Comments on: Funny People

By: Kyle Marshall

Kyle Marshall — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 03:12:49 +0000

I really liked this movie as well. I was disappointed to see that it has gotten mostly a mixed response, because I do think it was marketed in the wrong way. People going in to see a comedy are going to be sorely disappointed (perhaps). While I agree that it could have been trimmed by 20 minutes, the pacing really wasn’t a problem for me, because I just found all the characters so interesting. I would like to see more films like this from Judd Apatow (maybe balanced with the straightforward comedies like 40 Year Old Virgin, etc.)

By: Dixon Steele

Dixon Steele — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:03:45 +0000

I’m gonna have to disagree. It’s a good movie, but not a great one. The issue isn’t so much the length — Knocked Up was longer, but it wasn’t anywhere near as saggy in the middle. The film just spends way too much time on the ex-girlfriend plotline, which occasionally just feels like an excuse for Apatow to show off how cute his kids are and how lovable his wife is. And because that eats up so much time, the film leaves too many other plotlines either half-assedly resolved (why bring up Sandler’s character’s daddy issues if the payoff is a minute-long scene in the middle of a montage) or just forgotten. Even Rogen’s romantic sub-plot, which was admittedly entertaining, could’ve been cut out completely without hurting the movie’s themes, which could’ve streamlined things quite a bit.
Agreed that this hearkens a bit more to Freaks and Geeks, which is definitely welcome, but it’s not a masterpiece. It’s just a good, enjoyable movie.

By: Jordan Drake

Jordan Drake — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:06:29 +0000

I totally dug Funny People and agree that a lot of people were just led in with false expectations of a light comedy. It feels like the first time Judd Apatow has really brought back some of the great dramatic skill he displayed with Freaks and Geeks. Go see it.