Movie Review- Funny People

Judd Apatow is a man that over the last few years I've come to admire. He is a talented director, who knows how to utilize his actors best talents. He adds senses of realism and makes you feel like you are in their circle of friends. Like you know them. Alot of the conversation Apatow guys have in his movies are similar to the ones my friends and I have. I guess that's why this film resonates with me. But i refuse to be bias, though i probably liked this movie more because it is an Apatow movie.

PLOT:
Legendary comedian George Simmons (Adam Sandler) hires struggling comic Ira (Seth Rogen) to write jokes and assist him after he finds out he is dying.

PROS:
Out of all the Apatow movies of recent years, this film has the most heart of all of them. You do have the usual smut and raunchiness, but its done in a way where it fits the characters in lieu of being just dialogue used to shock. You get the feeling that the characters are true to life. Apatow wisely creates a world around the characters that you feel could actually be plausible. I thought the coolest thing was how Apatow uses actual home video or former commercial and movie clips from the last 2 decades to make George Simmons more of a real character. I especially like the opening clips from the early 90s where Sandler is making prank phone calls to local restaurants while Ben Stiller, Judd Apatow, and Jeaneane Garofalo laugh in the background. And you can't beat the hilarious cameos by Eminem, and Ray Romano. And i died laughing when James Taylor yelled "F*ck Facebook" at a myspace event. Priceless.

CONS:
The tone of the movie was never light, it had realistic sadness mixed with solid comedy, which truly displayed Sandler's strengths as an actor. But once the Leslie Mann storyline was further fleshed out, some of the magic of the original storyline and dialogue got lost in the shuffle. Seth Rogen's character seemed to go from the main supporting actor, to an ensemble member while Sandler and Mann dominated the story. Though Eric Bana added some much needed comedy, his character was so unlikable it was hard to enjoy him as much.

Recommendation:
Rent it.

Written by:
Judd Apatow

Directed by:
Judd Apatow

MAIN CAST:
Adam Sandler ("Big Daddy", "Reign Over Me")
Seth Rogen (40 Year Old Virgin", "Superbad")
Leslie Mann ("Knocked Up", "Shorts")
Eric Bana ("Munic", "Star Trek")
Jonah Hill ("Evan Almighty", "Superbad")
Jason Schwartzman ("Walk Hard", Rushmore")
RZA ("American Gangster", "Derailed")
Aubrey Plaza ("Mystery Team")
Aziz Ansari ("The Rocker", "Observe and Report")

Similar Titles:
Knocked Up, Man on the Moon

Next Review:
Four Christmases- Trailer