandler, and Rogen, in which they hilariously separate fact from fiction. The first disc also contains a four-minute gag reel. Disc Two contains 21 minutes of deleted scenes; six extended and alternate scenes; another gag reel; and a line-o-rama, a standard extra on Apatow's DVDs where the actors riff on the same lines for maximum comic effect. A lengthy, one-hour-plus video diary from the director is the centerpiece of Disc Two. Other featurettes center on Aziz Ansari's obnoxious stand-up comic; archival footage of Sandler and a thirteen-year-old Rogen; and a faux-documentary on George Simmons' film career. There are also music clips from Taylor, as well as Sandler performing with musician Jon Brion. |
Apatow's Weakest Film Is Also His Most Mature Effort
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| Review Date: November 24, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Joshua Miller, Coeur d'Alene,ID |
Judd Apatow has been consistent in releasing hilarious films over the last few years as a writer, director, and producer. Funny People, his third film as writer/director, gave me considerably high expectations, especially with the talent behind and in front of the camera. I saw the film as possibly being a return to form for Adam Sandler, who hasn't made a well-written, original, or truly funny comedy in some time now. Funny People is not a typical Apatow comedy and is an example of the director broadening his range as a filmmaker. Despite the title, this is much more of a drama than a comedy and is easily Apatow's most mature effort as a filmmaker.
The film opens with actual footage of Sandler making prank phone calls when he and Apatow were roommates. It quickly changes gears and introduces us to George Simmons (Sandler), a famous stand-up comedian diagnosed with AML, a blood disease similar to leukemia. George doesn't have much longer to live and he's got no one to help him cope with it. He has a large mansion overlooking Los Angeles and he's recognized in public all the time, but George lacks any real human connection. Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) is an aspiring stand-up comedian who isn't very funny, but George sees him at a club, likes him, and commissions him to write jokes for him. George latches onto Ira for emotional support, while never really letting him in to his life. Their relationship is summed up with George's line "I don't have a best friend. You're my best friend and I don't even like you!" As George struggles with his mortality, he reconnects with Laura (Leslie Mann) the one he let get away, now married with two children.
The film also stars Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman, as Ira's roommates and is littered with celebrity cameos (the most amusing being Eminem and Ray Romano). Funny People runs about 140 minutes and this bloated running time gives Apatow a lot of material to fit into the movie. While I applaud the man for trying something different, he has a lot of room to grow as a dramatic filmmaker and there are moments of this film that it seems he's taken a few steps back as a comedic filmmaker. The movie has scattered scenes of stand-up comedy that are really, almost ridiculously unfunny. Initially, this made sense as a way of illustrating the fact that Ira isn't particularly funny...But every scene of stand-up comedy, including those with George Simmons weren't funny. And I don't just mean that the comedic style didn't appeal to my comedic palette, I mean the jokes are horribly un-funny and poorly written. They are jokes that sound like they were written by teenagers and there doesn't seem to be a reason why they're so bad. There's nothing smart or witty about any of the jokes in the stand-up scenes. If this was intentional, I stand by my reservations about the jokes because how often did Apatow have to subject us to un-funny scenes of stand-up?
There are some strong performances in this film and you see several of them growing as actors. Seth Rogen is not far removed from his usual role, but he is certainly trying to play a different character here. He has a smaller physical frame, yes and sideburns which should've been given screen credit, but this performance is much more human than his performances in other films. Sandler has been showing lately that he's very effective in dramatic roles and he brings moments of genuine pathos to his performance as George Simmons. I don't think Apatow fleshed-out Simmons as much as he could have, but I did get the feeling that Sandler is more like Simmons than other characters he has played. Jason Schwartzman (who also does the music for the film) abandons the quirky, sarcastic character he usually plays for the quietly arrogant wannabe actor. It's hardly a big change, but it's nice to see him playing something slightly different. Finally, in a film with some very funny people it is Jonah Hill and Eric Bana that really bring genuinely funny moments to the film. Hill has a comedic style he brings with him from film-to-film, but his awkward, shy sarcasm brings some much-needed humor to the film when you don't expect it. Bana is the real surprise as Laura's Australian husband Clark and his performance is the most memorable and certainly the highlight of the film.
