"Funny People" Movie Review

This week we take a look at the latest comedy from Judd Apatow, Funny People (R). Adam Sandler stars as a famous comedian who learns he is chronically ill. He then hires a young, ambitious comedian (Seth Rogen) to be his assistant during the final months of his life. Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Eric Bana, and Leslie Mann costar.

Ryan: In the ad campaign for this movie, Funny People was built up as the “third film” from Judd Apatow. That is definitely a fact but I thought that had a little hint of self-importance attached to it. Regrettably that ever so slight pretentious attitude prevents Funny People from being on par with Apatow's other directed features, The 40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Don't get me wrong, Funny People is worth watching and it's a better movie than most of its competition right now. But, it is also a flawed movie that really should have been better.

Andy: Funny People could be a bit of a misleading title for this movie. It is a movie primarily about dying. The fact that it is seen through the eyes of comedians makes it so that there is a lot that is funny in the film, but the basic subject matter is much dourer than the title suggests. Viewed simply as a comedy, the movie is way too uneven and disappointing. Apatow has always been at his best walking the line between comedy and serious human suffering, but thematically he has gone more for the pain than the humor here.

Ryan: I've heaped a lot of praise on Apatow in the past few years so it's only fair to call him out when it goes the other way. The biggest issue with Funny People is that it aspires to be more than a strong crowd-pleasing comedy. The film seeks to be an epic comedy/drama but it collapses under it's own weight. And while I appreciate the ambition it is the execution that falls short. Not only is the movie too long but it feels like one is watching arguably two different films. This might have been acceptable if not for the fact that the first part of the movie is far superior to the second part of the picture. The unevenness makes for a disappointing movie.

Andy: There is no question that the movie is too long. The final third of the movie is weaker than the rest and it carries on longer than we really need. The subplot with Leslie Mann and Eric Bana receives too much attention when the audience really just wants to see the conclusion of Sandler and Rogen’s relationship. It should be noted, however, that this portion of the film is still quite strong, it just doesn’t fit in with the narrative as well as it could.

Ryan: I give Adam Sandler a lot of credit for taking this part. While the movie is not an autobiographic sketch of Sandler, it also doesn't put successful comedic actors, like him, in the best of light. The film also makes it a point to parody the low-brow movies that Sandler is famous for. But the bottom line is that Sandler put forth a solid performance in a movie that had to hit home more often than not. Furthermore the film's shortcomings are through no fault of his own. In a lot of ways Sandler, along with Rogen, hold the film together as best they can. Final grade: C+.

Andy: Adam Sandler is an underrated actor who has yet to have much success in one of his more serious roles. Here he again is outstanding, playing the funny man with such pain and self-loathing that it is at times as uncomfortable as it is revealing. Essentially every performance in the movie follows suite. These are legitimately funny characters dealing with difficult real life situations. While it may not be as good as Apatow’s other two movies, Funny People’s biggest flaw is that it is too long. And I’m okay with having a bit too much of a good thing. Final grade: B+.