“Funny People” is good. It’s really fucking good. It’s neither the maudlin mess that the trailers (and early reviews, like David Edelstein’s overblown thoughts for New York Magazine) have indicated, nor is it the “risky” experimental piece some have pegged it as (like a recent Wall Street Journal article – these are probably the same people that predicted “Up” would be a box office failure, ha). In fact, for much of the movie you might just simply be in awe at how many things writer-director Judd Apatow gets right in spite of its sprawling size.
His arrested development man-children, in this case the ailing, paranoid movie star George Simmons (played by the monolithic Adam Sandler, in his best performance since P.T. Anderson set him on the quest for pudding coupons in “Punch-Drunk Love”) and the wimpy, unsure nobody (Seth Rogen, toned down considerably, he’s actually acting, it’s nice), acknowledge their weaknesses. Yes, they are narcissistic, selfish, borderline homophobic/sexist assholes. But they are at least trying. (In one sequence a male character actually gives a female character oral pleasure — imagine that!)
The emotional honesty has been heightened without ever really feeling melodramatic, his ambition seeming to center, for the first time, on what it takes to be human, not what it takes to be funny. The film seems like his least episodic in tenor – there’s a real story to tell here, and it’s nice to see a movie about death that doesn’t turn into a sad-sack, woe-is-me wallow-fest even though it’s also never afraid of giving off a beautifully wistful tone.
Apatow has partnered with Steven Spielberg’s cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, and he gives it a kind of ethereal glow. (Not unlike the look Robert Richardson pioneered for Oliver Stone in movies like “JFK,” but not the overblown and obnoxious halo-look that’s in every shot, it’s just a new healthy sheen). The subtle aesthetic that gives the already emotionally rich and complicated film a lot of extra texture is much appreciated. Everything in this movie feels more real, more truthful, and at the same time more cinematic. This understated look just helps give the dark (but not morose) and sad (but not too melancholy) film some extra weight. The title of the film, which easily could have been called, “Seflish Pricks Who Get A Second Chance & Still Don’t Learn Jackshit,” has a double meaning. The superficial (funny) and the subtext (people who are “off” and damaged) and yes, we suppose that’s a facile, simplistic reading, but it does slightly convey how the picture is more than just an average comedy, or even your average Judd Apatow comedy. There’s something incredibly real at stake here and the characters are unapologetically flawed — perhaps even to a point that will make audiences uncomfortable or at least not root for them.
Part way through the tremendously enjoyable film, you’re thinking, “This is great, I hope it never ends!” And then it never does.
The first two thirds of the film, which are still dealing with the hard-hitting issues of morality, moral emptiness, missed opportunities, and life’s great purpose feature a whole lot of dick jokes. Like, an unnecessary amount. For all the headway Apatow makes, you still get the feeling that a large part of him, as an artist and a human being, is stuck in the middle school locker room. Still, you’re almost surprised how funny these fairly lame jokes can be, and that’s a testament to the endearing characters and their comedic delivery. There’s a genuine sense of playfulness and camaraderie in their attempts to make one another laugh and it admittedly charms and makes you smile.
But when the more plot-heavy elements kick in towards the film’s final act, with Sandler’s sick comedian being cured (via experimental medicine or convenient plot device, we’re not sure), time becomes an essential element, yet the dick jokes remain (if not increase), and what appeared to be a well-crafted exercise in bittersweet, humanistic comedy becomes an endlessly rambling mess. (And this is with the appearance of Eric Bana, in a surprisingly springy comedic turn, as the husband of Sandler’s lost love, Apatow’s real-life wife, the always excellent Leslie Mann.)
If a John Waters or Woody Allen comedy falters, we at least know that it’s only going to be 90 minutes, and that the end is near. “Funny People” is just as long as those other summer movie marathons, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “Public Enemies.” Similarly, “Funny People” plods along to a limp and, frankly, gutless and unsatisfying finale. Ultimately, the film is like a stand-up routine with no punchline. Instead, it’s like a slow, fade-out and you can still hear the comedian riffing on jokes.
Don’t get it twisted. The majority of “Funny People,” is extremely entertaining, and very amusing (and it must be noted Jonah Hill almost steals every scene he’s in and is riotously hilarious, Jason Schwartzman fits in perfectly with the Apatow milieu as well). It’s Apatow firing on all cylinders, refining things he had attempted before while trying out new (and dare we say it?) mature elements in both story and character. But “Funny People” is just too fucking long.
Apatow paints himself into a corner and has no place to go. If one one would try and hurry up that last act (and they probably did – this movie has two credited editors and that’s to say nothing of assistant editors, editorial technicians, etc. who all probably offered their two cents), they’d seriously compromise the film, and it feels pretty evident that he realizes this, takes a deep breath and cuts the movie to the length it needs for better or worse. In this case, it’s worse, and by the film’s final act you’ll be counting all the frames that could have been shaved, or where earlier in the movie he could have lost a couple of beats (did he really need that montage of his kids set to sappy music?)
It seems silly to bitch about a film’s length when it’s this ambitious, but it is a real problem and keeps the film from truly achieving the greatness that it promises. There are some risks in the film and perhaps the most significant ones are protagonists that are selfish, unlikable jerks. One has to admire how the picture decides to not go the route of traditional character arcs. These people are flawed assholes and none of them really change for the better which isn’t something you normally see in studio film, comedy or otherwise. So that move is bold, but we’d also be lying if we didn’t say it feels somewhat unsatisfying.
And while we’re semi-facetiously kvetching about the exorbitant length, the practical issue is that the third act material just cannot support or justify the long-windedness. It all just crumbles under the weight of its ambition and Apatow loses the plot; the dithering finale tends to wander around aimlessly. That’s the real problem.
Every subsequent Apatow movie feels like a better draft of the one before it. Maybe next time he’ll untangle all of his story elements beforehand, work with a ruthless editor, and make that great movie we all know he’s got inside of him. Until then, we’ll probably watch “Funny People” a dozen more times anyway. [B+] – Drew Taylor
