[image-1]Funny People stars Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen as standup comics of varying success. Rogen is Ira Wright, an average-looking, awkward newbie who’s still earning his stripes doing five-minute sets (for no pay, of course) at the Improv. Sandler is George Simmons, a hugely successful movie star/comedian for whom money and fame are no substitute for the ability to make lasting connections with people. Very early on, George learns that he has a rare form of cancer, and though there is a treatment option (from Canada no less), he’s only got an 8 percent chance of beating the disease. Reeling from the diagnosis, Simmons retreats to the comedy club and delivers a particularly dark performance.
Wright follows him on stage, and though his act usually revolves around dick and fart jokes, on this night he’s forced to comment about Simmons’ meltdown. Despite the ribbing, the older comedian sees something in this neophyte and hires him to write some jokes for a corporate gig. That goes well, and Simmons brings Wright on full time as his personal assistant — a job more about taking abuse than fetching Diet Cokes. Simmons isn’t a bad guy, just cold and remote. When he reveals his cancer to Wright, he does so as part of a joke. (The “kill me” bit from the trailer.)
One of the joys of Funny People is the way in which the film defies expectations. Simmons tells Wright not to tell a soul about the illness, knowing the TMZ hell that will surely follow. In the next scene, Wright tells his friends all of Simmons’ secrets. Cue the flash bulbs and microphones, right? Nope. Simmons eventually comes clean with his “friends” (dozens of noted standup comics, all playing themselves) on his own terms, and starts taking his poison “medication.” It makes him even sicker — but it works.
[image-2]From here, I hesitate to reveal more of the plot. Let’s just say that Simmons starts re-evaluating his life, particularly a failed relationship with an actress (Leslie Mann) who’s now unhappily married with children. The last act of the film, including a long, exhausting and confounding trip Wright and Simmons take to Marin County, is really a dividing line in the appreciation of the film. For almost two hours, you have the greatest Judd Apatow movie ever made, a staggering mix of comedy and pathos that blurs the distinction between the two. And then the movie gets serious, charges straight into uncomfortable scene after uncomfortable scene, and poses tough questions about life and love while offering no easy answers. It’s bound to alienate more than a few people.
The rumor mill has been churning with stories of studio brass unhappy with the length (almost two and a half hours) and ambition of Funny People. They have a point, but if the stories are to be believed, they wanted to trim the wrong part of the movie. Yes, Funny People is an incredible display of ego by Apatow. And yes, the last act of the film prominently features Apatow’s wife (Mann) and his kids. But that last act is also the soul of the movie. If I had to guess, I would say it’s the family dynamic showcased in the last half-hour that made Apatow want to make this movie in the first place. What’s extraneous is the stuff involving Wright’s roommates and love life, and a show Schwartzman is on called Yo, Teach! It’s vintage Apatow and it’s hilarious, but it’s like a musician playing the old hits to soften the audience before he gets to the ambitious new material.
If the last third of Funny People is the film’s soul, the relationship between Simmons and Wright is the heart, and both Sandler and Rogen deliver the performances of their careers. Both actors leave their typical screen personae on the shelf (though they're definitely commenting on their past work), creating smart, interesting people who agonize over tough decisions and, in Rogen’s case, try to do the right thing when no “right thing” is apparent. The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent, including Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jason Schwartzman and Superbad’s Jonah Hill (among many others). If there was an Oscar for casting director, Allison Jones would be a lock. Also, keep your eyes peeled for the many celebrity cameos. My favorites: Paul Reiser, Sarah Silverman and Eminem.
It's been two days since I saw Funny People, and the film refuses to leave my head. More than the larger story, it’s the small, honest moments woven throughout the film that have stuck. Each says something about friendship or family or loyalty or sexual politics or why having gray hairs on your balls makes them distinguished. Each is enough to hang a whole film on (OK, maybe not that last one), yet here they're small gems that add up to a diamond. A flawed diamond to be sure, but a diamond nonetheless.
What’s often missed about the sense of humor is that it’s a defense mechanism. Behind every biting joke, taunt or put-down is a kernel of fear or hurt. Maybe if we keep laughing, all that pain and uncertainty hiding just behind the smile will stay contained. Judd Apatow’s excellent Funny People is a hysterical, profane, entertaining, challenging, honest, touching, sentimental, overwrought jokeathon of a movie. It’s loaded with great performances and wants to make Big points about Big topics. Life and death literally hang in the balance. This is a movie that stares into the abyss and sees a dick joke staring back.
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