Funny People

First Hit: At times interesting and funny but there were long wasted scenes that didn’t drive a cohesive story so the film felt longer than its very long running time.

There are Adam Sandler films that are funny, introspective and interesting as well as some that were less than good.

This film will fall in the latter bucket and I don’t think it is because of his acting as much as the script and direction he received. The story follows the life of George Simmons who (a lot like Sandler’s own life) went from stand-up comedy to making funny films.

Simmons makes more than enough money, has no real friends, does what he wants, is arrogant and lacks humility. Then a dose of reality hits as he discovers he has a rare disease and will probably die because only 8% of the people treated recover.

Simmons, takes some stock in his life and does some stand-up but it is laced with gallows type humor. He longs to connect with people in a more meaningful way but his entrenched behavior holds him back. This becomes obvious when he attempts to meet up and reconcile with is former girlfriend. He also hires a struggling comic named Ira Wright (played by Seth Rogen) to write him jokes.

Ira lives with two roommates who are comics and actors as well and this side story, which we keep going back to, takes away from what could be a good film. It was almost like the Director Judd Apatow created these characters to get some friends employed.

The film spent too much time trying to get us to care about his roommates when the real story is about Simmons and what will he do to get his life in order.

The film makes Ira an integral part of the story and it would have worked except that Ira is hard to understand. There isn’t enough character building to create an honest background as to why he makes certain moral judgments or makes some stupid decisions; we’re supposed to take it all at face value.

Judd Apatow, the writer and director of this film has made his mark in the land of mediocre with his past films. This one doesn’t move him from this place. He makes obvious blatant attempts at driving towards moral points by creating scenes he thinks are funny yet supportive of his view. Seth Rogen is well intentioned but really lacks the chops to be a good actor at this point in his career. He always is the same person; Seth Rogen. Sandler shows moments of brilliance in this film, like much of his effort in Punch Drunk Love, however, the script and direction left him in a lifeboat without a paddle and his arms got weary of rowing this boat ashore.

Overall: This is a long film and I felt it all the way to the end. There are moments of brilliance, but as a cohesive interesting story it lacks a something to care about.

The Answer Man

First Hit: As the credits rolled at the end of the film, I realized I had really enjoyed it despite its obvious flaws.

Jeff Daniels plays Arlen Faber a lonely critical curmudgeon who, twenty years earlier, wrote a spiritual self-help bestseller called “God and Me”.

In his current situation he refuses to respond to letters, denies he’s Arlen Faber, and holes up in his house for days on end because of his own difficulty to be happy and seamlessly interface with life and the fame the book brought. In the book he wrote; Arlen posed questions to God and then provided answers which were purportedly received from God.

Arlen became known as the “The Answer Man” because the answers to the questions were so profound to the average person which is what caused his book to become a best seller. 

The film doesn't go into how he got to the state of needing to write the questions, let alone how he came to the answers. What we do know is that his father died 5 years before the film begins and he was very close to him, and he doesn’t have a connection with God. We know the latter because he’s shown going to churches asking for guidance by speaking and looking into the empty halls and ceilings, he shown reading spiritual books which are piled up everywhere in his house, we see him listening different spiritual CDs, and is shown doing different meditations and yoga poses.

Arlen also has a bad back and because of this, he seeks help from Elizabeth (played by Heather Graham) a healer and Doctor of Chiropractic. Her son, Alex (played by Max Antisell), is being overly protected by Elizabeth because of her own fearful reasons. When these two meet, a shift happens for them and others who are connected to each of them.

John Hindman wrote and directed this screenplay. Although the concept is good, I think more could have been done to create deeper and more interesting characters. Because of this, the film jumps from section to section with both extraneous scenes (If you see the film think of the mailman and his family and multiple shots of him lying on the floor with bad back) and scenes not developed enough (More about his relationship with his father and more about why he wrote the book - what drove him). Daniels, to his credit, was good and at times did more with the character than what was probably in the script. Graham was good and very engaging as was Antisell as her son and Olivia Thirlby as Graham’s receptionist Anne.

Overall: I liked the concept and most of the acting and was drawn to the subject matter. However, the screenplay needed to be rethought and enhanced along with stronger direction to make this a more powerful film.

In The Loop

First Hit: Although this parody is funny, and provides an interesting look at how things might get done in Government, it is a little long winded and seems to lose the point here and there.

Washington and 10 Downing Street leaders are on their way to have a war. Although it is a very minor character in this film, the unnamed war is referring to our most recent Iraq endeavor. 

