“So Here We Go”
Funny People is “a real movie [with] carefully written dialogue and carefully placed supporting performances,” Roger Ebert notes, “and it’s about something. It could have easily been a formula film, and the trailer shamelessly tries to misrepresent it as one, but Adam Sandler‘s George Simmons learns and changes during his ordeal, and we empathize.
“The film presents a new Seth Rogen, much thinner, dialed down, with more dimensions. Rogen was showing signs of forever playing the same buddy-movie co-star, but here we find that he, too, has another actor inside. So does Jason Schwartzman, who often plays vulnerable but here presents his character as the kind of successful rival you love to hate.
“Rogen and Leslie Mann find the right notes as George’s impromptu support group. The plot doesn’t blindly insist that George and Laura must find love; it simply suggests they could do better in their lives. [And] Eric Bana makes a satisfactory comic villain. There is a rolling-around-on-the-lawn fight scene that’s convincingly clumsy, and Mann mocks him with a spot-on Aussie accent (not the standard pleasant one, more of a bray).
“Apatow understands that every supporting actor has to pull his weight. The casting director who found him Torsten Voges to play George’s doctor earned a day’s pay. Voges is in some eerie, bizarre way convincing as a cheerful realist bringing terrible news — miles better than your stereotyped grim movie surgeon.
“After an enormously successful career as a producer, this is Apatow’s third film as a director, after The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Of him it can be said: He is a real director. He’s still only 41. So here we go.”
The tone of the review suggests Ebert is almost shocked that this is a “real movie”.
But notice how he never says it’s a great or even very good one.
Why are critics bending over backward to applaud this mediocrity?
Well, Ebert gave it 3-1/2 stars so I guess he thinks it’s “very good”. But this seems to be getting wildly divergent notices — I’ll still see it, but have no expectations either way.
maybe because it’s better than mediocre?
Hey,wait! That’s not what Rex Reed said!
At that runtime, NERVOUS AS FUCK about seeing this.
Not that I don’t like long movies, but every time I’ve got to the Arclight (or any multiplex really) in the last three years, invariably some theater-hopping assholes sneak in at the 100-minute mark and plot down in my real estate.
Just cringing already at the mood-killing frustration where some twitchy weird guy or trashy family is GOING to sneak into this, no idea what’s going on, and sit next to me during the last two reels.
Happens EVERY time.
Oops, forgot to link to my rant about the MOOD-KILLING theater hoppers who DESTROYED 500 Days o’ Summer last week.
If anyone pulls this shit during FUNNY PEOPLE, I am filing a class-action lawsuit against any theater that doesn’t ARREST people for sneaking in late and DESTROYING Funny People, a movie I’ve been looking forward to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM0fa-4Uj94
If they do it this time, LexG, you have my permission to stick your finger in your mouth and vomit on them.
This is right up my alley. I’ve been eagerly awaiting for this movie for about one year. I drooled over the trailer and have watched this at least 10 times. I don’t do stand-up, but a few of my friends do. I love the strong male characters in the trailer- they remind me of my friends.
I love it. and I’m so gonna see it on opening day. I wish it would come out NOW, though.
I did standup on and off from 95 to 06, so it’ll be interesting to see a depiction of the “scene” that isn’t just me going to Lucy’s Laundromat and sushi restaurants and coffee houses and performing in front of six other angry comics and like one homeless drunk guy.
In real life, Rogen’s character’s idea of a good set would be a couple of polite chuckles from the 100% comic crew at the Brewco or the Store…
Not sure what it says about the state of the L.A. standup scene, and it certainly doesn’t speak well to my talent, but in 11 YEARS, I never once did anything more than OPEN MIKE and only twice performed before a paying crowd, out of *hundreds* of sets.
Comedy is the most depressing shit EVER.
The only thing more depressing than comedy are the years 1995 and 1996, especially 1995.
The more I read about it the less I want to see it, lol.
Anyone who thrice claims to be “ensconced in the narrative” of 500 Days of Summer damn near deserves to have his cinematic experience ruined.
No, I take that back, actually. You’re a bit of a douche, but I’m with you on this one. You certainly earned my sympathy after 8+ minutes of ranting, although I’m not sure how “AWESOME” it was.
“But notice how he never says it’s a great or even very good one.”
You know, vice, if you had a better ability to grasp the subtleties of language, the implications that words can carry when put collectively together, you’d probably enjoy movies more. Or, at least, you would probably occassionally be able to enjoy a movie.
Here’s a free lesson: The subtext of what I just wrote is “You’re an idiot”.
LexG really wants is to be “ensconced” in Megan Fox’s “narrative”.
Gordy – Therefore I gather the subtext of you bending over backwards to presumptively insult me via subtext, instead of just coming out and insulting me, is not actually insult but flattery.
That Movieline review rang very true to me as a semi-reformed Teenage Lady Comedy Nerd Yes The Gross One In The Pigeon Lady Halloween Costume but I am still kind of stoked on this movie?? For reasons not entirely logical I am thinking that either this or Paper Heart(s??) will stir my soul but not both. I have a not insignificant womyncrush on Charlyne Yi after seeing this picture, we should probably get together and trade Camera Obscura live boots and commiserate about our dickless boyfriends
1995 was dope as fuq because instead of writing me up and referring me to an urban public school therapist my fifth-grade teacher gave me a piece of white saltwater taffy for writing a darkly comic essay on the Oklahoma City bombings which occurred over spring break. Also because of the release of E 1999 Eternal
Maybe the way to evaluate FUNNY PEOPLE is to consider it Judd Apatow’s GRINDHOUSE, where you get a 90 minute guycentric film about the standup comedy biz, then a 60 minute second-chance romantic comedy highlighting Leslie Mann.
Very nice, Terry.
“I love it. and I’m so gonna see it on opening day. I wish it would come out NOW, though.”
Wow Prager, you take condescending to a new level sometimes. Did you look up that Deafbrown quote on a whim just to mock it, or did you actually copy and paste that shit into some file so you can regurgitate it over and over again down the road?
I mean, seriously, sometimes it seems like you create a file on every personality that posts on here just so you can come up with the most villainous ways to stick it to them.
I fear for the wrath someone will face when they actually crap in your cereal one morning.
I wouldn’t worry about that, he’s been eating crap for breakfast for years now.
“Therefore I gather the subtext of you bending over backwards to presumptively insult me via subtext, instead of just coming out and insulting me, is not actually insult but flattery.”
I honestly can’t tell whether you’re still displaying an inability to understand subtext or deliberately pretending to be unable to understand subtext, but, either way, you come off pretty dumb. Certainly not dumber than hanging around a website solely devoted to talking about movies despite not liking movies at all, but, hey, they can’t all be home runs.