Best known for their humanist dramas “Half Nelson” and “Sugar,” the directing duo of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck take their first stab at the mainstream with an adaptation of Ned Vizzini’s novel, “It’s Kind Of A Funny Story,” and despite a first-rate cast, the film meets its early comparisons to “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” and “The Breakfast Club” with a bare minimum of inspiration.
When we first meet Craig (Keir Gilchrist) he’s in the emergency room at the hospital having brought himself there after contemplating suicide; and it’s not been the first time he’s had these thoughts. He meets with Dr. Mahmoud (Aasif Mandvi) and after telling him of his woes — which honestly don’t sound that far beyond what your average teenager goes through — the doctor advises him to go home and offers outpatient support. But after some pleading, Dr. Mahmoud agrees to admit Craig to the hospital and assigns him to the mental ward. Once Craig realizes that he will be forced to stay there for a minimum of five days for observation he has doubts, but his parents (Lauren Graham and Jim Gaffigan) think it’ll be good for him as they’ve been dealing with his various symptoms of depression for a while, so he reluctantly agrees.
It’s an interesting premise to be sure, but from here the film is every other psych dramedy you’ve ever seen. We meet the gallery of fellow patients and every box on the stock character list is ticked: Muqtada aka the guy who doesn’t say or do anything (Bernard White); Noelle, the beautiful but damaged love interest (Emma Roberts); Bobby, the guy who seemingly has it together but is also damaged (Zach Galifiniakis); Dr. Minerva, the kindly doctor (in this case replacing the mean nurse) played by Viola Davis. These are the main players but you can add the Guy Who Yells Random Stuff and the Guy Who Says The Same Thing Over And Over. And really, it’s only a matter of time before the young Craig touches all their lives in some way, and with a fresh take on this concept we wouldn’t mind so much, but it’s listless and lacking energy, so we really feel Boden/Fleck hit every predictable notch in the standard setup.
Essentially, the film has two main characters, Craig the newcomer to the ward, and Bobby, a longtime resident who is showing him the ropes. And unfortunately, Craig is simply uninteresting. His woes — stress about school, anxiety about his future and girl trouble — don’t earn much sympathy, and though by the end of the film he learns that He Has Stuff To Be Thankful For, his journey doesn’t earn much compassion. And Gilchrist as a lead, doesn’t have enough charisma to make it interesting either. On the other hand Bobby is far more intriguing and sympathetic. In fact, we would have preferred a whole film focusing on his story and history which includes a child and a wife who can’t understand his depression. If the film ends up earning attention for anything, it will be for Galifianakis’ surprisingly tender turn here. Yes, he does draw laughs, but he has an equal measure of dramatic scenes which he performs wonderfully. It will certainly open new doors for the already-in-demand actor and it’s a side of him we can’t wait to see more of.
If we haven’t mentioned some of the other cast members, it’s simply because their roles are minor. Zoe Kravitz as Nia, Craig’s longtime crush, does present a potentially interesting angle but her character hangs around the edges of the film and is ultimately shuffled out of proceedings altogether, while Jeremy Davies seems to have had his role edited out almost entirely. Aside from a few lines (and some that were clumsily dubbed in post) he spends more time appearing in the background of scenes than doing anything of substance.
“It’s Kind Of A Funny Story” finds Boden and Fleck swimming into populist waters with middling results. Gone is the keen observation and deeply felt realism that made their two aforementioned features so moving. Perhaps the wide array of characters muddled their focus, but the film ultimately plays it safe to the point of pulling any teeth the material could potentially have bared, right out. “It’s Kind Of A Funny Story” is kind of a disappointment. [C]
