Funny People (2009)

Director:

Judd Apatow

Writer (WGA):

Judd Apatow (written by)

Release Date:

31 July 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

When seasoned comedian George Simmons learns of his terminal, inoperable health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship cause him to take a relatively green performer under his wing as his opening act.

Plot Keywords:

Comedian | Stand Up Comedian | Cheating Wife | Television Star | Woman On Top

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Adam Sandler	...	George Simmons
Seth Rogen	...	Ira Wright
Leslie Mann	...	Laura
Eric Bana	...	Clarke
Jonah Hill	...	Leo Koenig
Jason Schwartzman	...	Mark Taylor Jackson
Aubrey Plaza	...	Daisy
Maude Apatow	...	Mable
Iris Apatow	...	Ingrid
RZA	...	Chuck
Aziz Ansari	...	Randy
Torsten Voges	...	Dr. Lars
Allan Wasserman	...	Dr. Stevens
Rod Man	...	Himself
Wayne Federman	...	Comedy & Magic Manager

Also Known As:

Untitled Judd Apatow/Adam Sandler Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and crude sexual humor throughout, and some sexuality.

Runtime:

146 min | 153 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45381) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Ireland:16 | Singapore:M18 | New Zealand:R16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Finland:K-13 | Ireland:15 (video rating) | Sweden:7 | Mexico:B15 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles International Airport - 1 World Way, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Judd Apatow considered Bill Hader for the role of Mark but decided to give it to Jason Schwartzman instead.

Goofs:

Continuity: When George enters Ira's house for Thanksgiving dinner, he points out to Leo that they have the poster for his movie "Re-Do" (the baby movie) hanging on the wall. During the scene while George and Leo are discussing the movie, the poster behind Leo switches from "Re-Do" to another film.

Quotes:

George Simmons: Good news, Bonita. I went to the doctor today. He said I was doing better.
Bonita: That's good, Mr. Simmons. I found the pants you were looking for. They were in the closet.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Breakfast: (2009-08-25)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Carolina on My Mind

Very uneven

Considering Judd Apatow's previous work most people will probably see Funny People expecting a comedy.This isn't the case at all. The film is clearly a drama even though it centers around stand up comedy.George (Adam Slander) is a very successful, famous and rich comedian who learns that he has a blood disorder similar to leukemia and he'll most likely die in a short amount of time. Ira (Seth Rogen) is a struggling up-and-coming stand up comedian who works at a deli.One night George takes notice of Ira and hires him as his personal assistant. Ira gets exited with this new chance and accepts it right away.Besides being an assistant Ira soon becomes George's only friend. Later on the experimental medicine that was given to George by the doctors ends up working and George defeats the disease. With a second chance in life, George tries to reconnect with the love of his life and takes Ira along for the ride. Both of them end up learning some lessons. This is not a bad film, and I think the premise is great, the problem here is that the movie is very,very uneven.The direction of the film changes a few times, sometimes it feels like its going on the right direction and sometimes it just falls flat.As I said, this is more a drama then a comedy, but the writing is what you usually see in the late genre; the characters are two dimensional and poorly written, specially the main character George who towards the end of the movie seems like a completely different person. The acting was a big problem for me as well. Seth Rogen's acting here, lets be honest, it is atrocious, he doesn't seem comfortable at all and delivers his lines in a very awkward way (and I didn't mind him at all in Zack And Miri Make A Porno for instance) and Eric Bana has a serious case of overacting. All in all, it's a very uneven film but entertaining nonetheless and a good change of pace for Adam Sandler.

6/10