The Razor’s Edge, Another Woman, The (shudder) Number 23: The dusty
shelves of Blockbuster are riddled with movies by successful comedians
yearning to cast off their pratfalling shackles and show some dramatic
chops. Although said projects are often flawed, at best they can offer
up a fascinating reveal of that inner core of neurosis that drives so
many comics to get up on stage in the first place. At worst… well, at
least it gives the viewer a greater appreciation for the films of
Ingmar Bergman. The most interesting thing about Funny People, Judd
Apatow’s follow-up to Knocked Up, is how resistant the writer-director
proves to be to abandoning his successful formula, attempting instead
to cram a new, introspective core into his patented—and already
overstuffed—slew of heavily improv-ed vulgarities and uneasy
bromances. The dick jokes still fall like rain, but that’s no longer
nearly enough.
Beginning with some camcorder footage shot by Apatow when he himself
was a struggling comedian, the story follows George Simmons (Adam
Sandler), a prickly, dead-eyed superstar living in a gigantic mansion
built on the back of a series of moronic baby-talk comedies. After
getting diagnosed with leukemia, he attempts to reconnect with a
married ex-girlfriend (Apatow’s real-life wife Leslie Mann), with the
aid of Seth Rogen as a struggling, worshipful joke-writer. Jonah Hill
stops by occasionally to crack wise.
Apatow and Sandler undeniably know the world of which they speak,
and their exploration into the downside of megastardom often carries an
intriguing, bitter zing, with plentiful cameos from the likes of Sarah
Silverman and Norm MacDonald. The problems arise with Apatow’s
apparently deepening inability to know when to say when. Broken down
into bits and pieces, his attempted magnum opus is alternately
hilarious and, yes, even moving. Taken as a sloppy, maudlin,
two-and-a-half-hour whole, it paints the picture of a talented
filmmaker whose insular self-regard is beginning to attract small
planetoids. Casting your wife and children in a film is one thing, but
making your third act hinge on the viewing of an adorable talent-show
video of your older daughter? That’s something that even M. Night
Shyamalan would balk at. Okay, probably. 
I wish this review had been more forthright so I would not have had to see this movie. Also that still is not even in the film?
Look at Apatow’s wife. Gimme a break. Any Jew out there marry a brunette, nice Jewish girl any more?
We just watched this movie and loved it. From the interesting characters to the great music to the underlying truth in the puns and jokes, it was a movie I actually watched from beginning to end. Was some of it corny? Yes. Were there too many f-bombs–definitely yes. But I recommend it for people who have lived life and who understand struggle and humanity.