DVD Review: Funny People

If you look hard enough while watching a Judd Apatow film you will find yourself amazed that there is material that exists – lurking beneath all the penis and fart jokes – that is capable of moving you. I don’t think there has been a writer who has been more polarizing or misunderstood since David Mamet decided to start making movies. Like Mamet, Apatow’s points are often lost on casual audiences who can’t seem to wade their way through the pervasiveness of the vulgarity. Mamet has his “eff bombs” and racial/homophobic slurs, and Apatow has a joke bin that consists of penis/male grooming and fart jokes. Why am I saying all of this? Because I think with Apatow’s language, like Mamet, has a certain rhythm to it, and either that music jives with you or it doesn’t. Mamet’s actors are often looked at as wooden and boring – one note if you will – but the music that is Mamet’s script calls for a certain delivery that, to someone who is not a fan, seems stilted…I find it hypnotic and infectious. The same goes for Apatow, and even though his latest endeavor, Funny People, has a horribly long and awkward third act it doesn’t make the film any less enjoyable. I like the music that the dialogue makes in an Apatow film…it’s a refreshing break from the usual mainstream comedies that Hollywood spits out every year, so even when Apatow fails, it’s a fantastically interesting failure.

The film’s identity can only be described as schizophrenic. However, despite the odd ebb and flow of the film and all-wrong final act there is something interesting going on in Apatow’s film. The story is about George (Adam Sandler), a famous comic who struggles with trying to understand the latest bit of news he’s gotten from the doctor: he has a blood disease and he’s going to die. George doesn’t have the circle of friends one is supposed to rely on in this particular time, so one night while slumming it at a local Improv he decides to go on stage right before another comic, Ira (Seth Rogen). This kick starts not a typical new-friend-to-the-dying-man type formula one would expect, but more of an opportunity for Ira the comic, as he is employed by George to start writing jokes for him.

For the first hour of the film I was enthralled – completely fascinated by the plotless meanderings of Apatow and his actors as they provide a glimpse into a secret society of stand up comics. Apatow has a lot of authority on the subject as he was writing for comedians when he was only 19. Apatow puts a lot of obvious love and care and authenticity into these early scenes (he and the other actors, some who had never done stand up before, all went out to clubs and honed their craft…going all method for the film) where we see Ira and George bouncing ideas off of each other, and the way that comedians are always dying inside when people expect them to always be funny. It must get really annoying to always have people respond with “are you serious?” …I wonder how any comedian can get through something without their motives being questioned.


Throughout the first hour Apatow seems to be achieving something that we’ve never seen from him: a real film. That’s not to discount his other two films, The 40 Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up (I loved both), but I think with Funny People we see the maturing Apatow (now 41) going for more nuanced laughs (there’s still plenty of penis jokes, don’t worry) amid his usual pandering to the weed smoking thritysomethings that he seems to be writing for. There are still some great Apatow moments where he really digs his claws into pop culture, but the dialogue in this first hour felt more natural than in his previous films – as funny as those lines are (“I always thought Matt Damon was kind of a Streisand, but he’s rocking the shit in this one”…”If any of us get laid tonight it’s because of Eric Bana in Munich”) – I actually felt like the characters here weren’t just existing to spout his clever, pop culture infused dialogue that often act as momentum breakers – “look at me” type jokes that are damn funny, but don’t flow with the film (kind of like Mamet’s language…very showy…impressive, but showy). 

One example of this is the addition of a new actor to the Apatow troupe, Jason Schwartzman. He plays Mark, one of Ira’s roommates (along with Leo played by Jonah Hill, who is thankfully dialing it down here, sticking with the maturation theme) and fellow comedian who got himself a sitcom called “Yo, Teach”, and in a hilarious bit we see Mark watching a clip of his own show (where he asks the students who the best rapper is…they reply Kanye West…he responds: “You know who else was a great rapper…”William Sh-Sh-Sh-Shakespeare”) with a girl who isn’t all that impressed with his performance (the actual clip of the show they did for the movie is one of the funniest things of the film, and a lot of it has to do with Schwartzman).

The male leads in this film aren’t as awkward as in Apatow’s previous films, and there’s no geek fantasy at play here like in Knocked Up; Ira is awkward, but doesn’t succeed at getting the girl right away, Mark is sure of himself and his good looks and exudes that male attitude and confidence that is rare for an Apatow film (at least in a genuine way…Jason Siegel’s confidence in Knocked Up was just meant for laughs).


