Funny People
Heard the one about the stand up comic dying of leukemia? No? It killed.
Okay, so that’s not too funny, but despite the risky title, the more serious subject matter and a running time that would accommodate three Woody Allen gems back in the day, Judd Apatow’s latest is consistently amusing. And for that we should be grateful.
On paper this project sounded rather ominous. Boosted by his success with The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up (and a dozen other side projects he helped get made), Apatow had parlayed his power into getting an allegedly more personal and ambitious film off the ground.
Any film buff will tell you that the history of these kind of “personal” films is littered with self-indulgent embarrassments. And the idea of watching Adam Sandler (of all people) succumbing to cancer can’t be high on many people’s list of ideal entertainments.
Cast details
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Adam Sandler
Born: 09 Sep 1966
Brooklyn, New YorkTop rated films View all Happy Gilmore - BLU-RAY Version (1996) 
Wedding Singer, The - BLU-RAY Version (1998)
Sandler – sorry, George Simmons – is a comedy star with a decade or more of dumb but successful movies behind him (in one he’s a Mer-man, and in another he’s magically regressed to the body of a baby). In a rather well directed scene right at the beginning he’s told he’s very ill and likely to die from it. The fans who press him for a photo and a handshake outside the doctor’s office don’t know that. George smiles for the camera and gives them what they want.
For a long time he doesn’t tell anyone except Ira (Seth Rogen), the struggling wannabe-comic who lucks into a job writing jokes – and fetching sodas – for his hero. Simmons is by turns demanding, generous, friendly, and abusive. Ira couldn’t be happier. He’s never been so close to the beautiful people before.
At home, in the Angelino apartment he shares with two more aspiring comedians (Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman) Ira is considered least likely to succeed. He bombs at the comedy clubs, and he bombs with the ladies. Meanwhile his buddy Schwartzman is turning into a showbiz monster now that he’s starring in his own (terrible) network sit-com, “Yo Teach!”
Funny People: Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen
These sequences featuring the fledgling comics are among the sharpest in the movie, and obviously refer back to Apatow’s own experiences starting out in the early 90s – when his roommate was none other than Adam Sandler. (Funny People begins with home movie footage Apatow shot at the time of his buddy making prank calls.) Even so, I think this movie would have been better served without them. Young guys hanging out – this is something Apatow has shown us before and will show us again. In this picture it’s an unnecessary distraction from the main thread, which has to be Simmons’ illness and his relationship with Ira.
We must be approaching the 80-minute mark when George is miraculously cured – about the time many comedies start wrapping things up. But Apatow is in no mood to let go. Instead he develops another hour of additional material – as if the movie bred its own sequel – in which the reprieved George pursues the love of his life (Leslie Mann), Ira in tow, without much consideration for her two daughters or her husband (Eric Bana).
There’s plenty of funny stuff here – Bana has a ball as the obtuse Aussie – but despite all the blue jokes, this is a more modulated, pensive effort than Apatow’s previous hits.
He’s improved, a little, as a director (perhaps the credit belongs to Spielberg’s favourite DP Janusz Kaminski, who ensures that for once it doesn’t all look like a sit-com), but it must be said he is still in dire need of a good editor.
For the most part, Funny People avoids the worst pitfalls of the near-death experience movie (though in common with Hollywood cliché, the side effects of George’s terminal illness are virtually non-existent). It’s an entertaining flick, but it’s a pity that Apatow felt the need to give us two (and a bit) movies for the price of one. They’re all pretty good, but it’s surely one of the themes of the film that more isn’t necessarily the same as better.
Reviews
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Critics' reviews
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Click here to read an interview with Apatow......and read Time Out's list of the greatest cinematic... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful members' reviews (3)
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29 out of 30 people found this review helpful
Give it ago!
this is the kind of film you ethier love it or hate it, so what one are you find out and whatch it!! Now!!
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5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Funny People
It had so much potential but somehow this film did not live up to its high expectations. Yes, it was funny but it felt endless, and this diluted the humor. Basically my advice, don't waste your money, you'll be disappointed.
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Will Make You Laugh
This film has got a good story and will make you laugh all the way through. Recomend :D
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Most recent members' reviews (2)
View all -
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Funny People
It had so much potential but somehow this film did not live up to its high expectations. Yes, it was funny but it felt endless, and this diluted the humor. Basically my advice, don't waste your money, you'll be disappointed.
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Not bad but Apatow's seen better days
This movie is fairly average by Apatow standards in comparison to his earlier directorial efforts. There are some laughs to be had, but for me there was way to many sex jokes. Obviously it what the US audiences are into, but they weren't for me. The story part of the movie was okay with decent performances.
