Funny People (2009)

When seasoned comedian George Simmons learns of his terminal, inoperable health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship cause him to take a relatively green performer under his wing as his opening act.

Director:

Judd Apatow

Writer:

Judd Apatow

Stars:

Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adam Sandler	...	George Simmons
Seth Rogen	...	Ira Wright
Leslie Mann	...	Laura
Eric Bana	...	Clarke
Jonah Hill	...	Leo Koenig
Jason Schwartzman	...	Mark Taylor Jackson
Aubrey Plaza	...	Daisy Danby
Maude Apatow	...	Mable
Iris Apatow	...	Ingrid
RZA	...	Chuck
Aziz Ansari	...	Randy
Torsten Voges	...	Dr. Lars
Allan Wasserman	...	Dr. Stevens
Rod Man	...	Himself
Wayne Federman	...	Comedy & Magic Manager

Storyline

George is a very successful stand up comedian who learns that he has an untreatable blood disorder and is given less than a year to live. Ira is a struggling up-and-coming stand up comedian who works at a deli and has yet to figure out his onstage persona. One night, these two perform at the same club and George takes notice of Ira. George hires Ira to be his semi-personal assistant as well as his friend.

---

Plot Keywords:

comedian | stand up comedian | woman on top | husband wife relationship | see through panties | 

---

Taglines:

George Simmons was prepared to die, but then a funny thing happened.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and crude sexual humor throughout, and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace Universal Pictures [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 July 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Judd Apatow/Adam Sandler Project

Filming Locations:

Griffith Park Observatory, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,001,152 (UK) (28 August 2009)

Gross:

£3,427,741 (UK) (18 September 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

146 min 153 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene where George Simmons asks to see Ira's penis is based on real life. Adam Sandler and director Judd Apatow used to be room mates in college. According to Apatow, Sandler actually asked Apatow: "Let me see your penis". (Apatow actually told this story to David Letterman on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2007.)

---

Goofs

The MySpace gig takes place far enough away that George and Ira take a private plane. At the end of scene, he gets two girls to go back to his place. But at the end of those scenes the girls leave on their own, apparently left to their own resources to get back.

---

Quotes

Leo: Why don't you go suck George Simmons's cock?

---

Connections

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

---

Soundtracks

"Love Is Strange"
Written by Bo Diddley (as Ellas McDaniel), Mickey Baker, Sylvia Robinson
Performed by Wings
Courtesy of MPL Communications, Inc.

User Reviews

Good first half, but then...

I really enjoyed the first half of Funny People. I don't think I've ever seen any other Adam Sandler flicks (I didn't want to), so I was happily surprised by the good mix of comedy and drama here.

As soon as Sandler's ex-girlfriend and her family enter the fray, though, the film comes to a screeching halt. And when we learn new facts about his disease, the film turns itself upside down and inside out trying to figure out what it wants to do with this information. No one knows how to react; not Sandler, not the girlfriend, and not her husband. Judd Apatow thinks they do, but it's so hard to follow the character's ideas and feelings here that the film becomes unreadable. Because we don't know where the characters are coming from, we don't know whether we're watching comedy or drama, so we don't know how to feel or react. The little girls, while enjoyable to watch, are cloying and don't advance the story. And when a lot of screen time is devoted to the people playing games and generally goofing around, you're no longer watching the characters--you're watching the actors simply having a good time, which further slows down and confuses the story.

Seth Rogen's character seems to know what's right, but his voice gets lost amid all the confusion until the end, when we get an all-too-convenient moral finish that doesn't address any of the important issues raised in the film.

I think this could have been a much better film with a lot of the meandering in the second half either tightened up or removed.