There’s also some nice touches with the strategic cameos Apatow has in the film: Paul Reiser, Norm MacDonald, Sarah Silverman, Ray Romano, and Eminem just to name a few don’t take away from the moment or what Apatow is trying to say – these aren’t “look at me” type cameos – rather they add to the layers of subtext buried beneath the more obvious humor: these funny people gnash their teeth behind every off-stage joke they make. It’s in these moments that Apatow really seems to be seriously explicating the love/hate relationship with being famous.

One last observation about the first hour: I found it fascinating that Apatow doesn’t really glorify the life of the stand up comic. Sure, these characters aren’t really struggling, but I like how when George calls Ira and ask him and Leo to help him write jokes Ira informs him that Leo is flaky, when in reality Ira just wants all of the glory for himself and doesn’t want to share any of the mentorship relationship he thinks he’s getting from George (another fascinating angle from the movie). These comics all bounce ideas off of each other, but they also steal jokes without giving credit and are always looking for how they can advance their own careers, friends be damned. It’s a shame that this fascinating opening had to give way to a rather conventional buddy comedy formula.

That formula consists of George hoping to get one last chance with the “one who got away”. This is Laura (played by Apatow’s wife Leslie Mann in a ho-hum performance) who is now married to the always-travelling hunky Aussie Clark (Eric Bana in a throwaway role). They’re of course having problems and she suspects of him of cheating and this all leads to the inevitable: George and Laura sleep together and dream of happier times. But George’s doctor throws a tree branch in their spokes as George receives good news: his illness is waning…he can continue living a normal life. But what does normal life mean after you’ve been told to prepare for death? This is too large an existential quandary for Apatow, but I give him effort points for at least broaching the subject. The problem lies in his reluctance to go for the jugular. George really doesn’t change his ways, and that's what is fascinating, instead we get cookie-cutter epiphanies that feel false, and by the end of the film I know I was supposed to empathize with Laura and how she feels stuck in a loveless marriage, but I actually started to loathe her, and began feeling sorry for Clark. That’s what Apatow gets wrong; the feeling at the end of the movie – the back-and-forth, jerking around of the audience’s emotions that occurs – that’s what sinks this thing from being a truly great modern comedy.

The supporting performances are all wonderful, inducing some big laughs throughout the 140 minute runtime…which is par for the course with Apatow, a director who understands the value of supporting characters and how they are crucial they are to making comedy work (this is evident throughout his career, even the movies he produces), but doesn't understand the importance of pacing. The two leads, Seth Rogen and Adam Sandler, are great, too. Sandler channels his inner Barry from Punch Drunk Love clenching his teeth between each forced bit of conversation as he tries to make nice with family and pseudo-friends before he dies. He handles Apatow’s words well, and if I have to endure Adam Sandler then this is how I would prefer doing it. Rogen, however, was shocking in this movie. The slimmed down Canadian ditches his normal comedic rhythms, not punching up the lines with his usual Rogenisms, rather, going for a more nuanced delivery. He’s still awkward as hell (he’ll always be the master of that shtick, along with Paul Rudd and Michael Cera), but it’s not as attention-getting here, and I thought it was a nice touch for Apatow to tone down Rogen and force him to do some real comedic acting (timing and such) instead of just being that funny dude that we could see ourselves hanging out with.


I’m still quite interested in what Apatow and company do next. I think he could stand to use a break and give Hollywood some time to recover from the onslaught of projects with his name attached. Still, I think he, like Mamet, remains one of the most fascinating writers working today, and Funny People is a perfect example of a filmmaker who is willing to rise up and move out of the penis and fart jokes and deliver a comedy that explicates deeper themes about being a single male who confronts the dilemmas of getting older. One half extremely fascinating procedural on the inner workings of the stand up comedy world, and the other half failed experiment, Funny People was an experience – though a tad long – that I was glad to have. It’s a film that should still be seen despite its unevenness.

Here's an 'episode' of "Yo Teach":

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DVD Review: Observe and Report

I have to admit: I love Jody Hill’s absurd and obscene television series Eastbound and Down. It creates one of the best alternate realities I’ve seen in any show. It is artistically grotesque and gratuitous. People say whatever they want in front of anyone…and it doesn’t seem to faze anyone. It’s walking a fine line, making this kind of comedy, but one only needs to watch Eastbound and Down and then take a look at something like Step Brothers (both are exec produced by Will Ferrel) to see how one does gratuitous comedy well. With Hill’s newest film Observe and Report I fall somewhere in the middle. There were moments in Observe and Report that reminded me of the failings of Step Brothers and the successes of Hill’s own Eastbound and Down.


