Funny People: Movie Review

Funny People: Movie Review

Rating: 7/10
Cast: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Judd Apatow
Where do you go after the general raunch of The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up?
For wunderkind director Judd Apatow, there was always going to come a time when he needed to break out from the (admittedly very funny) genre he'd placed himself in.
And Funny People is that film.
Adam Sandler stars as comedian George Simmons, who has made his name from a series of lowbrow comedies and stand up (sounds familiar doesn't it?)
But despite the fame and fortune, he's not a happy man - and is alienated from his family and lacking friends.
One day, out of the blue, he's told by doctors that he has a rare form of leukaemia - and on learning this, he falls into a depression.
Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) is a budding stand up comedian who wants to quit his day job working at a deli and hit the big time on the comedy scene.
Ira and George's paths cross at the comedy club - and Ira's quickly hired by George to help him write some material (although it's clearly a screen for getting someone into his life that he can share his depression with)
As Ira begins working for George, it becomes clear that Simmons has a lifetime of regret to deal with - from family rifts to his aching loss of what he believes to be his one true love - Laura (Leslie Mann)
And when doctors tell him he may have beaten the illness, Simmons realises he has a second chance - so what will he do with it?
Let's get this out of the way right now - Funny People is a film of two halves and at nearly 145 minutes, it is a little too long and meandering in its second half.
However, it's also incredibly impressive in places - and that's mainly due to Adam Sandler (and to a lesser extent Seth Rogen)
Both these actors manage to shake off their perceived personas - but Sandler in a relatively straight role also mocks his own on screen personality - the films Simmons has chosen to do are exactly the kind of films Sandler's made his career from.
But Funny People is a career defining role for Sandler - at times, as we see him do stand up, sing songs and generally act, it appears it's Apatow's showcase for Sandler. While he's happy to mock his slacker image, it does show why when pushed he has what it takes.
Rogen finally begins to shake the lovable schlub image he's had over the past few films and puts a bit of warmth and personality into it.
Granted, we've seen the tears of a clown done before - but never with this level of crudity in there - yep, once again thanks to the patented Apatow formula, there are some very funny laugh out loud moments - and some crude humour in there.
But after about 60 minutes in, Funny People switches and becomes a completely different film - it veers from comedy to relationship drama; and while the tonal shift is an uneasy one, it manages to work well for a while as you feel the film's become a lot more personal - however, you do start to wonder if Apatow had either a punchline or end in sight. Sadly it leaves you thinking it's an odd mix and does feel like two films were sandwiched together.

That said, there's plenty to love about Funny People - a star turn from Adam Sandler (although he did do straight well in Punch Drunk Love), some very funny moments courtesy of a great supporting cast, great stand up, star cameos - it's just unfortunate that Apatow didn't exercise a bit more restraint towards the end.