Funny People

(2009)

Directed by

Judd Apatow

Review by Todd Plucknett

Posted - 8/3/09

Funny People is the third film by the suddenly world-famous Judd Apatow, the writer-director of Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin, arguably the two best comedies of the decade. This is the film where Apatow attempts to branch out into something more than just comedy. Of course his first two are something much deeper than a typical summer comedy, but this film actually deals with a serious issue. What comes out is an incredibly smart, occasionally heartbreaking, sometimes off-puttingly crude, but altogether hilarious and heartfelt dramedy. Having three good films to start a career is hard enough, but having three films that all legitimately rank with the best films of the year is almost unheard of. Apatow has achieved this feat.

Funny People is about just what its title suggests: funny people. It centers on stand-up comedians. Ira (Seth Rogan) is roommates with Leo (Jonah Hill), who have a strange friendship, always bouncing ideas off each other and treating their gigs as competitions. Their other roommate is Mark (Jason Schwartzman), a newly semi-famous actor on a horrible television show called “Yo Teach,” who loves to rub his success in the face of his struggling roommates.

One night at a comedy club, Ira and Leo wind up opening for and following a famous actor named George Simmons (Adam Sandler), who had made a ton of kid’s movies on his way to the top. He recently learned that he had a rare form of leukemia, and that the medication for it only works 8% of the time. Desperate for someone to share time and laughs with, George calls up Ira, asking him and Leo to work for him by writing jokes and traveling with him. Naturally, Ira never tells Leo that he was invited too. What develops between Ira and George is one of the most awkward friendships I have seen in a while. George can be a cruel bastard, reminding Ira that he is just an employee and that he doesn’t even like him. Yet, Ira is the only one that George will tell about his terminal illness, and he really begins to depend on and trust him. Ira’s jokes have potential, but George makes them great. Ira’s own stand-up starts to improve now that he has been taken under the wing of an idol of his. What they offer each other is invaluable, though George would never admit it. The two have a bond that is irresistible and fresh, with some of the best on-screen chemistry of the year.

Apatow’s screenplay is simply brilliant. The insight into life and people is spot-on, which has come to be expected from this master of comedy.  He only directs the films that are most personal to him, but this one had to be incredibly meaningful to him. He used to be a stand-up comedian when he roomed with Sandler some 20 years ago. One of the funniest bits in the film actually comes from this time. In the opening credits, Sandler makes a prank phone call that is absolutely hysterical, mainly because they find it hysterical. The character of George mirrors Sandler in so many ways. His bad movies mirror Sandler’s bad movies. They both started out in stand-up, which was really their first love. There is actually some archival footage of Sandler doing his stand-up routines when he first broke into the industry. It is such a wonder to see where he came from and how much he has grown professionally.

This is the first one of Apatow’s films that has a visual flair to it. It is photographed by Oscar-winner Janusz Kaminski, who also did the cinematography for the likes of Schindler’s List, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and Munich. Yes, that’s right, Munich. And Eric Bana is in it. I love it when directors connect their films with little details like that. Anyway, the film looks beautiful. The editing has been cited as a problem with this film, but I enjoyed every bit of its two and a half hours. I never looked at my watch, mainly because I was so involved in the characters. It is really Apatow’s most mature and composed film yet.

The performances are once again superb in Apatow’s film. Sandler gives what could be his career-best performance. The role came so naturally to him, and he lived as this character. The emotional depth, along with bringing about most of the film’s laughs, shows his true talent. I hope at least a Golden Globe nod is coming his way this winter. Rogan also gives his richest performance to date. He is very believable in a part that must have been quite difficult to play. He was such an oddly-written character. He didn’t really know what to do most of the time, and who better than Rogan to act in awkwardness and improvisation? I loved what he did with it. Schwartzman is annoying in his limited role. Hill brings a few laughs, but he was basically just channeling Seth from Superbad. Leslie Mann is amazing as George’s former love. She has a great deal of dramatic scenes that show her range. With this and Knocked Up, she is proving to be a truly serious actress who can do anything. Eric Bana is also hilarious as her current Aussie husband. There is also a string of great cameos by everyone from Eminem to Sarah Silverman to Andy Dick. Apatow really knows how to assemble a cast.

If there is anything that is holding this film back is its rampant blatant and crude jokes. I don’t necessarily have a problem with it, but it did momentarily take away from the atmosphere when one of them was implemented. There would be a really touching or dramatic scene, and them all that feeling was immediately brushed off by a somewhat tasteless joke, which weren’t even in the stand-up setting. It is this that is going to restrict it from major awards contention at the end of the year. An Original Screenplay nod is certainly a possibility, but these jokes are what severed it from typical Oscar-friendly comedies, such as the ones by Woody Allen and James L. Brooks. Everything else about it, from dealing with terminal illness to its 146 minute running time, sort of screams “Oscar.” I could be wrong and this could miraculously end up as one of the ten nominees this year, but seriously doubt it.

Now, where does this rank with Apatow’s other films? I am not sure. It is a different brand of comedy. It has large portions of melodrama and moments that really take the laughter aspect away from the film, but in a good way. It really does make an impact, giving insight into friendships, love, and how to give meaning to your life. While I loved almost every bit of this film, those dirty quips wind up having a somewhat negative impact. It is part of what defines comedy in the present day and I realize that it is a fair sample of how people converse with each other on a daily basis, but this film was just so witty, intelligent, perceptive, and touching that the abundance of coarse humor was not needed. That probably takes it a slight notch below the other two, but that’s tough to say, due to the ambitions that this film had going in. I am not going to sweat it, though. They are all wonderful, and his next film cannot come soon enough.

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