Funny People

Funny People was probably my most anticipated movie of the summer. I'm a total Apatow fan-girl, Knocked Up, Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared are among my favorite comedies, I've loved nearly everything Seth Rogen has done, and I think Adam Sandler does a great job in more serious roles, his performance in Punch-Drunk Love is especially memorable.

Funny People, is Apatow's third film, and maybe my favorite so far. I suppose it's not as laugh out loud funny as Knocked Up (which is not to say it doesn't have its moments) but the emotional pay-off is greater here, and the characters are more varied and interesting. Sandler's character George is totally miserable, and kind of an awful person, the dynamics between him and Rogen's Ira (playing the lovable nice guy once again) are so fun to watch. You find some part of each of them to relate to, and to hate. There are some really emotionally arresting scenes having to do with Sandler's illness, one of my favorites being the moments after the diagnosis, which in another movie would have been slow motion, close up on his face, sad music being reflective. In Apatow's world, life goes on, fans still ask for pictures, he still has to wait for stop lights etc. Really this is kind of what the movie is about, through the darkest moments in this film, Apatow never shies away from cutting the tension with a dick joke. And for some reason this speaks to me.

The only thing that doesn't work about Funny People is the last act love triangle bit, I see what they were going for, and parts of it are genuinley funny, but in the end the payoff isn't big enough to justify adding another hour to the film (which clocks in at 2.5 hrs). I would have rather seen that time spent with Sandler, Rogen and RZA. Yeah RZA! He's in this! Aces! See it now.