BuzzSugar

Funny People: Apatow Almost Gets It Right

PopSugar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:30:01 -0700

Before we get right into my thoughts on Funny People, let me preface by saying that I loved Judd Apatow’s first two films, The 40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up. I would count both among the best comedies to hit Hollywood in the past few years, and I had full faith that he would hit another home run with his third directorial stint. I understand that he was ready to try something new and a get a little more serious, but looking back at his first two achievements I have to wonder: when the formula works so well, why mess with it?

Adam Sandler stars as George Simmons, a middle-aged comedian who's found fame and fortune thanks to a movie career filled with silly, Eddie Murphy-esque characters. His house is a palace, but George's selfish behavior has pushed away all of his friends and family. This leaves most of his social interactions with his personal staff, female conquests, and his fans. When George learns that he’s dying from a blood disorder, he decides to go back to his roots in standup comedy while taking on aspiring comedian Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) as his assistant. As George assesses what could be the end of a lonely life, Ira slowly becomes his closest friend and sidekick.

That's just the beginning, so to see what I thought of the film, just read more.

While George isn’t exactly the most likable character around, Adam Sandler does a great job of capturing his moody (and often downright mean) personality. The role is perfect for Sandler as it gives him a chance to shine as the effortlessly funny comedian we all know and love, but at the same time deliver a strong performance as an ailing man who is trying to change his life in the 11th hour.

Seth Rogen is equally impressive and perfect as innocent, puppy dog Ira. Rogen's no stranger to playing the everyman kinda guy, but this is the first time I feel like he's playing a role with no hint of sarcasm or arrogance. Ira could easily be mistaken for another lovable loser, but Seth shows that he’s so much more than that. There’s also something endearing about seeing Ira’s wide-eyed enthusiasm juxtaposed with George’s apathetic nature as they face the world of standup comedy as a team.

Beyond Sandler and Rogen, the film’s supporting cast provides a lot of life (and many of the laughs) to the story. Leslie Mann really brings out Adam’s sweeter side as Laura, George's "one that got away," and Eric Bana gets a rare chance to show his comedic chops as her bread-winning husband. Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman round out the group as Ira’s quirky and witty roommates. As an added bonus, Apatow and Mann’s daughters, Maude and Iris, are adorable as Laura’s kids.

As promised in the title, Funny People delivers jokes, and plenty of them. Granted, more than half of them are about the male anatomy and another large percentage are directed at Seth Rogen’s weight loss, but they're still there. The problem is that the laughs aren't free. George’s illness creates a dark cloud that hangs over the story, even when he learns that he has a good chance of pulling through. Apatow has your heart in his hands because everyone in the audience knows that there's a potential death scene lurking around every corner.

The movie has a lot of depressing moments, but what's even sadder is that the biggest takeaway of the film is the length. At over two and a half hours, the movie drags and is entirely too long. Apatow wanted to take his time to make his point, but by the end he had lost me and I just didn’t care that much about the film's final message.

Funny People has a lot to offer and isn’t terrible by any means, but it is hands-down my least favorite of Apatow's three films. I'd still give him golf claps, but there just isn't enough to earn a standing ovation this time around.

Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures

Buzz News Roundup, 4/17

BuzzSugar — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:30:45 -0700

Elizabeth Banks and Leslie Mann will topline What Was I Thinking, a comedy that follows four female friends who take a hedonistic ski trip after one of the women gets dumped. - Zap2It
YouTube has a new special section for TV episodes and movies. - LA Times
Fox Searchlight has acquired screen rights to Jen Sacks's darkly humorous book Nice, which will be developed as a potential star vehicle for Reese Witherspoon. - Variety
Melanie Griffith will play Kimber's mom on Nip/Tuck. - TV Guide
Jennifer Jason Leigh will play Nancy's estranged sister on Weeds. - The Hollywood Reporter
Not surprisingly, The Amazing Race has been renewed. - TV.com
Thomas Dekker is reportedly in final negotiations to play the role of Jesse in director Samuel Bayer's A Nightmare on Elm Street. - ComingSoon
Fantasia Barrino and DJ AM both landed reality TV series. - The Hollywood Reporter
The Golden Girls will be remade - in Turkey! - Variety

Source

Movie Preview: Judd Apatow's Funny People

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:24:06 -0800

The trailer for Judd Apatow's new comedy, Funny People, has arrived, and it looks like a bittersweet mix of Apatowian humor and genuine emotions. Apatow's wife Leslie Mann stars as the love interest of Adam Sandler's character, with an ensemble filled out by Eric Bana (sporting an all-natural Australian accent), Seth Rogen (naturally), Jason Schwartzman, and those two adorable daughters of Apatow and Mann. It looks like this movie could contain everything I so enjoyed about Knocked Up: a lot of laughs but also a lot of heart.

To check out the trailer, read more.

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

Movie Preview: Efron and Perry in 17 Again

BuzzSugar — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:30:21 -0700

Sure, 17 Again looks an awful lot like Big in reverse (or one half of Freaky Friday), but you know what? The trailer looks really cute. Matthew Perry plays a down-on-his-luck dad who gets the chance to be 17 years old again (this is where Zac Efron comes in). So, he enrolls in his kids' high school and befriends them. He learns that his daughter is dating a nasty boy and tries to give her advice.

The whole cast is super charming, and I'm actually most impressed with Efron who does funny really well - but without trying too hard or making it awkward. 17 Again opens April 17 (nice date/title match-up there). To check out the trailer, read more.

