*** Official "FUNNY PEOPLE" Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "Funny People". Please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.

All HTF member film reviews of "Funny People" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.


Crawdaddy

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

What moment stuck out the most to all of you? For me, it was when Leslie Mann's selfpossessed older daughter innocently confides in George her fears about her parents' marriage and George's total lack of reaction. It got to the heart of what's wrong with this man, and really highlighted the difference between Ira and him. Almost all of these characters have contemptible attributes, but it's like George has gotten what he wants for so long that he's forgotten what it's like to think beyond himself. Ira, a product of divorce, sees himself on the sidelines as a family is being destroyed.

 

[mattCR]

I think that was the moment that sailed that showed he was wrong. When the older daughter implied that her father was away a lot and asked if they would get divorced... and Sandler's character implied "well, that might be better.." The daughter, unnverved "no, it wouldn't" and Ira just sat there dumbfounded that this conversation was happening.

I think that did a lot better job conveying the sitaution then the moment with Cats/Memories which just felt forced and an attempt at funny that didn't work.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Am I the only one that found it weird and offputting that Apatow put his young daughters in a film where their real mother is in the middle of a dalliance with infidelity and the disintegration of the family unit being part of the main plot setup in the last part of this film? The entire sequence in San Marin county just had these unconvincing plot beats, and even poorer handling of George and Laura's romantic re-ignition after all these years, and the "oh-so-quick to boil" confrontation between George and Clarke within the course of an overnight stay. It didn't flow naturally, and the whole setup for the inevitable fallout just didn't pay off in a satisfying and dramatic manner. Perhaps they should not have even shown those confrontation scenes in the marketing/trailer for the film because you pretty much are just waiting for it to finally show up as the film is winding down.

 

[mattCR]

I think when they were outside and you knew the daughter had an outburst coming where she revealed what she knew was just... annoying.

Besides which, I thought Ira had the ultimate response that was seemingly dismissed, a lot of people would have accepted "I told them he was going to be OK because.. I just didn't want to talk about that with your kids.. death and all.." about 80% of the parents I know would have completely accepted that, it would have diffused everything and they would have drove off..

The whole thing rang false. I also really didn't get the point of the rekindled romance either.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by Patrick Sun

Am I the only one that found it weird and offputting that Apatow put his young daughters in a film where their real mother is in the middle of a dalliance with infidelity and the disintegration of the family unit being part of the main plot setup in the last part of this film?

Filming on set surrounded by family and friends is a completely different experience than what we all see on screen. I doubt the younger daughter was even aware of what the movie was about, and I'm sure they sat the older daughter down and put everything into context. That's arguably less weird than parents that ship their kids off to be child stars in lots of other people's movies.

The entire sequence in San Marin county just had these unconvincing plot beats, and even poorer handling of George and Laura's romantic re-ignition after all these years, and the "oh-so-quick to boil" confrontation between George and Clarke within the course of an overnight stay. It didn't flow naturally, and the whole setup for the inevitable fallout just didn't pay off in a satisfying and dramatic manner. Perhaps they should not have even shown those confrontation scenes in the marketing/trailer for the film because you pretty much are just waiting for it to finally show up as the film is winding down.

It works if you view the whole Marin County span of the film in terms of the relationship between Ira and George. Laura, the Australian hubby, and the kids are used to reveal things about George and Ira. Ira has a human response, while George has a selfish response. Eric Bana's character is hilarious, but a bit of a caricature. Laura is a good mom, but she's a deeply flawed character.

Originally Posted by mattCR

Besides which, I thought Ira had the ultimate response that was seemingly dismissed, a lot of people would have accepted "I told them he was going to be OK because.. I just didn't want to talk about that with your kids.. death and all.." about 80% of the parents I know would have completely accepted that, it would have diffused everything and they would have drove off..

Which would have worked fine, if it'd been the first response he tried. But Ira panicked through four or five failed responses before he landed on that one. By then, the cat was out of the bag so to speak.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Originally Posted by Patrick Sun ">[/url]

Am I the only one that found it weird and offputting that Apatow put his young daughters in a film where their real mother is in the middle of a dalliance with infidelity and the disintegration of the family unit being part of the main plot setup in the last part of this film?
[/QUOTE]
Nah, I was only troubled that one of the kids had to sing "Memories". That's cruel and unusual.

 

[Al_S]

I saw this movie last weekend and really didn't get it. It seems from the trailers that Adam is a guy who gets ill and then better and then reinvents himself. But I was thinking this guy is a jerk and nobody would miss him. And the illness didn't really change him at all. I would give this movie one or maybe one and a half stars.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by Al_S

I saw this movie last weekend and really didn't get it. It seems from the trailers that Adam is a guy who gets ill and then better and then reinvents himself. But I was thinking this guy is a jerk and nobody would miss him. And the illness didn't really change him at all. I would give this movie one or maybe one and a half stars.

Judd Apatow pitched the movie as, "What if a man got a second chance at life and learned absolutely nothing from it?"

That being said, the final scene does indicate that George Simmons has changed for the better, just not in the way we'd have desired or expected. If you keep your loyalties with Ira, it's a much more enjoyable experience.

 

[deeppbreaths]

The first half of this movie starts off with Adam Sandler finding out he's going to die due to illness, then you find out he's actually NOT dying... The second half of the movie involves Adam Sandler trying to win back his ex-girlfriend and one true love (who happens to be married), and then she ends up deciding to stay with her husband instead of leaving him for Sandler. Long movie, and by the end basically nothing has changed in sandler's life...
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