FUNNY PEOPLE

Written and Directed by Judd Apatow
Starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Leslie Mann and Eric Bana


Ira: Do you like music?
Daisy: Did you just ask me if I like music? That’s like asking if I like food.

You’ve got your funny, you’ve got your people. And FUNNY PEOPLE, the third film by Judd Apatow, the reigning God of all things supposedly funny at the movies, only has room for one of these things. Which one, you ask. Let’s just that's an awfully big cast he's got there. Apatow has set himself apart in the last few years by making stylish comedies that speak directly to an audience that isn’t often engaged when it comes to comedy. It isn’t slapstick; it isn’t stupid. It is smart comedy with real people who have relatable problems but who don’t mind getting dirty with their humour. A comedian who has joked his way through life and is now facing his own mortality is certainly a real problem, just like a forty-year-old who has yet to lose his virginity or a one night stand that resulted in a pregnancy (Apatow’s two previous features, THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN and KNOCKED UP, respectively) are real problems, but FUNNY PEOPLE forgets to be exactly what got Apatow and all his regulars there in the first place – funny.


Apatow has certainly stepped up his game. In many ways, he didn’t have much of a choice. His name has been built up so high at this stage for all of his producing gigs that when one of his own movies drops, it has to lead by example. Casting Adam Sandler as the aforementioned dying comedian was the perfect start to a project brimming with potential. George is not so much unlike Sandler, at least when it comes to his career. Both started out in standup and both went on to make movie after crappy movie to appease the masses. More importantly, both are now in need of redemption for their regrets. (I can’t imagine Sandler is too proud of YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN; I could be wrong, but that’s doubtful.) The art imitating life doesn’t stop there either with Seth Rogen playing Ira, George’s assistant, as Rogen looks destined to follow in Sandler’s footsteps in Hollywood. While it is clear that both are pushing their dramatic acting abilities in this picture, well, it is also clear that they’re trying so it isn’t exactly a resounding success.


People are funny and Apatow knows this. FUNNY PEOPLE definitely refers to the vast cast of people who are all undeniably funny (Jason Schwartzman and Jonah Hill play their own brand of comedians as Ira’s roommates in a subplot that is essentially useless) but it could just as easily refer to the funny things we do as people. Whether that is Ira cussing out a girl he has yet to even have a date with for sleeping with one of his friends or George naively thinking that he can get back with the girl who got away (and who got married and got herself two kids, all played by Apatow’s real-life family, wife, Leslie Mann, and his two daughters, Maude and Iris Apatow) just because time was running out and sympathy was on his side. Hollywood works that way but life just doesn’t and fortunately, Apatow has earned himself enough clout in Hollywood to play against convention, as long as he isn’t making, “Sad People.” He might as well have made the sad one here though; at least then people would know what they were in for.


There is a scene early on in the film where George makes an impromptu appearance at a comedy club the same day he finds out he is dying. He doesn’t want to tell the audience about it; he just doesn’t know what to do with himself. Understandably, his jokes fall flatter than a flat line, and he pauses while on stage to listen to the sound of the cars on the nearby freeway, audible to everyone inside as no one is laughing. It is a touching moment but it also sums up what it is like to watch FUNNY PEOPLE. There is hilarity surrounding you but the delivery only inspires discomfort and a couple of chuckles. Your heart goes out but you wish your gut was hurting just a little too.

KNOCKED UP

Written and Directed by Judd Apatow


Pete: Isn’t it weird when you have a kid and all your dreams go out the window?

Judd Apatow is something of a contemporary creative hero. He is a man who works within a rigid system and delivers consistently hilarious fare that manages to remain oddly honest and revealing. The director of THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN returns this summer with KNOCKED UP, a comedy about dealing with the unexpected that lives up to all its expectations. After one night of drunken, messy sex, Alison and Ben (Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen) find themselves in a situation many have found themselves in before, pregnant. Alison is fresh from a promotion while Ben is busy doing nothing at all. Neither expected to see the other ever again, much less raise a child together. This is horrible timing for both of them but both must learn that nothing makes two people grow up faster than having a baby. And what do two grown-ups do when faced with a less than ideal scenario like this one? Why they give up on looking for love and force a relationship to form between each other for the sake of their child and in the interest of being responsible human beings. The idea that they could actually be successful is hilarious enough in itself.

Apatow sets us up from the start. We meet Ben in the middle of a stoned back yard boxing match of enormous proportions. Moments later, we meet Alison waking to her alarm so that she can prepare for her responsible day as a functional member of society. They meet each other in a bar later that day. Alison is there to celebrate her promotion and Ben is there to drink. Alison is young and vibrant; Ben is a pudgy stoner. He is not without charm but social hierarchies would keep him way out of her league. And so KNOCKED UP begins its journey into the male fantasy. In this fantasy, a male nobody can get with a female somebody with absolutely no explanation that would give it any sort of rational sense. Without it though, there would be no premise to develop. Further to this, Alison decides that she and Ben should do their best to be together. This successful woman who already has a supportive family that could help her through her pregnancy and raise the child suddenly sees no chance of finding her own happiness and learns to settle.


Are you laughing yet? C’mon, this is funny stuff. The funniest thing about KNOCKED UP is that it actually is funny. Heigl and Rogen both turn in fantastic performances that will certainly leave audiences wanting even more of them. They are also surrounded by a number of supporting players who may be one-sided but make the most of their limited depth. On Alison’s side, Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd play Alison’s sister and her husband. They too found themselves unexpectedly pregnant when they were younger and decided to take a shot at happiness together. Only, all these years later, he makes excuses to be out of the house to clear his head and she doesn’t trust that he’s being faithful. On Ben’s side, he’s got a pack of stoner buddies (Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill and Martin Starr) who help him keep it real. They also stop him from becoming the man he needs to be if he’s going to be a good father. Where Apatow’s talent steps in is in making all of this symbolism apparent without being the least bit obvious or overwrought. The entire cast is clearly having a blast with their characters and with each other, making it impossible not to laugh along with them. There are also more pop culture references than you can shake a “Gilmore Girls” series finale at.


Despite all their chemistry though, Heigl and Rogen never fully convince me that they have actually fallen in love. Sure they each learn a thing or two about themselves and how to be better to each other but in the end, Apatow does more damage than good. One walks away from KNOCKED UP thinking that a baby can bring people together or save a relationship. One also walks away thinking that to grow up means to leave your dreams and frivolity behind you, to settle in to a potential life of boredom and disappointment. Finally, and fortunately for all involved, one also walks away from KNOCKED UP laughing one’s ass off and not caring one bit about convention and the dangers that stem from it.