I recently commented in my review for 'The Hangover' that the Apatow male-to-male friendship romances was growing stale. This statement now needs to be reassesed, owing to the release of the Judd Apatow written and directed 'Funny People'. 'Funny People' proves that Apatow is still on top of his game in this sub-genre, it is the fact that he is lending out the formula to many lesser hands that is hurting him. John Hamburg and Harold Ramis can't do it like Apatow can, and they are weighing this strand of comedy down, making Apatow's own films less appealing.
'Funny People' proves that when Apatow is in charge, he can still make a charming, funny and highly enjoyable film when he is both capitan (writer) and navigator (director). Though it lags in periods and is overlong, the film delievers some of the best moments Apatow has commited to film. The story follows George Simmons, a millionaire comedian-come-movie-star, learning that he has luekemia. As he starts to descend into grief Simmons finds a lifeline in hiring struggling comedian Ira Wright as his assistant, joke writer and new best friend. Wright starts to get Simmons' life back on track, making him funny again and reconciling him with his ex-girlfriend Laura, now married to the typically Australian Clarke. Of course it is not a smooth path.
Unsurprisingly from the plot description, 'Funny People' is Apatow's most mature film to date and that works for him. The protagonist is twice the age or twice the experience of Apatow's previous leading characters. The film explores themes of death and divorce, lending the quieter moments the tenderness that Apatow has strived for but never quite captured in earlier films. At one point Simmons tells Wright to stop making jokes about farts and his dick and to grow up a little bit, you can't help but feel that this is advice Apatow got someway along the path between 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin' and 'Funny People.'
The weight of the screenplay has finally given Adam Sandler some meat to sink his teeth into and remind his audiences that he can act when he chooses the right material. Sandler provides what could be the best performance of his career, rivalled only by 'Punch-Drunk Love'. Sandler has totally control here and the audience is in his hands to go which everway he wants to take you, from sympathy to repulsion. This is helped by the fact that Apatow clearly wrote the character for Sandler and by the end of the film you will feel that no one but Sandler could have played him, an admirable feat as Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, et al are all still largely interchangable.
The film is too long for its own good and this isn't helped by the fact that the plot completely turns around half-way through the film. The driving force of the film is resolved halfway through the film and the audience is then asked to swallow a new driving force. The major supporting characters of the first half are not the major supporting characters. This sort of shit may work in some films (see: Psycho) but Apatow can't quite pull it off and so when the film does shift gears, he is running on borrowed time and it is easy to become impatient.
Even still, as a whole, this may be the most mature, most enjoyable and most satisfying film Apatow has done. It won't make your sides split open with laughter, but it provides something to think about along with the laughs. Though I didn't appreciate the number of Australian jokes and I sound nothing like Eric Bana in this film.
