FUNNY PEOPLE (2009)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Judd Apatow's "Funny People" is one major hoot and a half of a comedy-drama - a delectably hilarious and sensitively smart film. It is such a breezy romp of a film, eschewing formula for sincerity and true belly laughs that can chill you and knock you out, so much that it is probably the film of Judd Apatow's career.
Adam Sandler plays an obscene, lonely, unlikable comic named George Simmons, who finds out he has a form of leukemia and may die sooner than later. He has no real friends, only showbiz connections and fellow comics he knows as mutual acquaintances, but that is it. Part of me started to resist this plot because, as we know, most films feature an unlikable lout who knows he is dying and tries to remedy and redeem his shortcomings. Except Judd Apatow is not making a weepy version of the forgotten Julia Roberts weeper, "Dying Young," or any myriad weepier concoctions. Thank goodness for that because Apatow has too much up his sleeve to allow for cheap sentimentality at the expense of solid characterizations.
George finds a young, brash, up-and-coming comic who can write good jokes, so George hires him. He is Ira Wright (a slimmer Seth Rogen), a highly sensitive comic who is starstruck by George. George likes Ira, takes him under his wing, and Ira slowly becomes a friend who can listen and be saddened by George's health problems (the restaurant scene is a keeper). There is also Laura (Leslie Mann), the ex-girlfriend whom George almost married but decided to cheat on. Laura is married to an Australian named Clarke (a hyper Eric Bana, himself a former comic), who is not a big fan of George and also presumably cheats on Laura. George tries to reach out to Laura, but is it too late to renew their relationship? I won't say but the answer to those questions may surprise you.
Just when you suspect what well-traveled road Apatow will take with this material, he surprises you. One scene sums up the overall tone of the film. When George first confesses to Ira about his illness, he tells Ira to kill him for fifty grand. Ira willingly takes the job, realizing what is at stake, and then George taunts him, wondering how Ira could really go through with it.
"Funny People" doesn't go far in showing the pain of not scoring laughs on stage when you're a comic (leave that to the underrated "Punchline"), nor is it interested in deeply revealing the pain of a movie star making family comedies that only kids like coupled with being a raunchy comic (Eddie Murphy comes to mind). Instead "Funny People" shows how empty a lifestyle it can be if you don't have emotional support. The real Judd Apatow (formerly a joke writer) has Leslie Mann in his life and kids - he has support in case something goes wrong. The real Adam Sandler has the same support, but the George character doesn't. George can bed any woman that comes his way, make millions doing stand-up and movies and Myspace events with James Taylor, but without anyone to care for and by remaining self-sufficient, he has nothing to latch onto and nothing to look forward to since he is dying. This is not new territory for a film but it is the approach in how Apatow laces this story with honesty that makes it original and unique.
"Funny People" may seem like a simple-minded movie on the surface, but it has so much humanity, warmth, wry emotions and so many laughs that it is anything but mediocre. And the cast do their unequivocal best to give this the show-stopping treatment it deserves. Adam Sandler gives the performance of his career - he shows more insight than usual for an essentially profane comic and shows what makes the man tick. Leslie Mann is simply fantastic, showing a fragile heart in Laura and how she loves both men in her life. Seth Rogen does his liveliest work yet, another character with a fragile heart who falls for a female comic (Aubrey Plaza) and does his best to keep up with George's varied moods. Jonah Hill is superbly on-target in the small role of Ira's roommate, playing another struggling comic who scores a part in a dismal sitcom called "Yo Teach." Jason Schwartzman plays the title role of Teach on that sitcom, as well as an arrogant actor and fellow roommate of Ira's who proudly leaves his $25,000 paycheck under Ira's pillow! There are also choice bits of Emimem mocking Ray Romano; a gray-haired Paul Reiser; a bewitching cameo by Sarah Silverman; and a funny home made video of Adam Sandler back in the day making prank phone calls that will drive you up the wall with laughter!
"Funny People" is about genuine people with real fears and flaws in loving each other, just like Apatow's romantic comedy "Knocked Up." This film is even smoother, more inclined to provide genuine insights with humor and heart in equal doses, and more willing to take its time in securing them. It is not a sentimental or simply more mature film in the Apatow canon - it skyrockets with a sincerity that keeps one's spirits up and interested in whatever Apatow's characters say next. They are that vividly realized, and Judd Apatow is one hell of a blazingly and emotionally true writer-director.
