Movie Review: Funny People (2009, Directed by Judd Apatow)

Why is it so dang hard to make a great movie about comedians? While many films have tried to depict the day-to-day struggles of professional funny folk, few have succeeded in portraying comics with the complexity and grace befitting their profession. Perhaps Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy, starring Robert DeNiro and Jerry Lewis, comes closest to creatively presenting the comedic life. However, many would consider Scorsese’s quirky film a minor work when placed alongside the master director’s weightier classics. So, is it even possible to make a “serious” film about the world of stand-up comedy?

Into the intermittently interesting world of “dark films about comedians” comes Judd Apatow’s third film proper, Funny People. Adam Sandler, in a particularly nuanced performance, plays George Simmons, a former stand-up comic who has made his fame and fortune by playing juvenile roles in silly Hollywood blockbusters. Simmons learns he is afflicted with a terminal disease which will take his life within a year. He befriends a young performer named Ira Wright (Seth Rogen), who becomes his personal assistant. Wright not only contributes jokes to Simmons’ act, but also keeps him company during difficult times, even “talking” him to sleep at night. The famous Simmons then enters the world of Wright’s friends, young comedians who yearn for the kind of vocational success Simmons has had.

The first half of Apatow’s film delivers exactly what the title and trailer promise: people who are funny. Apatow adroitly balances the dark thematic elements surrounding Simmons’ disease with a series of naughty, yet linguistically sophisticated one-liners by Sandler, Rogen, and a supporting cast of talented comedian friends (played by the likes of Jonah Hill and Jason Shwartzman). Several scenes from the film’s first half are instant classics, textbook examples of effective screenwriting and perfectly-timed comedic acting. The movie is also peppered with several hilarious cameo appearances from celebrities, including James Taylor, Sarah Silverman, Paul Reiser, and Eminem.

Alas, I had so much fun for the first hour or so of Funny People that it’s sad to report that the film’s final act is a huge disappointment. Early on in the film, Apatow balances dark musings about mortality with anatomical jokes. Later, he unfortunately enters the world of Lifetime Channel melodrama. A major plot turn approximately 2/3 of the way through the film sucks the life right out of it. The “funny people” cease to be funny. Leslie Mann (notably, Apatow’s wife) over-acts her way through her performance as Sandler’s married love interest. Eric Bana appears in an uninspired turn as Mann’s Aussie husband. We watch a hackneyed love-triangle plot play out between Mann, Bana, and Sandler. The only real interest for the audience is guessing at which clichéd moment Apatow will choose to have mercy on the audience’s intelligence and end the dang thing.

Despite my extreme disappointment with the movie’s conclusion, I must emphasize how fun the film’s first half really is. The mentor-mentee relationship between Sandler and Rogen comes across as simultaneously authentic and quirky. It is a true pleasure to watch Sandler, Rogen, and all the young comedians try to one-up each other in inspired one-liners and clever banter. I am still on the Apatow bandwagon, as I believe he has proven himself one of the truly unique and influential voices in film comedy today. Next time, he just needs to hire a better story editor. I would like to see Funny People 2, with more emphasis on the funny people and less emphasis on the uninspired melodrama.