Starring: Adam Sandler, Lelise Mann, Seth Rogan, Jonah Hill, Eric Bana
Directed by: Judd Apatow
They say that you should never judge a book by it's cover and in the case of Funny People the same can be said of the title of the film.
You would assume that if it has a word in the title then this is a clue of what to expect. Take recent cinematic releases; (500) Days of Summer - the lead female is called Summer, so that makes sense. Dance Flic - the film is about dancing and dance films. I could go on...
However Funny People is just lying, it is not all that funny, it provokes a couple of laughs here and there but to say that the "talent" involved in the film it should have you rolling in the aisles. Writer and director, Judd Apatow is responsible for some of the cleverest and funniest comedies of the last few years such as, Knocked Up, and The 40Year Old Virgin. Yet in this film he doesn't seem to have reached his full potential that we know he is capable of.
The film could even be described as life imitating art, in the sense that Adam Sandlers character, George Simmons is a bit of a washed up success story who has now gone back to his roots of stand up after discovering some life changing news and no longer claims as big a pay cheque. Sander himself has been off the radar for a while now and then rather than making his comeback with a box office smash he stars in more of a car (CASH) crash.
Some joy comes from Rogan's role as a clutching at straws, clueless and naive stand up is both believe able and endearing. Miles away from his usual type of role and he actually pulls it off as the sweet, sentimental schmuck convincingly.
Support comes from his side kick in life, Jonah Hill (fast becoming the Matt Damon/Ben Affleck partnership of their generation) as the more successful roommate and from Apatow's wife, Leslie Mann (wonder how she got the part ?) The highlight is a rare comedic turn from Eric Bana as the jealous husband with anger management issues.
The film has a heart and sadly at over 2 and half hours it slows down pretty rapidly. If like me you are intrigued about Sandler's more obscure and less obvious roles or just want to see Eric Bana punch Sandler in the face and Sandler punch Seth Rogan then this could be for you.
Amy Victoria Gathercole
