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meeza 2012-05-23 06:19:44

Funny People got reason to live and don't let die!

The present comedy-king monarch Judd Apatow has directed his best filmso far in the well-rounded "Funny People". Adam Sandler stars aspopular comedic actor Adam Sandler, kidding its not "Being AdamSandler". He stars as popular comedic actor George Simmons, who is anisolated egomaniac until the day he is stricken with the news that hehas been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Dumbfounded on apremature mortality, he is driven to find a presumed dumb amateurcomedian to be his assistant & caretaker. That comes in the form of IraWright played by Apatow regular Seth Rogen. Wright has some "brothersfrom another mother" of his own in long-time pals/roommates Mark & Leo,played Jason Schwartzman and another Apatow reggie Jonah Hill. Mark isan arrogant wisecracker actor who plays the lead in a Nickelodeon-typeschool comedy, while Leo is also an amateur comedian with a raunchyjokester act. The highly underrated but always terrific Leslie Mann(Apatow's real life wife) portrays George's ex-girlfriend Laura, who ismarried with two kids. She is a central figure to "Funny People"because protagonist George tends to "think of Laura" (only die hardChris Cross fans will get that one) and shows intense regret forcheating on her years ago when they were a couple. Eric Bana playsLaura's Australian crockie-bully hubby Clarke and Apatow & Mann'sreal-life offsprings Maude & Iris Apatow play Clarke & Laura's kids.These were many "funny and not so funny" characters that I mentionedwhich embody "Funny People" but the flick is primarily George & Ira'sstory. George's ways of dealing with his disease diagnosis & surprisingremission, and Ira's awakening of comedic semi-success which comes withlearned realities of the nepotistic & cynical mentality of theprofessional comedic industry. Nevertheless, Apatow never underminesthe industry but effectively exhibits another side of the business thatmost of the time is blinded to the general public. Even funny peoplehave problems even though they have funny ways in dealing with them!And that would be my best shot of a thesis statement to "Funny People".The film is 150 minutes long and comprised with a few gloomy themeswhich could be an attention-retention challenge for the prototypecomedic moviegoer to deal with. But I found it out to be a worthwhiletrip to the long funny-dark side! Maybe a couple of scenes where George& Ira are at Laura's house could have been edited out, but in the endthey play integral pieces to the concluding puzzle of "Funny People".Adam gets a well-deserved Big Acting Apple for his extravagantperformance in his portrayal of the complex George. He was not an easycharacter to like, but Sandler's performance made you sympathize &empathize with George even through his erroneous & selfish tactics. ByGeorge, I think Adam Sandler got it! He has not been this good since"Punch Drunk Love". Rogen lately has gradually become an overexposedpest to me, but I think Seth took a step up from that negativity withhis authentic performance as Ira. Mann again was the right woman forthe job as Laura, and Bana contributed a banner performance as Clark.Supporting kudos goes also to Schwartzman and Hill for portraying roleswhich are part of their stereotype characterizations but neverthelessthey play them well. Besides his proficient direction, Apatow deliveredanother inventive & modern script ranging in themes as: pop culture,mortality, regret, discovery, selfishness, and friendship. The cameosalso come in heavy with plethora of brief appearances from plenty ofinfamous "funny and not so funny people". I think that Funny People arePeople, so why should it be that you and I should get along with thismovie in harmony! Because its one of the best of 2009! Gear up theApatow Truck now and drive over to "Funny People". ***** Excellent

Peter Bradshaw 2012-05-22 10:27:04

One of the most enjoyable films of the year.

2012-05-21 19:11:02

The Not so Funny People

I love Leslie Mann and Eric Bana, but this is probably one of the worst movies I've ever seen! It was like 3 or 4 movie/plots/stories put together and just kept climaxing then letting down then rising action again and climax and letting down; over and over! I just kept wondering when it was going to end. I should have walked out like so many others did. Some may like, but it's NOT my cup of tea!

jwschaver 2012-05-21 09:55:58

Not very Funny, but still a great story.... (possible spoilers!!!)