Three Funny Ladies Get Great Comedic Roles

BuzzSugar — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:30:01 -0700

I love news days like today. Three actresses I love and admire have nabbed roles in promising comedies. Check it out:

Leslie Mann - Everyone's favorite hysterical wife from Knocked Up is signed on to play another spouse, this time married to Jim Carrey in the black comedy I Love You, Phillip Morris. According to Hollywood Reporter, "The story follows a married father (Carrey) who is sent to prison and falls in love with a cellmate named Phillip Morris. His love leads him to make several escape attempts."
Toni Collette will be joining the untitled Sam Mendes "relationship comedy" that already stars Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski. The HR description makes me smirk: "Collette will play a college professor and close family friend of a couple (Krasinski and Rudolph) canvasing the country to find the best place to raise their unborn child. She's convinced that their kid will end up dysfunctional no matter where it's raised." Yet another funny lady, Cheryl Hines, will also star in this one.
Candice Bergen will probably effortlessly slip into the role of "Marion St. Claire, the queen of all wedding planners" in the wedding comedy Bride Wars which stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway. According to Variety, "Story revolves around best friends (Hudson and Hathaway) who are pitted against each other when their wedding dates clash. They compete for venues, services and guests."

Source

Drillbit Taylor: Slightly Amusing, Mostly Lame

BuzzSugar — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:30:49 -0700

Will the high school nerds-seeking-revenge story ever get to be annoying and old? Actually, yes, and soon, thanks to Drillbit Taylor. The universal themes of high school hierarchies and the oppressed having their day of triumph, along with the Judd Apatow stamp of approval, somehow can't save this thin, watery story. Inconsistent and jerkily edited, It's one of the sloppiest movies I've seen in a long time. It's not the worst thing ever - the verbal humor works in fits and starts - but mostly it's just messy and poorly thrown together. Toward the end it starts to drag considerably, and then gives up and becomes an endless series of scenes in which dudes punch other dudes.

Owen Wilson plays Drillbit Taylor, a homeless man who is hired by three high school kids to be their bodyguard against the fearsome school bully Filkins (Alex Frost) and his sidekick, Ronnie (Josh Peck). Drillbit, feigning extensive knowledge in combat and human psychology, "trains" the boys to defend themselves against the bullies. But when Drillbit's advice backfires, he's takes matters into his own hands and pretends to be a substitute teacher at their school in order to "protect" the boys from a closer proximity. The movie doesn't end there, though, so read more.

At school he meets a fellow teacher, Lisa (a totally underused Leslie Mann), and they start up a relationship under the pretense that he's a doctor . . . and a substitute teacher. Ultimately, however, it comes out that Drillbit's been taking everyone for a ride, and the boys, predictably, need to figure out what bravery means for themselves.

My favorite parts of the movie are Owen Wilson's scenes, which actually surprises me a little. I've always wondered if Wilson himself had any true talent, or if he was just one of those lucky actors to happen upon great material. In this case, he's the most enjoyable thing about Drillbit Taylor. In fact, it's disappointing how flat and empty the boys are (with the exception of the villainous Alex Frost who sometimes borders - deliciously - on psychopathic), when they could have been the heart of the story.

Skinny, awkward Wade is tolerable, and the littlest guy Emmit (David Dorfman) serves mainly to make high-pitched squeaks and scurry frantically around like Gollum. But Ryan (Troy Gentile), supposedly one of our protagonists, is such a truly unlikeable person I actually found myself longing for the tiresome hysteria of Seth (Jonah Hill) in Superbad, a recent high school comedy that worked successfully. And one of the most satisfying things about Superbad is that in the end, it's all about the relationship between Evan and Seth. The movie is funny and crude, but there is a genuine sweetness to that friendship. This is absent altogether in Drillbit Taylor, along with many other things.

Bottom line: If you're a 12 year old boy, this might be the funniest thing ever. But then again, I may be underestimating 12 year old boys everywhere.

To see the trailer and more clips from Drillbit Taylor check out movies.ivillage.com.

Photos courtesy of Paramount

Adam Sandler to Star in Judd Apatow's Next Film

BuzzSugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:30:00 -0700

It won't be the first collaboration between Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow - that honorable title goes to the hairdresser comedy You Don't Mess With the Zohan, which Apatow apparently wrote - but it will be the first Apatow-directed movie that Adam Sandler stars in.

Everyone's remaining tight-lipped about what, exactly, the project will be about, though so far Sandler's costars will include Apatow's wife Leslie Mann, and Seth Rogen (of course!). The Apatow machine is unstoppable, it seems. In addition to Zohan, he's got his hands in a gazillion other things, including Drillbit Taylor (which he produced), Pineapple Express (which he wrote), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (produced), Step Brothers (produced), The Year One (producing), and Pure Imagination (going to produce). Everyone wants a piece of the Apatow these days.

Source and source

Buzz News Roundup, 10/24

BuzzSugar — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:31:09 -0700

USA Today has the first photo from Mike Meyers' next comedy The Love Guru.
David Chase talks - sort of - to the Associated Press about the finale of The Sopranos.
Juno writer Diablo Cody has yet another project in the works: a supernatural comedy titled Jennifer's Body that will star Megan Fox, writes Hollywood Reporter.
In a super-slow week for album sales, Bruce Springsteen topped the charts again, Billboard reports.
The Futon Critic has a slew of ABC scheduling updates: Men in Trees is moving to 8 p.m., October Road is coming back in November, and Dance War starts in January.
The Zac Efron movie 17 just got a lot cooler with the addition of Leslie Mann (Knocked Up) to the cast, as ComingSoon reports.
Champion tennis player Maria Sharapova is pitching a drama about female tennis players to the CW, Variety reports. Hey, anyone else remember Phenom?
According to ComingSoon, Billy Bob Thornton will join Shia LaBeouf in the thriller Eagle Eye.
Zap2it has introductions for the new cast of The Amazing Race.
Billy Ray Cyrus has landed himself a movie role in the family drama Flying By, writes Hollywood Reporter.