What could have really salvaged this film is a rewrite of the script or some editing. The script isn't bad, but it doesn't seem like Apatow wrote more than one draft and he could have taken more time to flesh out his characters and find a better story arc. Editing, at the very least, would have drastically helped this film and if the plot had focused more on the internal struggle of George Simmons it could have brought the filmmakers some awards. I found the first scene with Sandler and Mann together worked very well as a drama. There's a sense of realism and plausibility to the idea that the two are former lovers who still have strong feelings for each other. The scene is very subtle, there are no dramatic exchanges and it was this scene that showed me how Apatow could one day be a very good dramatic filmmaker, but he's got a little more to learn.
The film's biggest flaw is really its running time and, from someone who has nothing against long movies; this movie is way too long and I'm not entirely sure what Apatow intended people to take away from Funny People, nor am I entirely sure what his intention for the film itself was. It's not meant to be hilariously funny, but it never quite takes itself seriously enough to be taken seriously as a drama. Funny People is not a horrible film, although many will think it is just like Sandler's other ventures into drama haven't been looked on with affection. However, mature or not, this is Judd Apatow's weakest film and will have the shortest shelf-life of the films he has made thus far.
GRADE: C+ |
Witty, funny, and fun
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| Review Date: September 13, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Heather, |
One of Sandler's better films in recent years.
If you like Knocked Up, you will more than likely like this film. It has a lot of the same seriousness, minus all the pot jokes and references. Yes, there is a lot of complains about the same type jokes but I barely noticed them. It's about stand up comedy. All stand up comedians talk about the same thing so anyone who said their are too many certain jokes has never seen a stand up comedian before. That said this movie is cute, witty, smart, and funny. I cried, I laughed, and loved every second of Funny People. |
Apatow's most mature effort...
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| Review Date: January 11, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Jon, Tulsa, OK |
| ... and perhaps that's what made it unpalatable to many of his fans. Characters are extremely well-developed (AND portrayed), there is more heart underneath the expected "potty humor..." if Mr. Apatow continues to grow as a writer, I'll continue to watch his movies. |
Funny People Review
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| Review Date: January 8, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Craig Whittle, Phoenix, AZ |
FUNNY PEOPLE
STARRING: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow, Eric Bana, Jason Schwartzman, Jonah Hill, Aubrey Plaza, RZA, Torsten Voges and Aziz Ansari
WRITTEN BY: Judd Apatow
DIRECTED BY: Judd Apatow
Rated: R
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Release Date: 31 July 2009
I wasn't very enthusiastic when I saw the trailer for Funny People; writer and director Judd Apatow's third film. I loved Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin is easily in my top five favorite comedies of all time. Also, I'm huge fans of Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen, so naturally this caught me by surprise.
Whoever put together the trailer desperately tried to make it look like as much of a comedy as Apatow's first two films. I wasn't too excited to see the film because I didn't think it looked very funny. It's no wonder the comedic elements seemed scarce - it's more of a drama.
One reason I am such a huge fan of Apatow's work, is that his films feel less like movies and more like real life. Nearly every single element of them could actually happen. This all stems from his passion for writing of his own personal experiences. Furthermore, all of his films are consistently relatable to one's own life in one way or another.
In addition to his great writing, Apatow is a master at pulling real heartfelt feelings out of his entire cast and displaying them on film. Even when the characters are being funny or crude and vulgar, you can't help but believe this is exactly how they would act if the character were a real person.
The movie shows us the dark side of a famous comedian and the rough underbelly of the world of stand-up. It also addresses how fame and fortune won't "keep you warm at night." It's called Funny People and it's about comedians, yes; but I also sense a double meaning in the title as it goes to great lengths to expose how ridiculous people are in general.
The story is centered on Adam Sandler's character, George Simmons. George is a huge comedic icon who has made several successful films with other well known celebrities. He lives in a huge mansion in L.A. and has more money than he knows what to do with. Sounds like he has the perfect life, right? Wrong.
George finds out within the first five minutes of the film, that he has an illness and doesn't have very long to live. If that's not bad enough, we soon learn he virtually has no-one close to share this information with; no family, no friends, no-one.
This is one of Sandler's best performances. There is a scene in about the middle of the film where he breaks down, loses his temper and makes a comment about how he pays for all of these things and none of them work; a play on words about his fame and success and how lonely it is. You really buy that he's a sad man who's made a lot of mistakes and owns them.
We are constantly reminded of George's massive fame by all of the movie paraphernalia in the background, and his uncomfortable run-ins with fans. The film is also deliciously scattered with moments of real footage of Sandler's younger years in comedy and we get a few samples of his lyrical talent through humorous songs as well. George constantly makes jokes about how famous he is and how it's his job to entertain the world. However, it is evident that he is not happy with this.
