This film is billed as a satirical comedy, but it is neither satirical nor funny. You are supposed to think that the characters realise how shallow their job is and choose to make a change towards something more real. Nice idea, but shame that the whole film is like one long advert. The first half an hour is close ups of the brands that the characters (and subsequently the film) are pushing on the 'punters' (and anyone that has paid to see this film). I understand the idea of product placement but this film is a great example of what it is supposedly mocking. All of my three points are for the excellent acting by David Duchovny.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Funny People
(2009)
Consider it as a Mock-umentary
8 September 2009
Don't think of this film as a comedy film, think about it as a documentary about comedians and you will enjoy it an awful lot more. The funniest parts of this film are the scenes of stand-up, with the dialogue in the rest of the movie not overly funny but amusing. Just as in reality, comedians are typically much funnier on stage than in scripted movies, this film really reflects this and actually accentuates how funny the stand up scenes are. In the rest of the film the characters are normal people that try to be funny but often fall flat. Maybe this is just proving the point that a scripted scene can never be as funny as improv or stand-up, but i like to think it was done deliberately. On stage the characters have the persona they want the audience to see, and are delivering well thought out, topical jokes, where as in their day to day lives they remain funny people, but no funnier than you and your friends are after a few beers. This gives the characters real depth, they aren't 'always on' just as anyone isn't when they are going about life and not at work, it just so happens that for them working overtime means thinking up jokes. The film has some genuine funny moments but also shows the characters as real people that want to be successful in their chosen field, and they are all pretty believable as individuals. The spontaneous character of George balanced by the far-thinking goal driven Ira make a perfect balance for one another, and interact perfectly with the more minor characters who you feel you know pretty well even with their limited screen time. So see it but don't expect it to be a crazy mile a minute comedy of Sandlers early films, or the overly staged versions of his later releases, but neither it as zany or cerebral as Rogens recent work, instead it mixes elements of all of these into a very enjoyable story.
I Want Candy
(2007)
More than just a 'British American Pie'
28 March 2007
I went to see this movie with few expectations, reasoning that even if it was awful there would be lots of pretty people to look at. It was actually really entertaining and genuinely funny throughout, and in lots of different ways. The posters make it look like it will be a soft porn romp, but apart from a few underwear shots, its all very clean. I wouldn't necessarily say take your mother, but it is a very enjoyable film. You really get a feel for the characters, and it is the interactions between them that really makes the film what it is, even with the minor characters, Crook in particular plays a great role as the hippy-ish, pretentious college teacher, who even though he pops up rarely in the film steals the scene every time. Even Carmen Electra, who you wouldn't have thought of as a dialog actress puts in a really believable performance as a the porn star with both a brain and a heart. It's not often I laugh out loud at a film but I did at this,lots. Give it a try and you'll be amused, especially in what is a fairly poor week at the box office.
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