Surprised there isn't already a thread for this, to be honest.

Funny People is the new film by Judd Apatapatow, he what wrote and directed Knocked Up and The 40 Year-old Virgin (and produced many others), starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen (surprise surprise), and featuring Jonah Hill, Mrs. Apatapatow, and the two Little Miss Apatapatows. So everyone who was in Knocked Up, basically, minus Jason Segel and Paul Rudd (who must have been busy, one assumes).

V. brief plot summary: Sandler plays George Simmons, a comedian/actor who is successful but ultimately unhappy. He lives in a big house, but he lives alone. He is loved by all, but he loves no-one...except the girl he nearly married in his youth. Within the first few minutes of the film, George learns that he has a blood disease that will most likely kill him. He does a stand-up gig at a comedy club, where he meets a struggling young comic called Ira (Rogen). George hires Ira as his assistant/writer, and the two form a sort-of friendship as George, coming to terms with his impending death, attempts to at least live his remaining time the right way.

Then, something happens. It's in the trailer, so I don't think a spoiler warning is necessary: George, against the odds, is cured. And that, right there, is the problem with the film.

Let me explain. This is a funny film, make no mistakes. It's consistently funny from beginning to end. It's also a quite touching film...or at least, two thirds of it is. The last third is where it all falls down. Adam Sandler actually does very well as the comedian slowly coming to terms with the mistakes he's made. It's the best I've seen him act - there are clips from films George has made throughout the film, and in those Sandler seems to be almost parodying his usual over-the-top-self, since the rest of the performance has such warmth and control to it. Seth Rogen is his usual goofy self, likeable but not much else. It all builds quite nicely as George seems to put his affairs in order, reaching out to those he has abandoned, and helping Ira in the process.

But then...he gets better. It's a LONG film - well over 2 hours - and once he's not dying, it turns into a rather dull story of him trying to win back his ex-fiance. There's nothing funny about a man trying to split up a family to satisfy his own wants. The film seems to know this, too...so why is it there? Rogen's character comments that George hasn't been made into a better person by his near-death experience, he's in fact 'gone backwards'. And while this might sound fresh and original, in reality it's frustrating and unsatisfying. The build-up to George's death is handled brilliantly; it's just ironic that when George doesn't die, the film does.

So in conclusion? Acting's good, it's funny...it's two-thirds great. But the last third - by which point things really do start to drag - is a disappointing mess. Everything's going great until the film suddenly takes a really odd turn. It's as if it's been robbed of its climax, which is odd since Apatow wrote and directed it! For the last half-hour or so it's not really building to anything...it seems to lose all direction. Eric Bana is great when he finally appears, but honestly I think it would have been a better film if that section, along with Bana, had been dropped entirely.

Interested to see what anyone else thinks...but ultimately, I think George should have died.

A strange film.

I hated this movie. It wasn't funny. Adam Sandler was a dick. I would have been fine with that, had he of learned a lesson at the end. But no. He remains a dick and then the movie ends. Blah.

~Zack~

I said in the script review thread that anything this movie had to offer was killed just because it was too fucking long. Who wants to watch a man struggle with internal issues and chase after a married girl for 3 hours? Just wasn't funny enough to justify the length. Not even dramatic enough. Honestly, I appreciated the dramatic stuff but it's still not interesting enough to stretch out for that length of time. I think if this came on TV, you could watch it for an hour or so and it'd be hilarious. As a whole, it's almost completely unwatchable.