Hi,
Last night I saw Funny People, starring Adam Sandler (Switch), Jonah Hill (Superbad), Seth Rogan (Zack and Miri make a Porno), Leslie Mann (40-Year old Virgin) and Eric Bana (Star Trek). Judd Apatow wrote and directed the film.
I really liked this film; Sandler was superb, supported brilliantly by Rogan, Hill, Mann and Bana. The script was brilliant most of the time, sometimes it did lag, but trying to maintain a 146 minute drama/comedy with great writing was going to be a hard thing to pull off. This isn’t a flat out comedy like Apatow’s 40-year old virgin but more of a moment in time piece about Sandler’s ailing character, and his coming to terms with a life which has passed him by. The film has no real resolution.
The film starts with quite a sombre tone, the comedy subtle and warm in places, while loud and in your face in others worked well throughout the film. Mind you this isn’t a roll on the floor laugh a minute, there were long spells between these funny moments, sometimes they lagged, but on the whole I was never bored by the proceedings.
Cameos’ came and went, and there were a lot of them, from Eminem to Sarah Silverman, Paul Reiser and James Taylor, but all worked in the film really well. Rogan, Hill and Schwartzman as the housemates were great with Hill having some great lines.
The direction was sound throughout, and I think Apatow got a lot from Sandler.
Overall it was long, but well worth sitting through, the acting great with the writing superb most of the time.
(8/10 – Extremely Good)
I was surprised by this film the reason being Adam Sandler wasn't bad. This is the first film I've really seen him in all the way through (I've tried to watch others but I just don't like his comedy style). The film was first and foremost a drama piece not and out and out comedy - given the subject matter it was very bitter sweet. The script was clever and witty and I can't fault anyone's performance (I'm sorry to say Sandler was good) - 8/10
ReplyDelete