It should have been abundantly clear if you read this blog with any regularity that I have been a big fan of Judd Apatow's work and was looking forward to his latest directorial effort, this past summer's Funny People. So it came as a shock to me to see it do so poorly at the box office. However, I was in for an even bigger let down now that I've finally got a chance to see it myself.
Starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen, the film centers around a successful comedian (Sandler) who receives news that he has a rare form of leukemia. Suddenly worried about his mortality, he forms a friendship/working relationship with an up-start comic (Rogen). If you haven't figured it out yet, despite the film revolving around the world of stand-up comedy, this is anything but a laugh-out loud movie. The attempt at a more serious subject matter produces Apatow's most uneven work to date.
I'm not sure if it was greed or ambition, but Apatow attempts to do too much with this film and he ends up failing to make any of it work. Sandler's character is too much of an oddball loner to make him sympathetic enough as you watch him deal with his potentially limited future. Rogen's character is seemingly well-intentioned, but he's so weak and nonconfrontational that it makes it difficult to respect him. Then in amongst these heavy handed themes we have moments of classic Apatow one-liners and pop culture references. In a vacuum, these would typically be hilarious, but here they just feel out of place. Instead of the characters responding realistically to the situation, they're still riffing on each other with immature humor that was more appropriate for The 40 Year Old Virgin.
A large part of the film's excess problem is its length. Clocking in at over two and a half hours, it is just too long of a time to be spending with characters you're not particularly engaged by. This is most notable by the dramatic shift in story that takes place midway through the film. When Sandler visits his ex-girlfriend (played by Leslie Mann), it feels like the beginning of a whole new film. I actually liked a lot of the scenes at this point, particularly any involving (of all people) Eric Bana, who plays Mann's current husband. The problem was that by that point the film had already lost so much steam it made it difficult for me to really care what was happening.
As per usual for an Apatow film, the supporting cast is stellar. Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman play Rogen's roommates. We also get to see a lot of standup comics, young and old ranging from Parks and Recreations' Aziz Ansari and Aubrey Plaza to familiar faces like Andy Dick, Paul Reiser, and Ray Romano. Everybody pops in briefly and usually brings a spark to the film, but then are fleeting gone sending us back into the dreariness.
One of the best qualities in Apatow's previous two films was that for all the man-boy tendencies displayed by the main character, there was always evident maturity displayed by them by the film's end. That growth went a long way to making those films feel rewarding. Here the attempt at having Sandler's character display growth is feeble at best. For as long as the film is, the payoff is wholly unsatisfying. Overall, the film plays like someone's poor attempt at telling their version of the Aristocrats joke. So desperate to cram as much in and go as long as possible in building it up, the punchline is a letdown, bordering on an afterthought.
I imagine my grade will probably be lower than what the film may deserve based on its technical merits. Since I don't have to be held to the standard of most professional critics, I can let personal disappointment affect my judgment. I was looking for another classic here, but was severly let down. As unfair as it is, I'll attribute it to Apatow going outside of his usual gang and having Sandler as the lead here. Let's hope next time, Judd goes back to basics and uses some real funny people. Grade: C
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