(possible spoiler) With a title like "Funny People", and with a castthat features Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, and Jonah Hill, I expected thisfilm to be hilarious. I was very disappointed in that reguard.However, I did enjoy the film. About a 3rd of the way through the storyI started to view it more as a dramaedy as opposed to a comedy. Thatreally helped me appreciate this film at a much deeper level. I lovethe concept of this film. "A guy that thinks he's going to die, only tofind out that he's not." That is very interesting to me. If we werefaced with that same situation would we change back to how we werebefore? Or keep our new persona, the one that lives each day as itcould be our last.I just found that to be very interesting. Like I said, "Funny People"wasn't really all that funny to me. But it was a good solid story.

Andy Klein 2012-05-17 04:20:37

Apatow packs enough decent jokes into an hour and a half to earn our affection. The problem is that after that hour and a half the movie goes on for nearly another hour, for a grand total of 2 hours and 25 minutes.

Georgegilbert92 2012-05-16 20:57:55

Apatow strikes again!

When I first heard of Funny People, I knew that Judd Apatow wasdirecting and immediately thought that this was going to be another boxoffice smash. With a star cast including Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen andLeslie Mann who have all featured in each others projects for exampleBig Daddy and Knocked up (also created by Apatow), I knew that this wasone film I could not afford to miss.I personally loved this film, it has a whole list of celebrities andcomedy stars making cameos that add to the Hollywood lifestyle that isAdam Sandlers character. This film was a one in a kind for me, wheremost comedy films now days just focus on funny, not only did this hit avery series matter that is a life threatening illness, but it strayedaway from easy comical lines and made the story of that into the riseand fall of stand up comedy. This was a very new concept to me to beshown in a box office movie to which i feel gave the script a differentapproach to comedy.I honestly believe that this film is worth 8 out of 10 stars, withSandlers dry and sarcastic humour counter balancing Rogens obvious yetlovable improvisation, it makes for one fantastic Apatow hit.

Christy Lemire 2012-05-14 08:15:31

The last hour or so meanders interminably, its tone wavering all over the place, leading to a quickie conclusion that feels pat. And that is such a letdown when you consider the strength and ambition of the material that preceded it.

Shaun Small 2012-05-14 02:30:55

what happened??? (****SPOILERS***)

I loved The 40-Year-Old Virgin and I thought Knocked Up was prettysolid, but this was just bad. It was 40 minutes too long, there were only a handful of laughs, andnothing really happened! George is a dick. George gets sick and is adick. George gets better and is a dick. Plus love story was painful towatch and Eric Bana was just ridiculous. I guess I expected a comedyinstead of dramedy. Most of the audience seemed to enjoy it, but to me it is the low-pointof Mr. Apatow's career. This and Celtic Pride.I think I'll go watch my Freaks And Geeks and Undeclared DVDs.

brownah18 2012-05-13 04:43:52

Funny or Dramatic in this movie Funny People.

Funny people starts out with Adam Sandler (George Simmons) who is afamous comedian learning about how he has a rare blood type diseasewhich causes a rare type of leukemia. Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) is acomedian too and after Simmons hears some of his and his friends LeoKoenig (Jonah Hill) he wants them both to write jokes for some of hisgigs. Wright doesn't tell his friend and starts writing jokes forSimmons. Simmons tells Wright about his condition and they become goodfriends. There are a lot of swear words and some nudity, which makes itnot good for kids to watch. Comedians swear a lot, but it is funny yetkind of wrong I mean do people really need to swear a lot just to makethemselves feel better. I mean I don't swear all too much and I feelgood already just making funny jokes without swearing. This movie showsyou how important your life is and how important someone is in yourlife when you have a lot of money and no one to share your life with.Leslie Mann and Eric Bana also star in this movie and altogether thisis a sad and more sad than funny I think. You should check it out; thismovie comes out November 24th.

Jizdenky 2012-05-12 09:47:00

An Unfunny Movie About Unfunny People

I'm not much into Apatow's movies and thus wasn't expecting much fromthis one other than a few laughs. Now the first half was exhaustinglyboring. Things get marginally better in the second half because atleast I chuckled a little, once or twice. Not surprisingly, 'FunnyPeople' is loaded with toilet humour but the title is misleadingbecause there's hardly anything funny here. Most of the 'jokes' arecringe inducing and at some point the face muscles start aching fromcringing so much. Thankfully, it's toned down a little in the secondhalf. Adam Sandler is quite alright as the dying comedian who isn'tdying anymore. Seth Rogan is the usual, trying too hard to be funny.Leslie Mann looks great but she's pretty much just the usual femalelove interest in the movie. Jonah Hill is excruciatingly irritating asalways. I have no idea why Jason Schwartzmann did this. Eric Bana isfunny as the caricature Ozzie husband. There are many cameos by famouscomedy actors but they are all wasted. Overall, 'Funny People' is anunfunny movie about unfunny people.