The film’s major characters are Simon Foster (played by Tom Hollander) a British Assistant Secretary of State, Malcolm Tucker (played by Peter Capaldi) as the British Communications Director, Karen Clarke (played by Mimi Kennedy) an American undersecretary, Lt. General George Miller (played by James Gandolfini) as a pacifist general, and a slew of other actors playing the conniving and sometimes pathetic assistants to the British and American politicos.

The feeling in the film is that brash behavior is the norm as no one seems too upset that Tucker says “fuck” or “fuckin'” at least 50 times, or in every other sentence, as he bad mouths everyone he meets and greets. However, this arrogance is somewhat mitigated when speaking to Americans as the British come off as a younger brother wanting to look tough instead of the leader of the pack.

Then there is the American Clarke whose mouth bleeds in stressful or unexpected situations which makes her lose her perceived power as a player. The cadre of assistants have some of the most interesting roles and dialog in the film as they position themselves and their bosses towards a decision about the pending decision about the war.

They move the plot regarding the decision about war forward so that it is a mere formality when the US and Britain decide to invade the unnamed middle eastern country with no truth based premise.

I found the acting good for the most part. What wore on me was the constant ego pumping, dissing and dismissing of others by politicos for the sake of pumping up their own egos. Whether this reflects some truth or not, I thought scenes were created to add more opportunities to create absurd dialog but added little to the story. I got tired of the tirade and because the outcome is known, I found myself waiting for the film to get there.

Overall: This film was a good parody and at times brilliant. However, there were too many scenes which I found the dialog pathetically overdone and unfathomable.

Away We Go

First Hit: Although it is branded a comedy, and it is at times very funny, this film has a powerful point to make about families and home.

The couple, Verona (played by Maya Rudolph) and Burt (played by John Krasinski), are in their thirties and she is pregnant with their baby.

He has a job which is not fully vetted to the audience but you know enough to understand that he can do his job anywhere. He is smart on some levels and clueless on others. She is strong, smart and wondering where they will put roots down as they begin parenthood.

They are living in a rundown home and shortly after the film begins they head to his parents home for dinner. During this dinner, his parents inform them that they won’t be around for their new baby as they are leaving for Europe for a couple of years.

This distresses Verona because her parents are dead and she was looking for a sense of having family around for the baby. With this news they realize they can live anywhere and make plans to visit friends and other family in different parts of the US and Canada.

The remainder of this film is about that journey, what they learn about themselves, the various ways people and families live, and what is important to them. On this journey they find their hearts' answers. 

Sam Mendes superbly directs this wonderfully written film. All the characters are vivid and are given room to breathe. Although many of the family situations presented in the film might be enhanced, they drive home the point of how some families’ parent and love. Both Rudolph and Krasinski are insightful and believable in their characters and as a couple; they are perfect in matching their energies’ and different personalities.

Overall: This film sucked me right in and at the end, I simply said to myself and partner “beautiful”.

Year One

First Hit: Although they bend time, in both dialogue and thematic stories, there are some funny bits but for the most part the joke gets old quick.

The film begins somewhere around the caveman days with hunting and gathering being how everyone's days are spent.

Jack Black (playing Zed) and Michael Cera (playing Oh) are best friends and have opposing personality types. Zed is obvious, outgoing and a loud optimist while Oh is the cautious, introverted and unsure one of the two. Their personalities work fairly well together during the film when a scene is set up well. Like when Oh wants to dance with the girl of his dreams in an early sequence. 

Each are outsiders in their current village so when Jack makes a mistake and spears the village big shot, they are asked to leave the village. The two head off together to create a new better, more exciting village. Hiking over a mountain, they discover they won't fall off the end of the earth but end up thousands of years later running into Cain and Abel. They meet these brothers just in time to witness Abel's death by Cain.

Then, just as magically, they are whisked to Egyptian times where they are slaves about to be stoned to death. Fancy talking by Zed and Oh, who has gained new strength because of first sexual experience, lift themselves out of their dire predicament and into a happily every after ending.

There are some funny moments in the film and others that were meant to be funny but landed with a thud (think hairy chest massage, it just wasn't funny).

Black is Black, a loud, smart aleck con-man, which as I said before, plays well off of Cera the thoughtful cautionary. There are moments that their skills work intelligently off each other, but mostly this is a sophomoric mess held together mostly by Harold Ramis’ reputation.

Overall: Not worth seeing except as a video on a very lazy rainy afternoon with nothing else to do.