Apatow’s ‘Funny People’ a change of pace for director
‘Funny People’ starring Seth Rogen, Adam Sandler and Leslie
Mann
When it comes to a Judd Apatow movie, a few things are a given.
Seth Rogen will be in it. Leslie Mann, Apatow’s wife, will be in
it. And there will be lots and lots of low-brow humor.
Apatow’s ‘Funny People’ a change of pace for director
‘Funny People’ starring Seth Rogen, Adam Sandler and Leslie Mann
When it comes to a Judd Apatow movie, a few things are a given. Seth Rogen will be in it. Leslie Mann, Apatow’s wife, will be in it. And there will be lots and lots of low-brow humor.
Few people would expect a movie from Apatow about a life full of regret and impending death. But that’s exactly what he tries to deliver with “Funny People” – with varying degrees of success.
George Simmons (Adam Sandler) is a successful comedian who has made millions off of bad movies such as one where he plays a grown man who turns into a baby and another where he plays a merman. Sandler has had plenty of funny movies, but surely he was able to use some of his flops such as “Little Nicky” and “The Waterboy” to relate to his character.
George is given a diagnosis of a blood disease and is told traditional treatments won’t work. His only option is an experimental drug that has only an 8 percent chance of working.
His response is to return to a little comedy club in Los Angeles where he first got his start, where the management happily makes room for him in the lineup. Simmons’ set bumps Ira Wright (Seth Rogen), a wannabe stand-up guy who works the deli counter at a local grocery store and sleeps on his friend’s pull-out couch. As jaded and miserable as George is, Ira is as earnest as a person can be in Los Angeles.
Ira lives with his two friends Leo (Jonah Hill), who is doing the improv comedy scene with a bit more success, and Mark (Jason Schwartzman), who has a gig on a prime-time sitcom.
After a chance encounter in the parking lot after the comedy show, George finds Ira’s home number and invites him to be his assistant. He wants to do more stand-up shows and he needs someone to write him some jokes. More than anything, George is looking for someone so he doesn’t need to be alone with his diagnosis. He tells Ira about his illness and makes the younger comic sit with him in his bedroom every night before he falls asleep.
George refuses to tell anyone else about his diagnosis, though it should be clear from some of his morbid topics in his routine, that all is not well with him. Even though George is facing a fatal illness, he hasn’t really changed. The few times Ira asks him for help, he shoots him down.
In one poignant scene, Ira creates an iTunes playlist for George to cheer him up. But Apatow, who wrote and directed the film, cuts the scene short with George cursing at Ira and reminding him he is paid to write jokes. If only Apatow had held the scene a bit longer, or had George react differently, there might have been some redeeming quality for viewers to find in George.
The real problem with the movie isn’t all the low-brow humor – it’s the fact that viewers are waiting for George to go on some kind of self-discovery, and to gain some sense of decency, and he never does.
Even as George is trying to win back the love of his life, it isn’t really about love for him so much as getting something someone else has. There is not one bit of George that is likeable.
Ira, on the other hand, is a decent guy. Unfortunately, the character is so much like his role in “Knocked Up” it could be the same movie. Ira is well intentioned, but stuck about how to get what he wants. He lets George use him up, but at least takes a stand when he realizes George is never going to be a good guy.
The part of the movie that is most amusing and most touching are scenes with the family of George’s ex-girlfriend Laurie (Leslie Mann). She has two young girls, played by Mann and Apatow’s daughters Maude and Iris, and the moments with them on screen feel the most real. The girls act just like kids would act, and they have a perception about their mother’s relationship with George that only small children could get away with voicing out loud.
The main problem with the movie is that it is hard to classify. For those looking for typical Apatow laughs, a lot of this movie is been there, done that. And most people looking for a more serious film probably aren’t going to give Apatow a chance.
Movies under the stars
August 13: Over the Hedge, PG
RJ (Bruce Willis) is a raccoon who wants things the easy way. He persuades a group of forest friends that they can find food by scavenging from humans rather than by hunting and gathering in the woods. Voices by Garry Shandling, Steve Carell and Wanda Sykes.
August 20: Twilight, PG-13
Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is an ordinary teenager when she finds herself in an extraordinary relationship after moving to a sleepy Washington town with her father. She finds herself attracted to the gorgeous Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), but there is something about him that isn’t quite right – he’s a vampire.
August 27: Hairspray, PG
Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) just wants a chance to dance on the Corny Collins show in this musical set in 1950s Baltimore. Her mother Edna (played by a cross-dressing John Travolta) wants her daughter to aim low, while father Wilbur Turnblad (Christopher Walken) encourages her to pursue her dreams of dancing on an integrated show with whites and blacks alike. Starring Zac Efron, Michelle Pfeiffer and Amanda Bynes.
Volunteers are needed to help with upcoming Thursday night ‘Movies Under the Stars.’ For more information, or to volunteer, call Jeana Arnold at 636-8406.