2012-05-11 12:54:54

THE WORST MOVIE EVER MADE!!!

Judd Apatow has reached an absolutely new level of... sucking!!! Even Adam Sandler, one of my favorite actors of all times, sucked too, big time!!! There are funny movies, there are not so funny ones, there are stupid and ridiculous flix and... there's Funny People! Its name should be changed to ... what's the word for utterly unfunny? Almost 100% of jewish actors and they couldn't pull it off? That's odd!?

Arthur_TwoSheds_Jackson 2012-05-11 02:06:55

Just what we needed.... a full length live action episode of Family Guy

If you don't like to read long reviews, here's the short version: Funnypeople is not. For those of you who like the long version: This movietakes the "talents" of Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen. Put them togetherand what do you have? I guarantee you it's barely funnier than CarrotTop and not nearly as entertaining as watching your Grandpa trying todo karaoke. Basically, this schmuck has only a limited time to live sothey decide to "live it up" by joking around constantly by doingconstant pop culture references to things. In this way, the movie islike Family Guy because instead of jokes relevant to the story they gooff on bizarre and strange tangents that aren't so much funny as theyare disturbing. It pretends to be a tender, touching look at the humancondition, but in the end it turns out to be a major faux pas. The filmis sloppily written, the characters are barely developed, and thejokes... well I already told you about those. They really need to pickmore honest titles for movies these days, and if I had to choose atitle, I would choose "Hey brother, can you spare a REAL screenwriter?"

