Review: Funny People

Funny People is the third film from director Judd Apatow, and it is probably the funniest movie about terminal illness you’ll ever see. The film centers around George Simmons (Adam Sandler), a famous comedy actor who in the beginning of the movie finds out that he has a fatal blood disease, and Ira Wright (Seth Rogen), a budding stand-up who gets hired to write jokes for/assist George as he prepares for what could be his final days. Sounds hilarious, right? Well actually, it kind of is. The film explores the question “What would you do if you got another chance at life?” Would you make changes, or would you continue doing the same things all over again?

I think the dialogue is the best part about Funny People. Many of the characters in the movie are stand-up comedians, comedy writers, or actors and I think Apatow’s experiences in these fields end up making the movie’s dialogue feel very real and very funny. A real love of comedy shows through the whole movie. I was laughing quite a bit during this movie, often times out loud. I also enjoyed watching Ira and his roommates (Jason Schwartzman and Jonah Hill) interact, but most of all I liked the actual stand-up comedy scenes of the movie. I think those parts of the movie had some of the best laughs. They almost make you want to start writing and performing jokes, until you realize how hard it actually is.

As much as I liked this movie, there were a couple things that took me out of it. The biggest problem I had was the movie’s ability to bounce from comedy to drama. This movie is just as much a drama as it is a comedy. Most of the time, I was following right along with the movie; but other times I felt like I was missing the benefit of some of the jokes because I was still sad from the previous scene. Jumping between comedy and drama is hard, and with this movie it was hit or miss. The only other thing that disappointed me was that I felt this movie was a little too long. At two hours and twenty minutes, this movie would have been well served by a little tightening up.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film. While it has its ups and downs, it is a very good comedy that also makes you think about life. This is a tough decision, but I am giving this movie a solid…


Rent It!!!