King Sheep Productions

“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.”

— Mel Brooks

I once wrote an academic paper about comedy.  My research both broadened and muddled my understanding to include defining comedy as: a rhetorical device (used in arguments to criticize your opponents view), a cognitive riddle (where the ‘answer’ reveals an unexpected twist), an involuntary response in social situations (to attract potential mates and to share relief that danger has passed), a form of mass hysteria (such as the 1962 laughter epidemic where a schoolgirl joke resulted in months of continuous laughter across Tanzania), and as Mel Brooks implies: schadenfreude.  However in defining comedy there is only one capital T truth: it’s funny if it makes you laugh.  And since comedy is in the eye of the beholder, let us behold some comedy as we talk about Funny People (Judd Apatow’s newest dramady).

“Apatow is on the right track. In moving his adolescent male comedies into more adult realms, the humor sharpens and characters deepen.” The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

Sharpening humor was an early survival instinct for the Wit tribe from Repartee.  NOT.

“Judd Apatow may be the first filmmaker to jeopardize his career through excessive niceness.” Dana Stevens Slate

What a jerk.  But neither of those reviews do much to sell or mock the movie.  What quote would we expect to see on the future DVD box?

“…the funniest movie of the year.” Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com

Nice.

“Apatow’s whiny characters pitch audiences into a vat of self-pity.” Armond White New York Press

Thank you Armond for giving another fair and upbeat account of an opening movie.  Also, thank for reminding me to include sarcasm in this discussion of humor.

“Funny People isn’t a bad movie, it’s an indifferent one. No funny person wants to hear that.” Roger Moore Orlando Sentinel

Would they rather hear that they’re bad?

“It just about compensates for its many indulgences with typically warm humour and a knockout lead performance from Adam Sandler which shows a deepening maturity in the actor that could land him awards attention.” Mike Goodridge Screen International

“Everything about this movie feels personal, genuine, authentic – like Apatow is laying his heart bare and inviting us in for a stroll in his soul.  The effect is nothing short of stunning. It is Judd Apatow’s masterpiece. His great American novel….With dick jokes. LOTS of dick jokes.” Massawyrm  Aintitcoolnews.com

I’m intimidated by the idea of taking a stroll through the soul of a dick joke.

“If you object to public offenses of decency, smut that reduces the oxygen in the brain or just plain lousy, amateurish filmmaking, it’s easy enough to avoid Funny People like the swine flu.” Rex Reed New York Observer

“Not exactly a movie about dying of laughter but close to it, Apatow’s pot luck mock morbid meditation on mortality, punchlines and male anatomy jokes, is strangely as much about the cutting off of life as castration anxiety issues.” Prairie Miller NewsBlaze

“Apatow has taken blisteringly personal material and filtered it through tropes and cliches borrowed from trite, mainstream factory-line cinema of another era. Judd Apatow the writer deserves a better director.” Karina Longworth Cinematical

Unlike his past efforts, Funny People didn’t earn unqualified praise from reviewers: Rotten Tomatoes – Metacritic.  However, as with all comedy (and film), the only way to know if you’ll like it is to go see it for yourself.

“The message that comes across is: We’re all screwed, and then we die. Ba-DUM.” Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum