Review of Funny People (2009) by Bradley H — 20 May 2012

Being an avid Apatow devotee, I wish I could say I enjoyed this more, but, truthfully, it's his weakest to date. The problem is not the cast...Adam Sandler gives another fine dramatic turn and Seth Rogen is better than ever, giving the most enjoyable performance in the movie.

It's also not that the movie's not funny. The laughs are consistent over the course of the whole two plus hours, which is quite impressive. My problem with the movie is this: after setting up the plot for one movie, it stops abruptly without following through and focuses on a completely unrelated story, the outcome of which changes nothing and lasts for about an hour.

If only Apatow had focused on the main story involving Rogen and Sandler's characters, the movie may have been more successful. The subplot involving Leslie Mann as Sandler's ex-lover that takes up the last hour and twenty minutes of the movie seems completely unnecessary, and, as a result, the established characters get shafted and ignored for the remaining running time.

That being said, it is nice to see that Apatow is starting to show a more serious side in his work...here's to hoping next go-round that he manages to cut out the excessive 'fat' and keep focused on telling a good story all the way through.