Funny People 2009

6.5/10. This is a hard one to rate, or to even decide whether or not I liked the film.

The first half of it or so was very engaging. The idea of Adam Sandler, essentially playing himself, and reevaluating his life and his legacy in the wake of a terminal diagnosis, played straight (more or less) is pretty brilliant move. Sandler's acting talents have been maligned, and in truth, he doesn't have to go too far outside his comfort zone here, but there's an eminently believable sad-sack world weariness to his George Simmons expy here, in a performance that conveys both the showbiz obliviousness that a guy like Sandler would have developed, but also a very human wistfulness that comes from remembering the life he used to have and the hungry young comedian he used to be.

Contrasting Sandler with Seth Rogen playing Ira, the wannabe stand up comedian who idolized Sandler's films, works at a deli to make ends meet, and ends up as Sandler's assistant/confidante/punching bag is another deft move. Rogen has the right mix of starstruck wonder and everyman awkwardness to make him an interesting foil for Sandler, and the dynamic between the two, with bull-busting bro-y friendliness feels lived in and real.

And the arc of the film is Simmons trying to be more like Ira, or at least who he was when he was in Ira's position, and Ira trying to be more like Simmons, and each realizing that they're fairly different, that what Ira wants and what Simmons is on the other side of changes a person, and not necessarily for the better, that idols often have feet of clay, and that the piles of gold and memorabilia that come with success in comedy can feel pretty empty without the human connection to give them meaning. While the film rarely explicitly underlines these themes, they're there fairly loudly, but the relaxed, mumbling vibe of an Apatow production takes much of the edge off.

The problem is that two-thirds of the way into the film, it turns into a strange, rudderless domestic drama about Laura's family, and it nearly sucks all of the oxygen out of the film. It almost felt like a different film, like a sequel that had been grafted back into the original work. Bana did a serviceable job as Laura's husband, but the entire portion of the film was a lackadaisical hang out with Apatow's family rather than a vital element of the film.

Reconnecting with an old flame and having both Simmons and Laura realize they're not the people they were when they were together, that their wants and needs have changed, could be, and was a legitimately significant part of Simmons's arc in the movie, and Ira seeing Simmon's family-destroying selfishness as a red flag for his aspirations is an fair and worthwhile beat as well. But it felt like a part of the film that could have used much more editing, had more of the events implied and the salient points spotlighted than an hour-long hang out at Laura's house with little forward momentum.

I also felt like the film faltered a bit at the end. It's a little cliche, but I liked the idea of Sandler's character slowly reverting back to his blase existence once he realizes he's no longer dying, that he pushes away the people like Ira who challenge him, and finds himself alone. It's cynical and dark, and it makes his status as a cautionary tale for Ira even more stark, but having him come back and effectively apologize and tell Ira's he's right takes a great deal of the punch out of the finish. It's tough to call it a truly happy ending, and there's something nice about the character beat that Ira indirectly reinspired Simmons to start writing jokes again, to go back to his roots as a comedian, but it also feels somewhat pat and timid relative to the rest of the film.

That said, there's a good number of laughs in the film. The stand up segments are surprisingly good, and feature the relaxed but endearing vibe that guys like Ira and Simmons would assume on stage. At the same time, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman's various misadventures on network television were good for a laugh here and there and show a different side of the aspiring comedian scene. Unfortunately, Aubrey Plaza's character was mostly a prop, but she had a few good lines at least. But Ira and Simmons's interactions are usually worth at least a chuckle in the way they're representative a very real sort of dynamic, and their encounters with the rest of the world--including the Scandinavian doctor and Eminen of all people--had a great humorous air to them.

Again, it's very difficult to assess this film at an overall level. As a comedy, there were a lot of laughs, both from genuine stand up and the trademark Apatow manchild back-and-forth. As a film about the semi-rise of one young comedian and the semi-fall of an older one, it told an interesting and compelling story that felt true to the characters it sketched out. The problem is that story and those arcs get lost in quicksand for much of the film's back half, and by the time it gets back to that story in full force at the end, the work is generally good, but my attention and interest had waned to the point that it was hard to rev it all up again for the finale that felt more of a piece with the opening portion of the film. There's a good movie buried somewhere in Funny People, I'm just not sure if even the most optimistic viewer (or maybe the most discerning editor) could dig it out.