2009 Review #22: Funny People

Funny People

Storyline:

When seasoned comedian George Simmons learns of his terminal, inoperable health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship cause him to take a relatively green performer under his wing as his opening act.

Rated R

2 hours 16 minutes

Critics Grade:

B-

My Grade:

A-

Starring:

Adam Sandler

Seth Rogen

Leslie Mann

Eric Bana

I'm going to tell you right off the bat that I'm not typically a big supporter of the Judd Apatow films, because I'm not into raunchy, sex related humor. This is this kind of humor we had with 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Those films were essentially about sex or had a story that centered around a group of people who talk about sex and have lots of it. Not to mention tons of a drug humor which I also don't find all that funny. Don't get me wrong, I found both of those films to be "funny" but not movies I care for or could really ever watch again or even recommend to a lot of my friends/family. Funny People is not a movie about any of those things. Funny people isn't really even about funny people, as it is about people who are lost in life and have no real connection to anything meaningful. Funny People, in my opinion, is an excellent movie and my favorite Apatow creation as well as Adam Sandlers best work.

The trailer is quite misleading as well. It makes you believe this is another laugh a minute comedy, but it is not. This is almost a depressing, sad movie. In Knocked Up and 40 Year Old Virgin, the humor was essentially the center of the film and those movies relied on constant jokes to keep the audience entertained and the storylines sort of took a hit because of that. Here we actually have a really well told story that has some deep meaning. It's about a famous stand up comic/movie star who is dying and realizes, even with all the money he has, he has nothing special in his life. No friends, no romantic interest, he's grown apart from his family. He realized that money does not equal happiness. He struggles to admit he's in any emotional pain, and he just jokes and laughs it off. Much like a lot of us in the real world. I know I do that sometimes. He hires a up and coming comic to write jokes for him and he can't even admit that he considers him a friend. He tries to re-connect with an old flame who's married with kids, but I won't say how that turns out.

Personally, I thought this film's story was pretty darn grounded to real life. I thought the story is something that actually could be happening right now in the world. The actions of the characters really aren't that far fetched, and I also thought these people came off as very authentic. They really showed their inner struggles well and I could even vaguely relate to some of these guys. The story was moving at times, and I know that probably sounds weird. It wasn't just about the big laugh, it was about these people and you have to feel for them, I did. It was a well written script.

Yes the trailer did ruin the film's overall story about a man who is dying only to discover that he was miraculously cured and now has a second chance at life. It doesn't really spoil the heart of the movie though. It's mainly about how the main character takes this incredible information, and how he acts on it. I think he acts in a very realistic and human way. A lot of us would continue to bottle up our emotions over it, and not really know how to act. Some of us may come off as selfish and unappreciative like the character here. The character doesn't seem to really learn from this experience. I thought that was well played out as well.

I thought this movie was pretty consistently funny as well, it wasn't all drama. There was a lot of very funny stuff here and not a whole lot of it was inappropriate. I loved the opening scene that showed us some vintage Adam Sandler stuff with him making some prank phone calls. The roast beef bit was hilarious I thought, I've never seen that video before. I liked how they included some of Sandlers old stand up as well. This movie doesn't just have long scenes of people going back and forth being cruel and funny towards each other like some of Apatows other films. The comedy in this film is needed and has to be there if that makes sense. Well, MOST of the humor. I think this movie may hold the record for jokes about male genitalia though, and it got real tiring, real fast. Really the only "raunchy" humor in the move was just about penis or masturbation (sorry for the harsh words hehe), and some of it was OK, but most it was just annoying after a while. Other than that though, the jokes weren't that tasteless. Only one brief shot of nudity as well (a topless woman for maybe five seconds).

I thought the performances were really good as well. Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, Pineapple Express) lost a lot of weight, and they made several jokes about it in the movie. This is easily his best performance, I could really tell that he was trying to act here and not just be a funny guy. I was quite impressed with him. Leslie Mann (Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin) is always good in these movies, I think one day she could score a supporting actress Oscar nomination for one of these roles, that's how good she is. Honestly, I thought she deserved one for Knocked Up. One of these days! Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore, Spanglish, Click) has proved over the years that he can actually act. He isn't just that crazy funnyman we've seen before many times. I think he's kind of playing himself in this movie. Honestly, I thought this was Sandlers best performance. I like him in this type of dramedy (like Spanglish and even Click), he plays it well. He had some pretty intense, kind of powerful scenes that displayed the characters fear in such a human way. I can really foresee this guy garnering himself an Oscar nomination one day. Call me crazy, but I really think it could happen.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I was not expecting to like it as much as I did. This is not a movie for everyone by anymeans. It is rated R for a lot of bad language and a lot of sexual humor (again, MAINLY male genitalia jokes). Now for me to recommend this movie, and to enjoy it is saying a lot because these types of movies are not usually my cup of tea. Go into with caution if you aren't used to this type of comedy, but it is very good and has an excellent story with some really great performances. Don't be mislead by the trailer either, this is not a riot of a comedy. This is a funny movie that is centered around a solid story that could move people to tears (well not me...but people were crying in my theater hehe).