jaredmobarak 2012-05-03 14:01:40

I feel like we're going to prom … Funny People

Judd Apatow is an enigma. He is the idol of all freaks and geeks outthere, calling the beautiful and talented Leslie Mann his wife andhaving a career any comedian would sell his soul for. He has created,in my opinion, a major hit with 40 Year-Old Virgin and a minordisappointment in Knocked Up, while having the time to also producesome gems that may supercede his own work on the side. So, the releaseof Funny People, (does the poster actually say "the third film from"?Wow, even Tarantino waited until his fourth for that kind of deservedego), held my attention more for the direction Judd would go—up to hisroots or down further into more sentimentality at the detriment of thejokes. Everything from the promotional machine got my hopes up and whenit began—commencing with old, grainy, real-life home video of AdamSandler as a young twenty-something—I started to think, "yes, he isback to the funny". I'd be lying to say the jokes go a mile a minuteand the runtime flies by, but I'd also be leading you astray if Ididn't say how funny these people really are.Do not take the trailers as law. In fact, many of the bits in theteases are recut, taken out of context, or deleted scenes. Even when amoment started in which I thought I knew how it would go, I was usuallysurprised in the end result. Yes, the main plot point concerning ourlead as a successful, vulgar comedian turned castrated kid's film star,(sound a little like Sandler himself? How about a dead ringer for EddieMurphy?), who learns of his impending mortality at the hands of a rareform of leukemia stays intact. And, yes, his experimental treatmentdoes overtake the infected cells running through his blood, as theadvertisements so nicely ruin for us. But, for the most part, thatstoryline is actually the worst part of the movie as a whole. Despitethe premise allowing for the situations that bring the big laughs—mostdealing with the brilliant stand-up and improv routines, because a manfacing death of course goes back to his roots, to a time where he felttruly happy and fulfilled—it is the love lost aspect that derails allmomentum and drags the second half into soap opera-y schmaltz.It is the first hour, pertaining to the illness and his copingmechanisms to get through it, along with the creative evolution ofyoung Ira Wright, (Seth Rogen), that goes so quickly you will literallyask out loud why it all went away when Leslie Mann's Laura, the love ofSandler's George's life, re-enters the fray. The second half has somemerit, especially in its creed of, "if you love something, don't let itget away", however, it pales in comparison to the laugh riot that wasthe start. In this regard, Funny People becomes somewhat bi-polar, notquite sure of itself on whether to continue being a straight comedy orneeding to be a dramatic hybrid. This confusion goes on until the end,a conclusion that works with the first ending, becomes contrived in itssecond finish, and inevitably stops as we all knew it would with thethird and last finale, a slow zoom out from our stars.But let's get back to the jokes, and the personalities, and theflat-out hilarious sprinkling of characters—both fictional and real.There is a great moment with Eminem and Ray Romano, a hilarious bitfrom Paul Reiser, and even a one-liner that kills from Andy Dick;there's Leo Koenig and Mark Taylor Jackson, two personalities breakinginto the big-time while their roommate and friend Ira struggles, playedby Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman. I'll bet that watching the deletedscenes and all the unscripted jokes told on camera could in fact befunnier than the final result. Despite the plot tying everythingtogether, the film is truly an ensemble piece of clashing personas thatriff of each other ever step of the way. Not even Torsten Voges' Dr.Lars can escape the comedic jabs at his Scandinavian accent and largephysique.The reason so much works, and would work whether the underlying tale ofone comedian righting wrongs and another learning his way, is becauseof the second layer present. This is a send-up to the industry itself,for better or worse. There is the ridicule and hatred of commercialsuccess with both George/Sandler's parade of movies with goofy premisesand horrid screen-writing and Schwartzman's "Head of the Class" wannabesitcom "Yo, Teach" and the money it rakes in even though it could bethe worst show in the world. These roles aren't just poking fun at thejob, but at the actors themselves. Heck, one of the longest runninggags comes at the expense of Rogen and his real life weight loss forThe Green Hornet. What makes that joke even funnier, though, is that hedoes look weird as a skinny guy, especially when next to Hill, whoappears to have put on all that his buddy lost.So, my advice to you is that if you choose to see Funny People do itexactly for the title itself. The actors are hilarious and bring goldwith every retort. Even the jokes that fall flat actually fall flat,that's the beauty of a majority being set in comedy clubs. You hear theguffaws as well as the crickets; you see the mentor teach as well asleech; you see the karmic ways in which success happens so easily forthe jerks but so hard for the good guys. It may be a tale ofreconnecting with your life to some, a cautionary tale about fame andmoney to those looking to break into Hollywood, but for me, it is awell-constructed, if not overlong, vehicle to keep me laughing, longand hard.

happyameye 2012-05-03 03:53:22

Warning! Warning!

I'm no prude and am not averse to sex or profanity. But give me abreak! This movie not only bordered on the obscene but jumped into itwith the continuous comedic performances regarding genitalia and oralsex. The F word was used so often, it completely took away from anysubstance of which the character may have been speaking. If this is"real life" I must live in a different world. I teach school, so I hearlots of F word and references to genitalia but this movie tops it all.It's a shame because the plot was excellent. Interestingly, I onlyheard 3 people laughing in the packed theatre. Not only would I notrecommend this film I am warning all my friends and ashamed I didn'twalk out. PARENTS BEWARE!

2012-05-02 03:58:57

Not a comedy, but still very enjoyable

If you go into the movie expecting a comedy, you may be (pleasantly)surprised as I was. The movie was not so much a comedy, as it was somuch ABOUT comedy. It delves more into the side of what it takes tobecome a comedian. After having seen the commercials, I was initially alittle disappointed at the lack of comedic value. You won't find toomuch more than the scenes you have already seen. Despite that, I stillencourage everyone to see this movie. It was still very good story. Themovie is classified as a Drama/Comedy, and I assumed it was a mistakewhen I did my research before seeing the movie. It truly did turn outto be slightly Drama oriented. I was, as I said earlier, pleasantlysurprised. The storyline was great, and I couldn't believe it was thatlong when I got out. I had lost track of time, as I was very involvedin the story. I was not a huge fan of 40 Year Old Virgin or PineappleExpress, and if you go into the movie expecting only slapstick comedylike those two movies, it isn't something you will enjoy. That said,the movie was very enjoyable and if you enjoy a realistic story, go seethis movie. With an all star cast and great acting, it is still worthyour money.

