Movie Review Rewind: Funny People (2009)

On the latest edition of Movie Review Rewind, Brandon Vick flips the calendar back to 2009 for a look at Adam Sandler in Funny People.

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Funny People is the third film by Judd Apatow. His first two, 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, were big comedy hits, but this one is different. This film is a more mature Apatow movie. Funny People is not a comedy like the other two. Instead, it is a drama with funny parts. Now having said that, this film is funny. Apatow has a gift for comedy and drama and playing them off each other.

Funny People is about funny people whose lives aren’t that humorous. George Simmons (Adam Sandler) is a big movie star who has been swallowed up by fame and fortune. However, when he finds out that he suffers from a rare blood disorder that will kill him, George decides to go back to stand-up. He wants to return to his roots after years of avoiding it.

At one of the stand-up clubs, George meets Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) and soon Ira is writing jokes for George and being his personal assistant as well. As they take that journey together, both men find out a lot about each other. George is a man who has made it in the movie business. But he has no real friends and being on top may be a lonely place to be at.

On the other hand, Ira is at the bottom of the food chain. He sleeps on a friend’s pull out couch. He is a struggling comedian and he looks up to George and wants to be like him. He craves what George has: money and fame. But it’s not all what it’s cracked up to be and George knows it. Once George finds out he is not sick, George changes his view on life. His way of  life.

Like I said before, this is a drama with funny parts in it. It is about life and death, and how your time on this planet is so valuable. Sandler and Rogen have a great supporting cast that includes Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, and Eric Bana, who shows that he can be a prick and be funny at the same time. All of these actors bring their comedy side to these characters, but there is a stronger dramatic force pushing them harder.

Rogen is not his usual amped-up self in this film. He holds back a little more than we are used to seeing. His character gets this great opportunity to work for one of his idols, and it’s not a pleasant ride. George Simmons is arrogant and has a big ego. Ira starts to see what fame can do and maybe he doesn’t want any part of it. At the same time, George needs him and Ira will be there no matter what.

Sandler plays George Simmons and this could be his best role yet. He is known as a comedic box office star, but he has gone dramatic before. His performances in Spanglish, Punch Drunk Love, and Reign Over Me are worth the viewing. But Sandler put a lot of himself in to this specific character. I never thought I would make this comparison, but Sandler’s George Simmons is a lot like Mickey Rourke’s Randy “The Ram” Robinson in The Wrestler. Randy “The Ram” Robinson’s story resembled a lot of the story of Rourke and the same thing can be said about Sandler and his character George.

Sandler is a huge movie star and makes a lot of money for himself and movie studios. He once was a stand-up comic and worked his way up and got his big break on SNL. Apatow even uses real footage of Sandler’s stand-up and making prank phone calls. The actor and the character have a connection between each other, and George Simmons brings out the best in Adam Sandler. This character took him to a new level in his acting.

Judd Apatow has created a great film that is about choices in life, and which ones are most important. Apatow uses the world of comedians to tell a story about living. Living life to the fullest and dealing with regrets from your past. You do not have to be a comedian to appreciate what this film is about. Now do not forget this film is funny, but the message is what’s most important. The message of being grateful.

Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.

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