Funny People

Though his name is now a brand and he's had a hand in producing seemingly every comedy hit of the last five years, Judd Apatow has only directed two films prior to now. 2005's "The 40-Year Old Virgin," an entertaining though overlong showcase for Steve Carell, and 2007's "Knocked Up," which is rightfully considered one of the funniest movies of this decade. Apatow's third is "Funny People," clearly the most personal offering yet. But this is not the kind of raucous comedy with heart that we've come to expect, this is a film about comedians coming to grips with mortality.
George Simmons (Adam Sandler) was an excited young stand-up comedian twenty years ago. The sort of guy who enjoyed making prank phone calls to make his friends laugh or got excited the second time he was ever recognized for being on MTV. Now he's a hugely successful comic star, each of his movies a license to print money, but he's unhappy, alone, and he's just been told he has a rare form of Leukemia that has a very small survival right. Rather than telling "Entertainment Tonight," George decides to keep the news to himself and channel his energies into his first love, returning to the stand-up stage. In an attempt to have a connection to another human being George hires young comic Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) to write him jokes and to be his personal assistant.
Ira grew up worshiping George, as did his roommates Leo (Jonah Hill) and Mark (Jason Schwartzman). Of the three, Ira is having the least amount of success. Leo's stand-up career is really clicking with audiences and Mark is the star of the NBC sitcom, "Yo Teach." Being at George's side could be a huge boost for Ira's budding career or it could scare him away from becoming like the bitter George. Meanwhile, George sees his only chance at happiness being a reconciliation with the one that got away, Laura (Leslie Mann).
At just a shade under two and a half hours, "Funny People" never seems to click or really find a rhythm. There a some moments of true hilarity (namely any time Schwartzman is on screen) but Apatow, who balanced comedy and drama so well on "Freaks and Geeks," doesn't have much success with either the comedic or emotional aspects of the film and the integration of them mostly feels flat. This isn't to say that anything about "Funny People" is bad but it never comes near greatness.
The performances are generally good and it's nice to see Sandler and Rogen stepping out of their comfort zones. Sandler's shown he can do that with great success in the past ("Punch-Drunk Love") and he's fine here but this is nowhere close to that. Rogen meanwhile does a nice job as the most levelheaded character in the film, something he hasn't really played before. There are a few moments when his acting chops leave something to be desired, but overall a pretty good performance from Rogen. Mann and Eric Bana (as Laura's Australian husband) are terrific and seeing Bana do comedy (something he's known for in Australia) is one of the film's highlights.
In the end, "Funny People" is too long and meandering and spends too much time on the sub plots of minor characters, much the same mistake Apatow made with "Virgin." That worked in "Knocked Up" because those sub plots so effectively integrated into the main storyline, but they don't really come together here.
"Funny People" had a world of potential but its unnecessary length, wandering ways, and inability to find a groove hold it back. Certainly not a total failure but not really a success either. 6/10.