Funny People reviewed by Renata Sellitti

Damn, those comics sure are dark and twisty people sometimes – just ask Adam Sandler. He plays George Simmons, a comedian who seems to be having a bad day… or 50, because he’s just learned that he’s dying. Yeah, and you thought your day sucked.

As luck would have it though, Ira Wright (played by a noticeably svelter Seth Rogen) is having an exceptionally good day, when he meets George at a comedy club and is ultimately offered a job to be his, er, assistant? Actually, he’s more like his joke writer, man servant and eventual BFF (that’s Best Friend Forever for those not down with the ‘tween acronyms), but I’m pretty sure his actual title is assistant. If George is the quintessential successful, established, isolated super celebrity who has already made his mark in comedy, then Ira is exactly the yin to his yang – a struggling, insecure, hungry young rookie comedian who sees Simmons’ achievements as the ultimate career validation.

Having recently accepted his terminal diagnosis, George begins to realize in what he now believes to be the twilight of his life that a series of selfish choices has alienated him from the people who could’ve made his life really matter, like his former flame Laura, “the one that got away”, played by director Judd Apatow’s actual wife Leslie Mann. George confides in Ira that he is living on borrowed time, and what ensues is a friendship borne from self-reflection, wisdom and a healthy dose of raunchy laughter. Adding to the chuckle factor are Rogen’s roommates, a fellow aspiring comedian and general smartass (played by Jonah Hill) and a D-list sit com actor (played by Jason Schwartzman). *Beware, fellow Schwartzman fans, despite his usual wit and on-screen charm I found his character Mark to be off the charts annoying. Like, made me want to stab him annoying – you’ve been warned.*

On the road to his supposed self-discovery, George takes some fairly lengthy detours, as evidenced by the last hour of an already prolonged movie, involving what is essentially another whole movie-within-the-movie, where he visits his ex-love Laura at her home in Marin County. In an attempt to repent for his relationship wrongdoings and win Laura back, it is here that George – and the movie – goes off the rails completely. Though Simmons’ body has unexpectedly gone into remission, his moral character is left reverting back to a near flat-lining state, which doesn’t sit well with Ira or endear the audience to George. Additionally, Apatow has a penchant for including his real life children and spouse in his films and in this instance, at least, it comes across as gratuitous and overindulgent…unlike Eric Bana’s performance as Laura’s absentee husband, which is surprisingly funny (who knew Eric Bana wasn’t painfully boring?!).

What stands out most in Funny People is that it includes a lot of exactly that – funny people, famous faces who lend their acerbic wit and punchy one-liners to the script. But at times the material seems forced and truthfully the most genuine laughs come when the actors seem to almost be ad-libbing amongst themselves. The excessive use of their standup material is at times over emphasized, even in a movie about comedians. Ironically, a scene involving Eminem (yeah, the real life one) affords George some much needed clarity and additional humor is also delivered via some good natured ribbing of George’s Swedish doctor (trust me, you’ll laugh).

Over all, if you were planning on going to see Funny People expecting it to be regulation Apatow, you might want to find another way to spend your $10 (and don’t even get me started on ticket prices! Pay my rent or go to the movies…movies or rent…). Likewise, if you were planning on seeing this film because you heard it was more mature than Apatow’s previous claims to fame (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin”, “Knocked Up”), and you generally have distaste for that kind of humor, again – save your money, there are still genital and bathroom jokes aplenty. But if you’d like to see Adam Sandler wear his emotions on his sleeve and shine a light on the tortured soul existence of many a standup comic, then you should definitely see this film. At best, it is a solid movie about character flaws and blurry hindsight and at worst it’s a meandering story line that stays a little too long at the party. Either way, it delivers on its name because “funny” is something this film has in spades.