Eric Bana is a pleasant surprise, and there is actual characterisation. Unfortunately the movie feels a tad too long but otherwise it is a decent effort with Rogen and Sandler playing off each other nicely. Definitely one to rent so you can make your own mind up about it.
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29 out of 30 people found this review helpful
Give it ago!
this is the kind of film you ethier love it or hate it, so what one are you find out and whatch it!! Now!!
-
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Funny People
It had so much potential but somehow this film did not live up to its high expectations. Yes, it was funny but it felt endless, and this diluted the humor. Basically my advice, don't waste your money, you'll be disappointed.
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Will Make You Laugh
This film has got a good story and will make you laugh all the way through. Recomend :D
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Not bad but Apatow's seen better days
This movie is fairly average by Apatow standards in comparison to his earlier directorial efforts. There are some laughs to be had, but for me there was way to many sex jokes. Obviously it what the US audiences are into, but they weren't for me. The story part of the movie was okay with decent performances.
Eric Bana is a pleasant surprise, and there is actual characterisation. Unfortunately the movie feels a tad too long but otherwise it is a decent effort with Rogen and Sandler playing off each other nicely. Definitely one to rent so you can make your own mind up about it. -
What Can Only Be Described as Painful
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Depressing People
I went to the cinema with some friends, in the belief that the title of this film might match up with its content. Instead, it's just two and a half hours of depressing, boring, drivel. I probably laughed three or four times, which for a film this long is certainly not enough, certainly not for a film with Seth Rogen and Adam Sandler.
The film seems to be centred around two big plot pieces, both concerning Sandler, and throughout Sandler plays a self-pitying role, which gets old FAST. Seth plays a good character, but has nowhere near enough funny material to work with. Other people like Jonah Hill appear and make decent funny performances, but they just don't appear enough.
In the end, it came across to me like another sub-par American comedy, I found it waaaaaaay too long, and very boring. Maybe if they cut it down to an hour and a quarter I might've like it more. But then again, maybe not. -
[Highly rated reviewer]
It's funny and has people.
Adam Sandler repulses me (admittedly I haven't seen Punch-Drunk Love and am keen to, but his comedies are the lowest of the low) and Judd Apatow I absolutely love, having reinvented American comedy (ironically moving away from the kind of mugging perpetuated by his old flatmate, Sandler.) So the concept of Funny People intrigued me: could their two seemingly incompatible styles of comedy combine effectively?
Yes and no. Adam Sandler turns in a surprisingly touching and layered performance as a comedian who makes decidedly awful family flicks (sound familiar?) only to discover he has a terminal case of leukaemia and no friends to tell about it. So he hires Seth Rogen's down and out stand-up comedian to witre jokes for/ befriend him, only to become entangled with an old flame. On the side we have Rogen's flatmates (there's no point ever giving him a character name, it is basically just Seth Rogen) amusingly played by Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman (who is consistently hilarious.) As good as Sandler, Rogen, Bana Schwartzman and Mann are, you cannot help but feel that you've been here before. Mann is a great actress but her current standing as Apatow's missus means she always crops up playing the same role (exactly the same, in fact, as Knocked Up: even her kids are played by their own real-life children who are unarguably cute, but it's hard not to think of Knocked Up during this) Rogen and Jonah Hill play flatmates AGAIN with exactly the same personalities, and Bana basically fills the Rudd role from Knocked Up. The film is also about an hour too long, and not consistently amusing enough to warrant such a ridiculous running time. It's not all bad, the stand-up scenes are riotous, Rogen has fantastic banter with most if not all of his cohorts and his non-starter relationship with a female stand-up, and Sandler is really rather brilliant.
There are a few too many in-jokes ('Paul Rudd wants to do a bromance with you') and a pointless cameo in the middle which is hilarious but completely pointless.
This is a diverting couple of hours, but more funny next time, please, Mr. Apatow. Also, start working outside the family. It's cute, but we need more. -
funny people
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Dull as dishwater!!
Adam Sandler is an actor that I usually love to watch in a film. This film from the outset had me wondering how much longer before it was over. I found it vulgar in parts, especially the jokes, My Best Friend's Girl had funny lines, a little crude but always funny, At no time was this film funny. I gave it 2 stars because I like Adam Sandler and although it was bearable midway, not one of his best. Funny people - definitely not. Very disappointing.
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- Cristelstarr from Walsall
- Posted 24 Sep 2009 23:48
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long, dull and not funny
I saw this film at the cinema. By the end of it I was counting the chairs to entertain myself. The pace of the film was too slow and the only funny bits were all included in the one minute trailer.
I hate every film which Adam Sandler has ever made, so it may be that it just wasn't my thing, but this film left me feeling cheated at the loss of an evening.
Critics' reviews
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Click here to read an interview with Apatow......and read Time Out's list of the greatest cinematic... read more on Time Out