Selection from Johnny Mathis’ SMALL WORLD
With the release of Universal Pictures’ FUNNY PEOPLE, Writer-Director-Producer Judd Apatow’s corner on the comedy market is confirmed. Whether the film is able to skillfully balance its comedic and dramatic elements is debatable and of little importance, cinematically speaking. What is abundantly clear about Apatow’s latest and self-indulgent effort is that it’s a showcase of talent one may see recycled in an upcoming season of NBC/Universal television programming; a 2.5 hour diversion that is as timeless as a flash-in-the-pan YouTube video clip. There are currently millions upon millions of video captures and social media streams ready to view online, yet one would be hard-pressed to survey them all. In the realm of film criticism, there must be hundreds of critiques of this film available at this very moment, but instead of clicking ahead, I invite you to continue reading. Much like the ‘cute kittens’ upload that Leo Koenig (Jonah Hill) excitedly shares with Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) as a ploy to draw online traffic to his stand-up comedy routines, FUNNY PEOPLE is an ultimately unfulfilling attempt at a lasting entertainment with no electricity that quickly (but not soon enough) fades from consciousness. {Seriously, despite its over 27 million views, does anyone really care about “David After Dentist” anymore?} As patriarch over the nepotistic FUNNY PEOPLE, Apatow is not so much an auteur as he is a brand. His productions are a veritable laugh factory (like the comedy club of the same name) employed by familiar comic personalities who have typically brought charm to situations wrought with shocking repercussions. {Take note, Trey and Matt, as the power that Judd is wielding is perfect fodder for a future South Park episode.} Whereas Apatow’s feature directorial debut, THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN and follow-up feature KNOCKED UP were superior comedies with colorful characters uttering realistic dialogue in situations that seemed to border on the embarrassingly surreal, FUNNY PEOPLE seems like a prank of manufacturing - - like a vehicular assembly line that turns out lemons, FUNNY PEOPLE leaves one’s taste buds with a sour finish.
Apatow’s stable of ‘regulars’ (and family members) enclosed herein, this go round, more often than not, clumsily display an awkward handling over the material that is at times unbearable (e.g. when Mable (Apatow's oldest daughter, Maude), recites “Memory” from “Cats”; for lack of a better phrase, Baby Rose Marie she ain’t … and chances are she probably slept with the Director - - too soon!?), uncomfortable (see 2.5 hour running time) and inappropriate (for example, in the film’s excessive and unfunny usage of jokes concerning a certain male appendage). Penis jokes (or rather, references to penises) notwithstanding, the film is a juvenile boy’s club wherein strategy for one to succeed is often complemented by obscenity and denigration. Under close examination, no one in the film is truly considerate of anyone else in his or her screen orbit. The film poster alone effuses a smugness on the part of Adam Sandler who appears as dissatisfied and cold as the combination color-scheme and typeface while Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann affectionately cling to his arms and shoulders awaiting a response. Unlike the (American; mass-released) posters for THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN (can you spot the poster's error here?) and KNOCKED UP, FUNNY PEOPLE’s promotion is less exaggerated and more genuninely true-to-life. It’s been said that movies hold a mirror up to the society which watches it - - if that is true, then shame on you, Mr. Apatow.
FUNNY PEOPLE is brimming with characters who employ tactics to further their own careers for the sake of entertainment, most specifically, the stand-up comedy circuit, where a solid night of stellar delivery of belly laughs ensures a return appearance and another step closer to fame. What Price Hollywood!?, indeed. With a bevy of billed actors on display, it seems as if Apatow has conveniently given his cast their 15-minutes of fame - - literally - - if one were to calculate each character’s respective screen time to running time. No star is more reputable and shines brighter in the film though than George Simmons (Sandler), a stand-up comedian-cum-high-concept Hollywood actor who has achieved Cruise-like celebrity and Hearst-like possessions (a Malibu-beach style residence overlooking the Pacific that humor and penis jokes built, imagine CITIZEN KANE imbued with Lenny Bruce) whose passion for joke telling almost outweighs the contempt he harbors for humanity. Karma, it seems, comes to George and at the height of his celebrity, he is diagnosed by his doctor with a rare form of Leukemia. He doesn’t change his daily routine upon hearing the news (except for the cocktail of pills he needs to ingest): he sleeps with multiple partners, narcissistically watches video footage of his former performances and treats those in his social circle like a client instead of a friend ~ a smarmy misanthrope. So, George Simmons is dying from a rare blood disease and decides to stay in Los Angeles to perform stand-up comedy? Now that’s funny! I suppose if he went on a road trip, it’d too closely resemble LAST HOLIDAY.
