The most recent Judd Apatow directed joint is Funny People (2009). Coming into this movie I was among the many that believed Apatow and his crew were the funniest and best comedic talents in movies. Leaving Funny People I am sure he and his crew are the most talented comedians in the movies today, but did I like the film? As a movie, not really, as an idea, very much.
Funny People contains the most laughs of all the Apatow directed films, but part of the reason for this is because the film has an extra 45 minutes of footage that should not be there. That being said I'm going to get out of the way the reason's this movie doesn't work as a whole, so I can then concentrate on the more important aspect of this review and that is what this movie tried to do and where it worked.
Yes this movie is too long, way too long. Its plot is flimsy and all over the place. Whole scenes, like the one at Laura and Clarks house toward the end seem tacked on, unnecessary and tonally out of whack. Eric Bana is not a comedic actor and was very much miscast.
There it is, the bad, and they are huge problems, but the good is much more interesting to discuss. Apatow is dealing with subject matter (death, self, life) that would scare the shit out of most other comedic directors and they would either go way to broad with it or won't touch it all together. Here, Apatow shows us his most mature work and deals with the material head on with real characters, and lets the characters be funny human beings rather than trying to get all his laughs out of the situations the characters get themselves in (see The Hangover). Sandler gives the best performance of his career playing the ailing George Simmons, a character much like Sandler in that he became successful through a string of ludicrous and immature comedies. Simmons is selfish, and alone, and because of his recent disease he tries to reach out to people but doesn't know or maybe even understand how. The only person he finds to connect to is his new assistant Ira played by Seth Rogen (in his best performance). He also attempts to connect with "the one that got away", Laura, played by Leslie Mann. This relationship reveals Simmons as he truly is, and Apatow certainly does not play this conventionally.
These guys are genuinely funny and Apatow gives a sneak peek into the world of Comedians. But more importantly Apatow gets to delve into the human condition, and smartly doesn't make the movie formulaic in that Simmons becomes near death and then automatically changes, his transformation is much more realistic and in the end we still don't know where he really stands.
I think part of the problem with the film is it tries to pack to much in, and the plot devices that are used to express these ideas fall flat even if the ideas are poignant. Despite all its flaws I laughed a lot during this movie. I can almost guarantee I will consider it the funniest film of the year. I would love to hang out with any of these characters, especially scene stealer Jonah Hill as Leo.
The bottom line is if you can spare an extra two and half hours and know going in that the movie is going to drag, then Funny People is worth seeing not only for the laughs but for what the movie deals with.
***
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