Review of Funny People « Northwest Digest

Review of Funny People

By Anton at August 24th, 2009.

I was interested in seeing Funny People because Adam Sandler – a comedian and actor I’m very loyal to – was starring in it. I’m a hit-and-miss fan of director Judd Apatow, and I’m mostly unimpressed with Sandler’s co-star in Funny People, Seth Rogen, but I think highly of Sandler. Before I saw the movie, I read this. I laughed a little bit. Obviously, Rex Reed is a hater of all things Sandler, Rogen and Apatow. I dismissed his review because of its obvious prejudices and went to see the movie. Unfortunately, Reed was basically right.

Please understand: my undying affection for Sandler is not simply rooted in his memorable Saturday Night Live stretch. Sandler made me laugh harder in my childhood then any other person with his comedy albums – specifically, “What the Hell Happened to Me”. When I wanted a laugh, I could always turn to The Goat, Tollbooth Willy or Piece of —- Car. Sandler and his cronies never let me down. Many a boring road trip for a basketball tournament or a family vacation turned into a raucous party in my headphones. Then, of course, he starred in Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore and, the underrated Bulletproof with Daman Wayans. For me, Sandler is on an exclusive comedy list alongside names like Chris Rock and Dave Chapelle. But his comedic staying power is not his best professional trait. He’s been putting out trash for awhile now. He hasn’t appeared in, produced or directed anything relatively good in a long time. What he’s done successfully over the past decade is grab some fans from older generations by appearing in generic campy romantic comedies (Fifty First Dates, Mr. Deeds). Regardless of the trash he’s produced or appeared in, the thought of missing Sandler’s reemergence as a terrific comic actor is unfathomable. I will always support him.

Well, Funny People is another bomb. His character is uninspiring and cheap, which, I suppose, adds some legitimacy to his attraction to Rogen’s character, a humorless young comedian without any definable skill or trait. As the movie slowly crawls along, and the audience is subjected to joke after tasteless joke about the male anatomy, the entire appeal of the movie – unique insight into the world of stand-up comedy – is never found. The most horrific part of the movie is the ridiculous sub-plot of Sandler’s mysterious disease. The audience is never really clued in to what it is and Rogen and Leslie Mann (Sandler’s wronged ex-girlfriend) never seem interested in understanding what is wrong with him. Overall, it’s a choppy, laborious mess of a movie.

Apatow, once again, struck out. His run as a somewhat popular comedic director has run its course. I don’t think he can be taken very seriously any longer. His movies attempt to reach many different emotional levels, but consistently fall short.

So, as Reed said, Funny People is terrible. It’s an uninspiring, unfunny adventure into…well, to be honest, I’m not sure what the point was. The final scene of the movie is fitting for a couple reasons: it reinforces the ridiculous amount of jokes about the male anatomy throughout the movie and it shows two comedic actors who, far too often, don’t deliver comedy. But I’m sure I’ll see Sandler’s next movie.

Tags: Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Funny People, Happy Gilmore, Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann, Seth Rogen