(Not So) Funny People
Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow Attempt to Yuck It Up Again.
The failure of Funny People notwithstanding — and for all its merits, the film ultimately fails — Apatow remains the preeminent force shaping American screen comedy today, and one of the only American directors of recent vintage, who has hit upon that near-impossible alchemy of making unabashedly personal films with studio-sized budgets and turning them into mainstream hits. But as his ambitions and creative control over his work continue to grow, so will critics’ and audiences’ expectations of him, and he must be especially careful of surrounding himself with too many toadies and sycophants, who will indulge his every whim as though it were genius, for there are moments at which Funny People sits just on the cusp of becoming a too-many-yes-men type of movie. Dying, per the old adage, may be easy and comedy hard, but being Judd Apatow in today’s Hollywood may be the trickiest thing of all.
Funny People, written and directed by JUDD APATOW, produced by Apatow, Clayton Townsend and Barry Mendel, Universal Pictures, ditywide.
Now Showing
Find capsule reviews, showtimes & tickets for all films in town.
Join My Voice Nation for free stuff, film info & more!
Now Trending