The film is obviously indebted to Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy as head of mall security Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) lives in his own alternate world. He feels like every person who enters the mall is his to protect from the evil of the world (there is a subtle commentary here on how Travis Bickel was protecting New York from the scum of the 70’s, and here Barnhardt is protecting his town from the consumer-minded mall crowd who mindlessly lap up all the new “stuff” that is pitched to them via ads). His narration is a lot like Travis Bickel’s – guiding us through moments of the story constantly reminding us that he’s keeping his world (the mall) safe for those that enter.

The story is thin on the surface (like I said there is some interesting stuff beneath the surface here) as a flasher running around the mall exposing him to every woman he sees. One in particular Ronnie is smitten with: Brandi (Anna Farris) who is a cosmetician at the mall. The flasher act as a catalyst for the downward spiral Ronnie goes down. He is so delusional there’s a great scene where he asks Brandi out on a date, she sees that he is taking pills for his bi-polar disorder. She says "I didn't know you partied like that...". Ronnie then gives her the bottle of pill and stumbles his way into having sex with her…oh, never mind she’s passed out and there is clearly vomit on her pillow. The scene is now infamous, but there is a key phrase uttered during the moment that makes it funny, and not just a date rape joke gone awry.

There are, however, many jokes that just kind of fall flat. The absurdist humor doesn’t always work as we see with the cameo of Hill stalwart (and Eastbound and Down star) Danny McBride as a crack dealer, Ray Liotta as a cop who doesn’t think much of Ronnie, and rivalry between Ronnie and a Middle Eastern booth merchant at the mall that leads to one of the weirder Dada-esque moments.

Another reason the film isn’t a total success is the casting of Rogen. Ronnie is both earnest and ugly, and Rogen can play the former, but it’s impossible for Rogen to be unlikable. His pudgy face doesn’t work for this role and his range as a comedian isn’t there yet. He just wasn’t right for Ronnie as he could only pull off the sympathetic part of Ronnie and not the insane part that makes us question our empathy towards the character. The aforementioned Danny McBride would have been perfect for Ronnie.

The stuff that works is great, though, and familiar if you’ve seen Hill’s television show (or other feature film The Foot Fist Way): Ronnie and his co-worker go on a drug induced rampage beating the living hell out of skateboarders, Ronnie happening upon Brandi and Liotta’s detective having sex in a car, and countless scenes that play like Rupert Pupkin greatest hits of uncomfortable moments – specifically a psychological exam Ronnie takes for the police department and a sit down with Ray Liotta where he learns he isn’t going to be on the force…at which point one of Liotta’s co-workers who is hiding in a closet comes out and says “I thought this was going to be funny…but it’s just kind of sad”. Exactly.

Hill has talent, and even though Observe and Report doesn’t always work there are countless moments in between the awkwardness that show you this is a one of a kind director. He films a showdown between Barnhardt and the police with the same kind of deranged energy found in Mean Streets. The final chase seen to the very appropriate Pixies song “Where is My Mind” is a nice touch, too, and he employs his North Carolina film school friend Tim Orr to shoot the picture. There’s nothing overt about the aesthetic letting us know the moments where Ronnie has lost his mind; rather, Hill just leaves it up to the viewer to understand that this is an unstable character who does bizarre things for the sake of the “law”, but really he’s just off in his own little world.

Hill came from the North Carolina film school where he met Danny McBride, Tim Orr, and David Gordon Green (who directed half of the first season of Eastbound and Down) and you can see the talent that is there. Hill isn’t interested in making traditional comedies. His tastes lean more towards the Dada-esque and the absurd, creating characters who say things in front of others that they could only get away with because they exist in their own alternate world. I didn’t think one way or the other about Observe and Report, but I have noticed that I can’t stop thinking about it. Certain scenes keep playing over in my head, and I keep thinking about Ronnie’s character and how we don’t see too many characters like that in comedy. So, despite its flaws I find myself still thinking about it, and that’s saying something for a comedy (which are usually memorable or so bad you can’t wait to get the taste out of your mouth). Fans of The King of Comedy, or just alternative, un-PC comedies will enjoy the allusions throughout Observe and Report and will find something humorous amidst the obscenities and absurdity.