One might wonder whom Judd Apatow is basing George Simmons on in real life, the titular character Adam Sandler plays in Funny People. One might first think of Sandler himself, albeit he never starred in Mer-Man or a talking baby movie as George Simmons has (he's a former stand-up comic who made it big with comedy gobbledy-gook movie trash), or maybe Sandler's friend Rob Schneider, or even Eddie Murphy or the Wayans brothers. Whomever it is, Apatow gives this character, a complex individual who is told he's going to die and who lives in bitterness at the world without firm connections to family, friends, or long-lost loved ones, over for Sandler to make his own. And it is a triumphant return to the "serious" Sandler one saw in Reign Over Me (a miss) and Punch-Drunk Love (a direct hit). It's a person who can't change easily, even as he's told he's about to die (or may not, as the trailer so easily spoiled everyone months ago).
In Funny People, George's way of getting back to some semblance of normalcy, or just a sense of having someone around to put up with his proverbial s*** is to get someone to write jokes for him. This is Ira Wright, ney Weiner (obvious joke there) in a role that Seth Rogen doesn't need to "act" in. He just is this lovable shlub who has also, as we're reminded often as perhaps an in-joke of some sort, lost 20 pounds and doesn't "look funny"/ He also becomes a personal assistant and insult magnet from George, and is the only one, for a little while, who is supposed to know that he is dying of a rare blood disorder. Apatow's film goes between these two characters, perhaps as a criss-cross of the documentary Comedian (the one with Jerry Seinfeld and the guy I can't remember) and a "My Cancer Year" special or other, and how life and existence is put into perspective by George- sometimes bluntly, frankly, like at a Thanksgiving dinner with Ira and his friends.
Funny People is funny, at least a good portion of time, with a few really killer jokes and one-liners that thankfully were not in the trailer one has seen far too many times (or, conversely, footage *not* included in the film that was in the trailer), not to mention the masses of cameos- the best being Emimem and Ray Romano- and a towering, unexpected performance that straddles funny and genuine drama from Eric Bana. But its drama does have a few little messy bits, a couple of montages that go on a bit longer or tinged with sappy guitar music from, oddly enough, Jason Schwartzman, and you basically know everything by the end will be more or less (emphasis on more) alright. Which is fine: Funny People, as with Knocked Up and 40 Year Old Virgin, reveals a filmmaker flip-flopping comfortably from raunchy dialog and penis jokes and good hearted and tender bits more and more with each film. Sometimes this is fantastic (a few of the "jokes" of this sort work, others are tired which is maybe the point), and sometimes not (the whole "kids are everything" subtext, or just context, is a little annoying if predictable).
But some good news is that Sandler is fantastic in a role that asks him to plunge his real acting skills along with a sharper, more darkly sarcastic tone than before with his comeback lines, and Seth Rogen is up to the challenge. It's also great to see Leslie Mann playing a character, in a situation only developed wholly in the second half, who allows for complexity usually a no-no in comedies or romance or even dramas. Apatow's female characters in the past have been criticized (I've read some of them, believe you me not all stick very well), but with Laura she's someone totally fit for Mann's skills: warm but conflicted, loving, a mother, her own career as an actress pushed aside for 'other' things (as with Sandler, we see real clips from her career in the film- and even Apatow's little girl gets some screen time as a "Cat" in an awkward scene). Did I mention Eric Bana? Good. He's incredible.
The only actors who seem to be mostly having just a fun ol' time on an Apatow set are Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman (a newcomer, Aubrey Plaza as Daisy, is pretty flat as an actress and brings her scenes with Rogen to a stand-still). They're only so much consequential to Rogen's story, with the scenes shown of "Yo Teach" being the only really funny parts... OK, the kitty video was hilarious. But really, they're more than secondary: we're here for George Simmons' journey, and it's an interesting one to see in the backdrop of stand-up comedy. It can be torture going out there, or it can be totally exhilarating, but one is all alone out there. In the scope of George's crisis, and his own sort of very slow and perhaps not-complete redemption, it makes for intriguing material. At a puffy 146 minutes, Funny People is uncommon summer 'comedy' fodder, but it works, usually. 7.5/10
In Funny People, George's way of getting back to some semblance of normalcy, or just a sense of having someone around to put up with his proverbial s*** is to get someone to write jokes for him. This is Ira Wright, ney Weiner (obvious joke there) in a role that Seth Rogen doesn't need to "act" in. He just is this lovable shlub who has also, as we're reminded often as perhaps an in-joke of some sort, lost 20 pounds and doesn't "look funny"/ He also becomes a personal assistant and insult magnet from George, and is the only one, for a little while, who is supposed to know that he is dying of a rare blood disorder. Apatow's film goes between these two characters, perhaps as a criss-cross of the documentary Comedian (the one with Jerry Seinfeld and the guy I can't remember) and a "My Cancer Year" special or other, and how life and existence is put into perspective by George- sometimes bluntly, frankly, like at a Thanksgiving dinner with Ira and his friends.
Funny People is funny, at least a good portion of time, with a few really killer jokes and one-liners that thankfully were not in the trailer one has seen far too many times (or, conversely, footage *not* included in the film that was in the trailer), not to mention the masses of cameos- the best being Emimem and Ray Romano- and a towering, unexpected performance that straddles funny and genuine drama from Eric Bana. But its drama does have a few little messy bits, a couple of montages that go on a bit longer or tinged with sappy guitar music from, oddly enough, Jason Schwartzman, and you basically know everything by the end will be more or less (emphasis on more) alright. Which is fine: Funny People, as with Knocked Up and 40 Year Old Virgin, reveals a filmmaker flip-flopping comfortably from raunchy dialog and penis jokes and good hearted and tender bits more and more with each film. Sometimes this is fantastic (a few of the "jokes" of this sort work, others are tired which is maybe the point), and sometimes not (the whole "kids are everything" subtext, or just context, is a little annoying if predictable).
But some good news is that Sandler is fantastic in a role that asks him to plunge his real acting skills along with a sharper, more darkly sarcastic tone than before with his comeback lines, and Seth Rogen is up to the challenge. It's also great to see Leslie Mann playing a character, in a situation only developed wholly in the second half, who allows for complexity usually a no-no in comedies or romance or even dramas. Apatow's female characters in the past have been criticized (I've read some of them, believe you me not all stick very well), but with Laura she's someone totally fit for Mann's skills: warm but conflicted, loving, a mother, her own career as an actress pushed aside for 'other' things (as with Sandler, we see real clips from her career in the film- and even Apatow's little girl gets some screen time as a "Cat" in an awkward scene). Did I mention Eric Bana? Good. He's incredible.
The only actors who seem to be mostly having just a fun ol' time on an Apatow set are Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman (a newcomer, Aubrey Plaza as Daisy, is pretty flat as an actress and brings her scenes with Rogen to a stand-still). They're only so much consequential to Rogen's story, with the scenes shown of "Yo Teach" being the only really funny parts... OK, the kitty video was hilarious. But really, they're more than secondary: we're here for George Simmons' journey, and it's an interesting one to see in the backdrop of stand-up comedy. It can be torture going out there, or it can be totally exhilarating, but one is all alone out there. In the scope of George's crisis, and his own sort of very slow and perhaps not-complete redemption, it makes for intriguing material. At a puffy 146 minutes, Funny People is uncommon summer 'comedy' fodder, but it works, usually. 7.5/10