Funny People (2009)

United States of America

Comedy, Drama

Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, Apatow Productions, Madison 23

Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman

Judd Apatow

Judd Apatow

Taglines: George Simmons was prepared to die, but then a funny thing happened.

male friendship, comedian, cancer

Famous and wealthy funnyman George Simmons doesn't give much thought to how he treats people until a doctor delivers stunning health news, forcing George to reevaluate his priorities with a little help from aspiring stand-up comic Ira.

Reviews:

Author: Kamurai
Really good watch, would watch again, and can recommend. I don't know if it's that Adam Sandler is playing a dying character, or that Seth Rogan is miserable, that the idea of being a professional comedian is especially appealing, or that they just did a fine job mixing a serious situation with a lot of comedy while mixing in some showcase of humanity, particularly human values. There are a couple of really good "finding self" tropes in this. It's good to see "behind the curtain" of comedy. The cast is excellent, and not because he strayed from his typical Happy Madison group, but just that they clearly know what it is to be those people and were able to give excellent deliveries. Anytime you're dealing with a "character is dying" trope, it has to be handled a very particular way, and usually that is overly serious ("The Fault in Our Stars"), but adding humor allows the story to be more palatable ("Stranger Than Fiction"), but it requires extreme balance to not trivialize the death of the character ("Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium"), and without being fantastic, this does an very good job of finding that balance, just with more "dick and fart" jokes. I think this is a good watch for anyone who likes stand up or follows comedic actors (such as SNL actors).