Product: Funny People
Rating: 4.0
Funny People
This is a great movie, flaws and all. While I give it a very solid 4 stars, it was rife with 5-star moments many of which come in the form of very funny moments especially if you like stand-up, vulgarity and all. Adam Sandler is a funny guy on and off stage and there is quite a bit of on-stage time here. This movie was so much better than some of the tripe he's done (Billy Madison, Anger Management, etc) and is in the league of some of his better work, closest in tone to say "Punch Drunk Love" - a great movie. This movie is not quite the seemless piece of art/drama/comedy that that one was, and it suffers from flaws. "Meandering" as some have put it does accurately describe the second half somewhat, though I still found it interesting and entertaining.The other reason it's good is the subject matter it deals with. Yeah, it's been done before - man finds out his life's due date is approaching - but it was fun to see Sandler do it. I mention this 'cause I just saw a Michael Douglas movie which had a similar theme (The Solitary Man - also not bad). I think this is a fascinating topic (and a brave one) for Hollywood to dig into. I find movies that consider these themes educational and therepeutical in the highest sense. And I give credit to this movie for being so simultaneously funny and thought-provoking. There are some other gems as well, speaking of therepeutic - a thought coming from the Australian husband who said "Underneath anger is hurt, but underneath hurt is love" - bang! Hit that nail on the head. I suppose people know that already, but for him to realize it right at that moment was an enlightening epiphany (both for him and for me).To sum up, it's not a movie without flaws but if you like a sly sense of humour and don't mind movies that go beyond slapstick, give this one a try. Sandler is in good form and the guy that plays his hired friend (and his friends as well) did a pretty decent job in a movie that I found at least entertaining. Or should I say most importantly, I found it entertaining.