My summary statement says it all: Funny People has been the comedy film I've been dying to see. Even through its obvious flaws, Funny People comes out as a unique film because it simply is not afraid to say what needs to be said. It finds the closest blend between comedy and drama that I've seen on-screen in a long time, and just for that I tip my hat off to Judd Apatow (because that's something many films attempt to do, and only few succeed).
Funny People is the story of comedy king George Simmons (Adam Sandler), who is going through an internal and external mid-life crisis: he isn't happy with his work or where he ended up at in his life, and his doctor informs him that he has a rare health condition. Simmons wants to find the happiness that he once had in his glory days as a stand-up comedian, so he starts doing some comedy routines at local bars. This is where he first meets Ira who has to follow up his act on-stage.
George needs some extra company, so he hires Ira as his assistant writer. But he resents Ira. He resents every crowd he has to make laugh. The masses will always feel a little more light-hearted listening to some of Simmon's comedy acts, but where can Simmons himself find happiness? The crowds can't give him that. He has no close friends; such a job excludes that possibility. Like Simmons says (in more or less words): there are people he can laugh with, but he has no close friends who can fix the gap that life has left him with--only he himself can fill that void. And Simmons makes it very clear that Ira IS NOT his friend; Ira is merely a crutch for Simmons to lean on while he struggles to heal. All-in-all, the point here is that comedians are not content human beings: they are sad, and even more screwed up than most people.
Thus George Simmons sets off to find a cure to his sadness as his doctors struggle to cure him of his leukemia. He attempts to mend relationships, and chases after a long-lost lover. And this is one of the film's weak points: it lags on the relationship between Laura and George. But as we begin to see things deteriorate for Simmons, one of the main morals of the film is unveiled: don't try to go back and fix the mistakes you made in your past (things might just end up worse), but keep moving forward and paving the way to a better future.
As George discovers that he might be cured of his disease, things begin to go downhill for him. But through all the rubble, all the drowned hopes, all the lost chances and heated arguments, Simmons comes out the better man. He learns to appreciate the turns his life has taken and the things he has gone through. It's a hacked-out and quite predictable ending; but all the same Funny People succeeds in being a riot as well as shedding some light into the lives of people you would think would be happiest. To tie all that up, even with an unoriginal ending, is quite an achievement in and of itself. Overall, kudos to Apatow: you've done quite the thing with Funny People.
Funny People is the story of comedy king George Simmons (Adam Sandler), who is going through an internal and external mid-life crisis: he isn't happy with his work or where he ended up at in his life, and his doctor informs him that he has a rare health condition. Simmons wants to find the happiness that he once had in his glory days as a stand-up comedian, so he starts doing some comedy routines at local bars. This is where he first meets Ira who has to follow up his act on-stage.
George needs some extra company, so he hires Ira as his assistant writer. But he resents Ira. He resents every crowd he has to make laugh. The masses will always feel a little more light-hearted listening to some of Simmon's comedy acts, but where can Simmons himself find happiness? The crowds can't give him that. He has no close friends; such a job excludes that possibility. Like Simmons says (in more or less words): there are people he can laugh with, but he has no close friends who can fix the gap that life has left him with--only he himself can fill that void. And Simmons makes it very clear that Ira IS NOT his friend; Ira is merely a crutch for Simmons to lean on while he struggles to heal. All-in-all, the point here is that comedians are not content human beings: they are sad, and even more screwed up than most people.
Thus George Simmons sets off to find a cure to his sadness as his doctors struggle to cure him of his leukemia. He attempts to mend relationships, and chases after a long-lost lover. And this is one of the film's weak points: it lags on the relationship between Laura and George. But as we begin to see things deteriorate for Simmons, one of the main morals of the film is unveiled: don't try to go back and fix the mistakes you made in your past (things might just end up worse), but keep moving forward and paving the way to a better future.
As George discovers that he might be cured of his disease, things begin to go downhill for him. But through all the rubble, all the drowned hopes, all the lost chances and heated arguments, Simmons comes out the better man. He learns to appreciate the turns his life has taken and the things he has gone through. It's a hacked-out and quite predictable ending; but all the same Funny People succeeds in being a riot as well as shedding some light into the lives of people you would think would be happiest. To tie all that up, even with an unoriginal ending, is quite an achievement in and of itself. Overall, kudos to Apatow: you've done quite the thing with Funny People.
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