Celebrity Today

Friday has rolled around, and that means new movies have hit theaters. One of this week’s offerings is the latest release from Judd Apatow - a dramedy about the life of a stand-up and comedian called Funny People. In this one, we are introduced to a fictional funny man named George Simmons just as he finds out he is possibly dying from a form of cancer. We see him try to get back into  stand-up, hire a new and upcoming comic to write jokes for him.

We see the friendship develop between these two for nearly two hours before we see George recover from his illness thanks to an experimental treatment. He then realizes what he wants in life the girl he let get away. He tries to reconnect with her, but she has moved on, married and had two kids in the twelve years since they parted ways. It looks like George might get what he wants, but in the end he is left alone, but not completely alone. The focus on this movie is not on the love story between George and the woman he lost, but on the friendship he develops with the younger comic, Ira.

Adam Sandler plays George Simmons here, and while this might not be his best work, it is a good role for him. We see the mix of comedy and drama, and he has excelled at both in his career. Seth Rogen, as Ira, also stands out in this one. Leslie Mann plays the love of George’s life, and Eric Bana plays her husband. Bana’s role although brief added most of the added drama to this movie. His character is the one we see with the most range of emotion. George, even dying and a comedian, is stoic almost throughout the movie. We are taken inside the world of comedy to see it isn’t always rainbows and butterflies. Comedians take from the pain in their lives and use it to make it people laugh. We are shown this throughout the movie.

While not the biggest fan of Apatow and his past work, this one had a lot of humor and enough of a mix of drama to make this movie enjoyable. Good jokes, strong characters from the main players with a solid supporting cast made this a strong movie and one that I recommend you check out.What did you think of Funny People if you’ve seen it?

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