Funny People

Official Site: www.funnypeoplemovie.com

Swanner: This week we saw the new Adam Sandler/Seth Rogen movie called Funny People. The story surrounds George Simmons, a movie star comic, who finds out that he is ill and decides to go back to his roots of stand up to find a time when he was really happy. This is a movie about funny people who aren’t happy people.

Judd: No, this movie is a tribute to Adam Sandler, because “George Simmons” is Sandler and apparently, according to this two and half hour idolization, there has never been nor will there ever be a better comic than Adam Sandler. This movie was exactly what I feared it would be – overindulgent tripe.

Swanner: George did do a lot of stupid movies where he used those stupid voices. I still don’t think it was a tribute to Sandler. I think the movie is trying to give stand-up comedians the respect they think they deserve. If you look at all the working comedy actors you’ll see that most of them came from stand-up. I understand that the stand-up comic’s life is probably very difficult, but then what part of the entertainment business isn’t? Look at us. Bad hours, rude people and some really awful movies. Where is our movie?

Judd: You don’t think Funny People was a tribute to Sandler? The movie opened with old home movie footage of him making a prank call. It featured old television footage of him. The movie practically sucked Sandler’s dick. What about the moment in the middle of the film where Simmons is feeling better and every fucking standup working in LA is trotted across the screen to kiss his ass? The movie was so Sandler-centric, that the plot was inconsequential. Sandler wants his old girlfriend back and Seth Rogen is his personal assistant. Whoopty-doo.

Swanner: Just because they have footage of someone that started their career during the time that camcorders were readily available does not make this a tribute to Sandler. You could have put any actor/comic into this role. Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy or Robin Williams could have played George. George is a movie star who is at the top of his game but money and success can’t buy you happiness. Did they overexpose Sandler in the movie? Absolutely, but that was Judd Apatow’s fault as writer/director. I thought Sandler did a good job with the role but I thought Seth Rogan dominated the scenes they had together. I also think Apatow needs to start cutting his movies down to less than two hours. 2:20 is about 30 minutes too long for a comedy. Movies this long need hobbits, a boy wizard or a Chevy truck that can transform into a super hero.

Judd: If Apatow edited out all the Sandler fellating, the movie would have barely cleared 80 minutes. We would have Rogen and the petty arguments he has with roommates, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman. Then we’d have Sandler trying to win back his girlfriend — which was crammed the last 40 minutes of the movie, after Sandler blew his load all over Apatow’s face.

Swanner: So I guess we can take for granted you didn’t like the movie. We agreed it was too long and that the love fest for George Simmons was too much. What I did like about the movie was it was likeable and a funny feel good movie. I thought the acting was good and the story was good although the script had way too many dick jokes. I know 18 year olds that aren’t that obsessed with their dicks. It still has a good message for people with souls that no matter what life throws at you, you need to remember to be happy. Don’t miss out on all the good things in life because you’re too focused on that elusive brass ring.

Judd: A good message for people with souls? What are you trying to say? No, I didn’t like the movie. George Simmons was supposed to be a career focused loner, but he had an awful lot of friends that suddenly popped up during the ass-kissing montage. The writing wasn’t very funny and I thought the movie relied too heavily on Sandler’s funny voice/goofy face shtick – which I do not find funny at all. I would call this Apatow’s first real flop. 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall – all excellent, unique romantic comedies. Funny People is a failure.

Swanner: I’ll agree it’s not his best. He needs to be funnier and less poignant. I am surprised you didn’t like the ending since it’s quite a bit different than his usual happy ending.

Judd: By the end I didn’t care.

Swanner: 2 1/2 Stars
Judd: 1 Star