After spending part of my afternoon at AT&T Wireless replacing my piece o’ crap BlackBerry Bold with a BlackBerry Curve 8900 (without much grief, I must admit … the guy helping me was prolly the nicest AT&T person I’ve ever worked with), I met up with Josh, Darion and his friend Eric for a movie last night. We decided to see Funny People … which, IMHO, was a terrrrrrrible mistake:
At 2 1/2 hours, Funny People is about an hour too long … and entirely not that great. The film is really 2 movies in one … the first half is kind of entertaining, marginally funny and really touching. The strength of the film lies in the poignancy of the story of a comedian who learns he has a deadly disease that will most assuredly kill him. The second film, and THIS IS A SPOILER SO DON’T READ THIS IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED, is about how the comic beats the odds and beats the disease … and then he immediately reverts to being the cheating asshole he used to be before he thought he was dying. To be fair, I kinda liked the first half of the film … the strongest performance came from Adam Sandler when he played that poignant part when he thought he was dying. After an hour and a half more of the seemingly unending movie, I really was trying to think of ways to kill myself in my seat to end my suffering. Judd Apatow is really trying to make this film his masterpiece, his comedic Lord of the Rings if you will. While, in my opinion, I have to say he failed miserably I do give him props for taking the risk. The movie starts out OK and then falls apart and drags on endlessly … ruining any of the good stuff that exists in the film. Not even Eric Bana‘s hotness could save it in the end. It’s a shame, I had high hopes that this movie would be good. Blah!
I was much more entertained yesterday when I was finally able to watch in full the 13th episode of Dollhouse titled Epitaph One. This ep will be included on the Dollhouse Season 1 DVD set and is NOT TO BE MISSED:
I don’t even want to give hints about the ep because it really works best, I think, if you see it cold. I will share that the ep takes place 10 years in the future after the last ep, Omega, of Dollhouse Season 1. Joss Whedon is a damn genius, I loved EVERY SECOND of the ep. You simply MUST pick up the Dollhouse Season 1 DVD set which is available for sale NOW!!
Tonight David and I are going to a special preview screening of Julie & Julia. The movie looks cute so, I’m excited. Happy Mondy, y’all!!
Trent, Totally off topic and I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, but Zakiya was of course adorable before but she’s becoming absolutly stunning the older she gets! Ya’ll better get ready now, you’re gonna have to beat em off with a stick hehe!
Trent, you hit the nail on the head. Two separate movies. The first half was hilarious and had me engaged, the second half was moving excruciating slow, and I couldn’t wait for it to end. It’s a damn shame because it absolutely killed any good feelings I had for the first half of the film. I usually heart all of Adam Sandlers movies and love me some Seth Rogan… too bad it was an Epic FAIL. :(
Funny people was a great movie! Funny and sincere all rolled into one!
i completely agree with you. the movie SUCKED. i just wish i read your post before i went out and saw it. i hated it so much i don’t want any part of the seven dollars i spent going towards judd apatow, the cast, production or universal. i left about 20 minutes before it ended, when i too felt bana’s hotness couldn’t save the epic drown that was this film. i couldn’t take it anymore…LOL, in fact i too was thinking of ways to kill myself in my seat.
Apatow may have originally intended it to be a comedy, but films change all the time while being written, and especially with Judd Apatow’s movies, they can change quite a bit during filming as well. Every interview with Apatow and Rogen that I’ve read or heard said that it was a serious film.
I don’t plan on seeing it myself, or rather, I don’t plan on seeing it in the cinema unless someone drags me to it. But I knew well before the ad campaign that it wasn’t a silly film like Superbad or Knocked Up.
@Tracie — I knew the movie wasn’t meant to be a comedy and was supposed to be a more serious film. I didn’t expect it to be mind-numbing and endless. Apatow needs an editor, the movie could’ve been great.
@Trent, I meant the affair part. I really related to Seth Rogen’s character for that half of the movie. I was in a situation just like that last summer (including the awkward watching of the kids I barely knew) and I thought he did a good job. It always sucks not wanting to speak up when you know something is obviously wrong.
And in some magazine this week there was a blurb about how this was a serious Apatow movie (which is why I went and saw it in the first place).
You know, I was very pleased with this movie. Adam actually ACTED in this movie.. instead of the usual Adam Sandler as Adam Sandler’s funny character thing that he usually does. It was wonderful! I want to own it on DVD, and this is coming from someone who has a hard time sitting through most movies without falling asleep. I was honestly never bored. Ah well. Each to their own.
I liked this movie. I really enjoyed all the cameos but was weirded out by Eminem’s appearance. I do agree that it was a little long but this comedy wasn’t like the other stupid crap comedies that are coming out. 2 thumbs up for me :)
I could not agree with you more Trent!! You summed up this film (and my feelings for it) perfectly. What a let-down of a comedy. I don’t understand why the reviews are so strong about it.
hi,trent..ermmm,why did u say that blackberry bold is a piece of crap?coz i thought of getting one…so,i kinda need your opinion..
@didie — BB Bold is a great phone for about a year, then the problems start. In fact, all BBs have this problem. The OS sux.
You’re SOO right. Funny People freaking SUCKED!!!
I wanted to leave the whole time but my boyfriend wanted to stay so I did.
I totally regret the $20 he spent on it.
We take it baaaackkkk, or,we WISH we could take it back.
I knew I should have waited for your review to go see this movie! I agree with you 100% – it dragged and the bit about leslie mann leaving her husband just didnt belong. Also I could have gone on without the dick jokes. UGH.
thanks a lot,trent..evntho the OS sux,BB bold still looks freakingly gorgeousssss.. ;p
I love this blog!!! but trent you give the worst movie reviews. First orphan and now this.
@Mike — Clearly we cannot agree on everything.
bleck.. i thought it would be hilarious with all the funny people in it but i was wrong!! i went and saw this for my 25th birthday!! do i get a do-over?
Whew, almost made the mistake of seeing this. Literally had the tix $ in my hand and veered into left field, picking “500 Days of Summer” because the title sounded nice. Best decision EVER, best $8 I ever spent.
I saw Funny People the day it came out with extremely high expectations, but I, too, was disappointed. In fact, the few audience members there for the 3:45 showing walked out within the first hour. And did anyone else have an issue with the mildly explicit sex scenes involving Adam Sandler? I’m not gonna lie, it kind of ruined my image of a mildly inappropriate yet still tasteful Billy Madison :[