Upon hearing the unfortunate news, George decides to get back into stand-up. At a small comedy club, he meets Ira Wright, played magnificently by Seth Rogen.
It's not very often that you see a comedian try to be less funny and that's Rogen's task here. He plays a young comedian who thinks he is funnier than he really is and Rogen nails it. He's normally the obnoxious and arrogant stoner who never really grew up and he plays that beautifully too; but here he is a sensitive guy with insecurities and a bitter awkwardness.
George sees a bit of himself in Ira and hires him to write jokes for him. Ira's two roommates are funnier and more successful than him, so he jumps at this opportunity. His roommates are played by Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman.
It's easy to tell that Apatow specifically writes parts for the actors he has in mind and it makes you appreciate the character that much more. The scenes with Ira and his roommates are classic and realistic of how young bachelors can be towards each other.
Ira has been looking to further his life and is more than happy to spend less time at home with these two. Soon he and George hit it off and George hires him to be his personal assistant to do all sorts of things in addition to writing. Ira is the only person George can seem to communicate with and soon he lets him in on his secret.
At well over two hours, you get a lot more out of a Judd Apatow movie, than you do most comedies. There is plenty of time to get to know all of the characters; especially in the director's cut, available on video. In addition to this, there are several different subplots happening simultaneously.
We learn that George did at one time have a love in his life, but she is "the one that got away." Leslie Mann plays George's ex-girlfriend Laura and he finds a way to get back in touch with her after several years. She is now unhappily married to another man who fathered their two kids.
Mann and Sandler have great chemistry together, which is understandable as they have known each other for years and worked together in Big Daddy. Their characters hated each other in that film but here they share truly deep feelings that go way-back, and remind us of choices we made in our own pasts.
Ira becomes George's wingman as he goes to visit Laura in hopes of winning her back.
If you didn't know, Leslie Mann is the wife and mother of Judd Apatow's two kids, who play her kids in this film and in Knocked Up as well. Talent clearly runs through the Apatow family. I wouldn't be surprised if both of their daughters grow up to be stunning actresses just like their mother.
Again, because of the real-life chemistry that all of these people have together, it only makes the scenes that much more genuine and enjoyable to watch. I'm sure Seth Rogen has gotten to know the Apatow family over the span of his career as well and Sandler and Apatow have been friends since before either of them became famous. There are some really nice moments in this section of the film and as if things weren't going well enough, they only get more interesting when the husband unexpectedly shows up.
Eric Bana delivers one of the best comedic performances I have seen this year as Laura's obnoxious Australian husband, Clarke. You like him but you hate him at the same time. I learned that Bana is a big fan of comedy and did a lot of it in Australia and he has been waiting for the right opportunity to do more. What greater comeback could he have than an Apatow film?
Eventually Clarke catches on that George is after his wife and the two get into a hilarious fist fight in the front yard. Sandler delivers one of the film's funniest lines in reference to him not being qualified to fight back because he's a comedian.
It's so enjoyable to watch these movies. You laugh until you are blue in the face and you really care about the characters by the end of the film because you are so invested in them.
Apatow is an amazing filmmaker. He perfectly maps out each character and every single scene is filled with wit and humor.
Whether the movie is about losing your virginity (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) or having a child with the woman you love (Knocked Up) or trying to accept the fact that you let the love of your life slip through your fingers and you may die alone (Funny People); if it's an Apatow film, you know you will laugh and go on an emotional journey with the characters because we can all relate to them as people. Funny, isn't it?
Review by: Craig Whittle
oldmanwhittle9@yahoo.com |
Painful
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| Review Date: November 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: K. Blankenship, |
Now, when I first heard that Adam Sandler was going to be making a movie with Seth Rogan, I thought, "Of course I have to go see this!" Two really funny comedians in one movie together? What would be better?
I'll tell you.
ANYTHING.
Sandler plays a big-shot famous comedian who just finds out that he's dying. Through a strange set of coincidences, Rogan becomes very close to Sandler's character and...well, I don't want to give too much away. But, throughout the movie, there are multiple scenes that actually take place in comedy clubs, where these people who are supposedly great stand up comedians are doing there stuff. In the movie, the audience watching them is crying as they laugh. In my theater? Everyone had the same confused-dead-pan-what-the-heck-is-supposed-to-be-funny-about-this look on their faces. Were those supposed to be jokes that they were telling?