mkelly54 2012-05-01 13:12:18

Director/Producer needs to go back to school

It really amazes me how some movies work themselves through the systemof being produced and released, only to fall flatter than amiscalculated punch line. Funny People is my latest example. It has allthe ingredients to be a hit but execution is weak, at best. The script really needed to be tightened, which would have made forfewer bad choices of jokes and a shorter movie. The final print is abig mess of interlocking stories that could have made for a classicstory of success, friends competing in the same business, the struggleof facing a life-threatening illness, trying to overcome past failuresand the joy of personal redemption. As wildly varying as the issues are, they can be contained in the handsof a capable production team. This one REALLY needs to go back toschool and re-learn the tricks of the trade. The actors performed well,with the chemistry between them authentic. Despite their efforts, thiswork should be required viewing in How Not To Make A Movie class!

Matthew Turner 2012-04-28 22:57:21

An enjoyable, frequently funny comedy-drama with terrific performances from Sandler and Rogen, but it's also way too long and the first half is much stronger than the second.

Joshua Rothkopf 2012-04-28 17:43:02

This is not an industry movie, but rather, a rare case of Hollywood letting itself feel lost -- and found.

Giles Hardie 2012-04-28 12:09:44

Funny People has some very funny moments but don't expect a joke fest. And don't expect a tight film either. At two and a half hours, it is not one but two films... and at least one of them shouldn't have been made.

Movie_Muse_Reviews 2012-04-28 05:16:32

Apatow tries the more dramatic approach with "Funny People"

Minus the gratuitous male genitalia jokes, "Funny People" is about asfar from anything Judd Apatow has directed or produced since he hit itbig with "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." Finally collaborating with longtimefriend Adam Sandler, Apatow takes the creative license that hisreputation as comedic master of the decade has afforded him and makes amore serious film about funny people. But with more seriousness, thefunniness must be more effective and that's hard in an unprecedented146-minute-long comedy just sort of about a comedian's life.Sandler plays himself in the form of a fictional character named GeorgeSimmons, a comedian who hit it big, made some ridiculous movies and nowis re-evaluating himself in the face of news that he has a rare form ofleukemia. Returning to his stand-up roots, he discovers a promising butpenniless comedian named Ira (Seth Rogen) living in his friend's (JasonSchwartzman) apartment with his buddy, fellow comedian Leo (JonahHill). George pays Ira to write him some jokes and be his assistant,but he's really paying him to keep him company as he tries to rightsome of the mistakes he made in life.Anyone expecting the laugh fest with a surprising sentimental touchthat Apatow delivered in "Virgin" and "Knocked Up" will find that it'smore of a full-on sentimental groping. The comedy that we are soaccustomed to from the likes of Sandler, Rogen and Hill is eitherpeppered in or concentrated into segments as opposed to the dominatingforce throughout the film. There's no question this was a personal endeavor for Apatow andSandler. Considering Apatow's roots in comedy clubs and his best friendand wife (Leslie Mann, who plays "the girl that got away" loveinterest) playing opposite each other -- not to mention casting hiskids, this was sort of a way for Apatow to reflect on what he does fora living. In that sense, "Funny People" holds some promise. No one hasreally made a film looking at comedy instead of just being one. Thisfilm does it and in a very realistic context too, appearing as if itcould very well be taking place today in Hollywood.But as its own comedy, "Funny People" just isn't as funny as we'd like.There are a lot of great funny moments, but the humor loseseffectiveness because the movie is just strung- together subplots toonumerous to name. Simmons finding out he's dying doesn't focus thefilm, it just sort of plays a role in everything he does and all hisrelationships and the other sub-relationships of the people around himsuch as Ira. There's no tension -- even if the early trailers hadn'tindeed revealed that he doesn't die. There's no real sense that he'sgoing on any sort of emotional journey with this shocking news or thathe's really going to learn something from it."Funny People" has plenty of funny people and they say funny things,but it's a film that's too unfocused to keep anyone's attention fornearly two and a half hours. It almost feels like two films: one aboutstand-up and the other about a comedian trying to make things rightwith an old flame. Describing it as one film is much harder. It's areflection on what it's like to be a comedian fading away and coming toterms with life decisions that doesn't really arrive at any clearanswers. Apatow's writing here is just too loose, though his directingis excellent. I definitely believe "Funny People" could have beensomething special, but we'll never know. ~MMRVisit my site at http://moviemusereviews.blogspot.com/