A star is born in Seth Rogen’s Ira Wright who shares an apartment with his two ‘Industry’ roommates (I’d be lying if I referred to them as friends), Jonah Hill’s Leo Koenig and the ever-impassive Mark Taylor Jackson (Jason Schwartzman). While Jackson is comfortably employed as a lead in a new prospering NBC comedy, “Yo Teach…!”, Ira and Leo are struggling stand-up comedians who no doubt try to channel the stylings of the master comics that adorn their walls (Dangerfield, Belushi). After performing a set at a Venice comedy club, opportunity (Sandler) telephones for Leo with a job to write material for an upcoming MySpace gig, but it’s Ira that answers the call. Think of it as a contemporized SUNSET BLVD. where George takes Ira under his wing and treats him and the audience to (what appears to be) a backstage look into the world of stand-up comedy in Los Angeles. For the film’s wealth of set-ups and multiple characters - - like an elaborately staged Altman film - - there isn’t much to be gathered from this vocation; except that if you strategically lie, cheat, steal and refuse to be the least bit empathetic to those in your sphere, one may achieve success.
The truth is, George liked "the tubby one" more and Leo is, incidentally, the funniest character in the film. He exudes a natural sense of comic timing unmatched by his co-stars and often builds to an unexpectedly amusing punch line. However, when Leo realizes later that he's been stabbed in the back by his ‘mate and calls out Ira, it makes for an unsettling sequence - - not that it's dramatic and heartbreaking, their exchange of dialogue is awkward, not believable and there are several unpleasant close-ups with lots of profanity exchanged. And then, it’s George who comes to the rescue to calm them down, which he immediately succeeds in doing (?) - - if I were Hill, I still would've been positively p.o.’d. By the way, this battle royale takes place during Thanksgiving - - an American holiday when family and friends customarily come together to give thanks, especially to G-d - - in the film’s consistent fashion, it is George, like in some deranged version of IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, who is celebrated … especially when he beats the disease into remission and is given a second chance at living.
Enter Daisy (Aubrey Plaza) whose deadpan delivery tires almost as quickly as her inflection. She plays the love-interest of Mark and Ira; correction, to Mark, she is a potential sexual conquest whom he offers Ira ten days to make a move on before he presumptuously sleeps with her himself. Twenty-one days later, Mark has kept to his word (maintaining the stereotype that the typical Angeleno with money and celebrity is a misogynistic whore), Ira is reasonably upset and Daisy emotes how independently sexual she is. No matter, come the climax, after Ira is fired (more on this later) by George (again, much like the relational dynamics of SUNSET BLVD.), he and Daisy accede to getting together. Way to promote that fresh new talent, Mr. Apatow. No matter - - Plaza has a recurring role in NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” … as does comedian, Randy (Aziz Ansari) … even Dr. Howard (Loudon Wainwright III) from KNOCKED UP (who also composed its soundtrack), played a bit part in the series.
When word of George’s health malady reaches his ex, Laura, played by Apatow’s ever-plucky wife, (Leslie Mann) who, since KNOCKED UP, always seems tortured when she’s not simulating a battle-axe, George begs Ira not to tell her the truth about his recovery. When Laura discovers this information, she advises George and Ira not to tell Clarke, her detonative and hot-tempered Aussie husband (Eric Bana) because he may beat George to a pulp. There’s a lot of passive-aggressive energy surging through the screenplay. Moments rife with dramatic weight (like when George realizes he’s just outside death’s doorstep) are bottled up and projected onto others with sarcasm. Ira unfortunately (perhaps because he has some shred of common human decency) leaks the news to Laura and Clarke’s daughters, Mable and Ingrid (Apatow’s daughters, Maude and Iris, respectively) and a clumsily staged fight between the comic and the Australian brute ensues on the front lawn. Is our society becoming heartless and cynical and feel more compelled to deceive rather than face the music? Is Apatow advising that it’s okay to be a festering bearer of toxicity not only towards others, but to ourselves? The coldness with which George treats Ira upon severing their partnership is certainly uncomfortable - - especially since the two share a ride back to Los Angeles from Sausalito, CA - - but the exchange of dialogue between them is sophomoric with no force behind the spoken word except for the F- words thrown in for good measure, as extraneous and insulting as they are to be articulated by the actor saying it. Who needs this schadenfreude? I like to think that people go to the movies to be entertained and uplifted … inspired in some way. FUNNY PEOPLE is neither funny nor dramatic although it delivers modicum elements of each. Elements, sadly, do not the film make. Upon vacating the theatre, one won’t have to worry about sacrificing his composure because none will have been withdrawn to be regained.
By closing the film in a supermarket, Apatow once and for all focuses our attention on his proven model: the commoditization of comedy or ‘comedi-tization’. The camera pulls back patiently from George and Ira kicking around ideas for more penis jokes to use in a future stand-up routine while customers shop the aisles for products. As Janusz Kaminski’s camera eases backwards (very telling of where this movie was going all along), you can almost hear the slightly audible tap of a keyboard generating a ridiculous characterization of Paul Rudd as an ineffectual ne’er do well or a theatrical display of puppets engaging in full-frontal nudity c/o Jason Segel. Yes, even crewmembers aren’t impervious to Apatow’s tractor beam. Spielberg-regular D.P., Janusz Kaminski oversees the film’s glaze. See an early meeting of the minds that occurred during the '09 Oscar-cast.
