Funny People?? (2009)

Pardon the sarcasm so early in the review but the movie is about being “star struck in LA” if nothing else. After knocking out consecutive comedy hits, “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and Knocked Up”, Apatow over-reaches himself with a two and a half hour comedy/drama/family portrait epic that had me questioning his intentions and the premise of the movie, are these people really funny? Adam Sandler certainly can be but his performances often reflect juvenile humor featuring cock, cunt, and can’t get any jokes. That seems to be the staple of jaded comedian George Simmons’ shows and they have brought him fame, fortune and boredom. He lives alone in a Hollywood mansion reflecting on the outrageous material success he has achieved juxtaposed with the emotional emptiness of his loveless life. Into this Hollywood cliché enters the Debra Winger (Terms of Endearment) dilemma, a fatal illness that causes the protagonist to reassess everything.

George does this by reviving his stand-up comedy career and hiring a struggling young comedian, Ira Wright (Rogin) as his personal assistant, joke writer and whipping boy. Ira plays the young guileless foil to the depressed George’s existential mid-life crisis. George does somber stand-up hinting at the futility of life and Ira tries to lighten him up with mediocre material. They banter quite a bit, mostly Sandler ridiculing Ira for his naivete and futility with women. How much of this is funny? Not enough if you laughed a lot at Apatow’s earlier movies.

Where things really go off Is when George re-ignite his relationship with his one true love, Lesley Mann who happens to be Apatow’s real life wife. She is married now and only agrees to see George when he hints about the seriousness of his illness. Sandler confesses his anguish at losing her and she acknowledges that he was always the one for her. George and Ira wind up driving to Marin county and getting enmeshed in her family while the traveling husband played by Eric Bana is away. Her family includes two young daughters played by Mann and Apatow’s two young daughters. The scenario take’s an awkward but not particularly funny turn upon the husband’s unexpected return and then continues far too long. Seeing home movies of the couple’s daughter convinces me there is too much Apatow and not enough entertainment to warrant either the hype or length of this project. I say back to hair removal and uncomplicated outrageous comedy in the next one.

“Funny People?” Written and directed by Judd Apatow starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogin, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Maude and Iris Apatow, numerous cameos by famous and semi-famous personalities such as Eminem, RZA, Azi Anzari and others, not to mention James Taylor(Bruuuuce’s people declined).