Don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting any "why did the chicken cross the road jokes", and I knew that because the movie was rated R, there would be plenty of crude body jokes, but come on! Rogan's character's jokes revolved only around his "manliness" and farts. Even Sandler's character pointed out that Rogan would never get a girl if he kept talking about things like that. I personally got so tired of the repetitiveness of Rogan's jokes that whenever he got up to perform, I would zone out and start paying attention to the people sitting around me because, honestly, they were more entertaining than what I had paid nine dollars to go and see.
When it got to the second half of the over 2 hour long movie, the "funny parts" disappeared completely. It wasn't even pathetically funny. No, in the end I would've called this movie People, because the said People were definitely not Funny. |
Funny People Funny Movie
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| Review Date: February 1, 2010 |
| Reviewer: A. Nunez, |
| Very funny movie Sandler and Rogen have a hilarious chemistry throughout the movie which makes for some very memorable comedy. |
Great for What It Is
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| Review Date: January 7, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Jamie R, Mexico, Maine |
| I didn't have any expectations before I viewed this and I have to say that it's not nearly as bad as some reviewers claim. It's more of a drama than comedy and I get the sense that is a lot in this movie which is pretty accurate with regard to Adam Sandler's real life. I'm giving it 4 stars because it kept me engaged throughout. |
Not Quite So Funny
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| Review Date: December 8, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Inept Editor, New York, NY |
-A backstage look at stand-up comedians: CHECK
-References to Delaware: CHECK
-Jokes about mainstream teen sitcoms: CHECK
-A heart-wrenching look into the lonely life of a celebrity comedian: ...huh?
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When it comes to Adam Sandler starring in his few "dramedies," I usually watch these films like one would watch a Slinky. It seems like it's going to be really entertaining, but ends up a bit anti-climactic. Then you slap yourself in the face for wasting that little bit of time and money in your life. Then, a few years later, you find that Slinky again and say, "Hey, let me give this another shot," but get the same result. Then a few years later...well, you get the picture.
So it's been with films like Punch Drunk Love and Click. They were good tries, but something always seemed to go wrong. Click was a little too vanilla, and took itself too seriously. Punch Drunk Love was too hard to follow to complete the full extent of the comedy. And yet, I can't not watch these movies if they randomly come on, whether it be on television or someone's DVD player.
So when I heard that Adam Sandler was giving it another try with Funny People, I was a bit excited. I thought, "Finally, he's gonna dooo it!"
Sorry.
The previews showed the film to be a bit dark, but it was a Judd Apatow movie, complete with Seth Rogen and that fat guy from Superbad. This can't lose.
And you know what? It didn't lose.
The premise is relatively simple. Adam Sandler plays George Simmons, a stand-up comedian turned Hollywood mega-star. Upon learning that he has a rare and lethal disease, he begins a journey of deterioration to vent about his misfortune, without actually telling anyone about it. This leads to some very dark and unfunny stand-up acts. Seth Rogen plays Ira Wright, a fledgling stand-up comic who does open mic nights and sleeps on the couch of the apartment that he shares with Jason Schwartzman, who broke into Hollywood with a sitcom everyone loves to hate, "Yo Teach," and Jonah Hill, who is on a little higher tier in the comedy world than Ira.
Simmons hires Ira as a joke writer and personal assistant, and takes the young comic into the world of celebridom, with all of its quirks. A "bromance" seems to ensue, except on the occasion that Simmons reminds Ira that he just works for him when he's getting really crabby.
The story, for the most part, flows fairly well. Those of us not in the limelight are able to perceive what happens behind that bright light that star comedians shine in, for better or for worse. The dramatic intent of Simmons' illness is also very well done. It is because of this foil that we truly care about him and the people he cares about. When we see how lonely Simmons is due to a lack of real relationships with real people, it tugs at the heart-strings. We also see the back-drop of the stand-up comedy world, which helps you appreciate it a little bit more. Granted, it was no Punchline with Tom Hanks, but it was good enough.
The problem seems to be the romantic involvement. In the movie, Simmons contacts his old flame Laura, played by Leslie Mann. This in itself is not the problem. It helps steer the drama. The problem is that it drags on way too long. This movie is almost 2-1/2 hours. About 20 minutes could have been cut from the climactic finale of the Simmons/Laura story to keep the audience from falling asleep. Yes, it was that bad. Not bad enough to ruin the movie as a whole, but it sure came close.
I think the comedy of the movie suffered because of this drag. Yes, I did laugh at quite a few scenes, but I seemed to have forgotten that I had laughed at all. References to the "Yo Teach" sitcom and the visits to the doctor's office were some of the most memorable.
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