But, Steven's at Universal and he’s in the family. As Janusz grips his Oscar gold (no doubt from SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and SCHINDLER’S LIST) notice as he sheepishly remarks, “They made me do it, Mr. Spielberg; it’s really slow in town” and then he proceeds to watch (with James Franco and Seth Rogen of PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, an Apatow-produced comedy for Studio “cousin” Columbia/Sony Pictures) a clip from YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN, another Judd Apatow-scribed comedy featuring Adam Sandler. Of course, there are no signature Kaminski shots in FUNNY PEOPLE except possibly for one: a halo effect hovering around the M.D. as he advises George of his rare A.M.L. blood condition and that death is imminent; whether for George or the audience, the jury is still out. Watching FUNNY PEOPLE is like watching a movie-within-a-store (or vice versa); characters, like products in a grocery, are interchangeable and re-packaged with new ingredients and recycled and released when needed. Fresh items/actors like Bo Burnham (featured in the “Yo Teach…!” segments) are also available for your viewing pleasure ... and the creepy Charles Fleischer from ZODIAC (not to mention the voice of Roger Rabbit) … If anyone has an issue with FUNNY PEOPLE, they can simply advise Customer Service, return it to the shelf and/or look for something else. I recommend the latter. In Judd Apatow’s movie (and television) universe, he has in stock an abundant supply to choose from. See below for yourself:
UNIVERSAL PICTURES | COLUMBIA PICTURES | PARAMOUNT PICTURES | 20th CENTURY FOX | HBO | NBC | FOX ~
~ DREAMWORKS SKG | WARNER BROS. PICTURES | WALT DISNEY PICTURES | BUENA VISTA PICTURES | COMEDY CENTRAL
{JOHN HUGHES}
~ Judd Apatow ~
“The Larry Sanders Show” “Freaks and Geeks” “Undeclared”
THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN KNOCKED UP FUNNY PEOPLE
GET HIM TO THE GREEK YEAR ONE PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
STEP BROTHERS DRILLBIT TAYLOR FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY SUPERBAD
TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY THE TV SET
KICKING & SCREAMING CELTIC PRIDE HEAVY WEIGHTS
CABLE GUY ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY
YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN FUN WITH DICK AND JANE
“THE BEN STILLER SHOW”
ACTOR ~ PRODUCER ~ DIRECTOR ~ WRITER ~ CINEMATOGRAPHY ~ EDITOR ~ CASTING DIRECTOR ~ SOUNDTRACK ~ COSTUME DESIGN
A
James Franco; Seth Rogen; Jason Segel; Martin Starr; Jay Baruchel; Loudon Wainwright III; Steve Carell; Paul Rudd; Leslie Mann; Jonah Hill; Carla Gallo; Iris Apatow; Maude Apatow; Kristen Wiig; Bill Hader; Ken Jeong; Craig Robinson; Adam Scott; Mo Collins; Steven Brill; Paul Feig; Wayne Federman; Will Ferrell; David Koechner; Jerry Minor; Ben Stiller; Michael Cera; Christopher Mintz-Plasse; Harold Ramis; Danny McBride; Gary Cole; John C. Reilly; Erica Vittina Phillips; Brent White; Troy Gentile; Ian Roberts; Russell Brand; Don Abernathy; Aziz Ansari; Chris Parnell; David Krumholtz; Jane Lynch; Justin Long; Laura Kightlinger; Kevin Corrigan; Christina Applegate; Jack Black; Andy Dick; Janeane Garofalo; Suli McCullough; Bree Turner; Jerry Stiller; Adam Sandler; Jim Carrey; David Herman; Jon Favreau
P
EVAN GOLDBERG; SETH ROGEN; SHAUNA ROBERTSON; CLAYTON TOWNSEND; ANDREW EPSTEIN; RODNEY ROTHMAN; DARA WEINTRAUB; WILL FERRELL; RICHARD VANE; JAKE KASDAN; LEWIS MORTON; DAVID O’RUSSELL; DAVID B. HOUSEHOLTER; ROGER BIRNBAUM; JACK GIARRAPUTO; ADAM SANDLER; JIM CARREY
D
Greg Mottola; John Hamburg; Steven Brill; Paul Feig; Adam McKay; Nicholas Stoller; Jake Kasdan; Ben Stiller; Jon Favreau
W
Adam McKay; Rodney Rothman; Nicholas Stoller; Jason Segel; Jake Kasdan; Lewis Morton; Adam Sandler
C
Oliver Wood
E
Craig Alpert; Brent White
CaD
Allison Jones; Juel Bestrop
S
Loudon Wainwright III; Will Ferrell; John C. Reilly; Jason Segel; Lyle Workman; Jake Kasdan; Lewis Morton; Alex Wurman; Adam Sandler; Theodore Shapiro
CoD
Debra McGuire
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