It's Kind of a Funny Story

Plot synopsis:
After contemplating suicide by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge, 16-year-old Craig Gilner (Keir Gilchrist), decides to go to the hospital to seek help. Craig tells Dr. Mahmoud (Aasif Mandvi) that he needs immediate help to which Dr. Mahmoud registers Craig for a one week stay in the hospital's psychiatric floor.[2][3] At first, Craig is unsure if he made the right choice to stay, mostly due to the fact that his friends might find out when he misses school, especially Nia (Zoë Kravitz), his crush and the girlfriend to his best friend Aaron (Thomas Mann). Also, he is placed in the adult ward because there are too few teenage patients, and he understandbly feels uneasy and a bit scared being in the midst of so many adult psychotics.Craig is introduced to Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), an adult patient who claims he is only there on vacation, as he takes Craig under his wing. During a group discussion, Craig learns that Bobby is stressed about an upcoming interview in hopes of moving to a halfway house. When Bobby states that all he'll have to wear for the interview is the sweater he is currently wearing, Craig offers that Bobby could borrow one of his dad's dress shirts to wear, and Bobby accepts. Craig's kind offer to Bobby is witnessed by Noelle (Emma Roberts), another teenage patient who is in for self-mutilation. She is impressed by Craig and leaves him a note to meet with her that night. Later, Craig and Noelle attend a painting session for the patients. Craig paints a picture of an imaginary city map which he describes as like his own brain.Throughout his stay, Craig comes to a close bond with various patients on the floor including Bobby and Noelle. Bobby reveals to Craig that he is a father of a little girl and that he is actually in the ward for attempting to commit suicide six times. As Craig tries to help Bobby with his problems, Bobby, in return, helps Craig to gain the courage to ask out Noelle.One night, Nia stops by to visit Craig at the hospital, revealing that she and Aaron had broken up. Craig takes Nia back to his room where she tries to seduce him. However, the two are caught by Craig's roommate Muqtada (Bernard White), an old Egyptian man who has not left the room during his stay. As Nia runs out of the room, Criag chases her and calls out that he loves her, unaware that Noelle is standing behind him. Upset, Noelle storms off leaving behind a drawing of a self portrait that she planned on giving to Craig.Craig eventually wins Noelle's forgiveness, and the pair sneak out of the ward in scrubs and run around the hospital, ending up on the roof. There, Craig finally works up the courage to ask her on a date, and they kiss. On Craig's last night, he hosts a pizza party for the patients and helps Muqtada leave his room by playing Egyptian music for him to dance to. Craig also meets with Bobby, who got accepted into the home, and gives him a map of how Craig imagines Bobby's brain to be. Craig leaves the hospital the next morning not entirely cured, but with better aspirations to enjoy his life. He finally gains the courage to speak the truth to his father - which seems to be one of his main problems - perhaps the biggest problem. Dad wants Craig to be a big businessman, but Craig is more clearly cut out for the creative artistic life - painting and singing.

Tags: psychedelic, entertaining, sentimental

Review:
Fortunately, he soon makes friends with an affable patient named Bobby (Zach Galifianakis) and casts his eye on a lovely young female Noelle (Emma Roberts), who bears telltale scars on her wrists.
You know what I would do just to be you, for just a day?"Despite the fact that most critics were underwhelmed with It's Kind of a Funny Story, I found myself liking the movie.
Imagine a lighthearted version Girl, Interrupted with more teen angst (in a good way).The story's about a teenage boy who's burnt out on pressure from parents, school, and his peers, exhausted, and contemplating suicide.
"It's Kind of a Funny Story" is based on the book of the same title in which Ned Vizzini tells of his experience checking himself into an adult psychiatric ward at the suggestion of a suicide hotline.
If you can remember or relate to what it is to be a teenager under pressure from school, parents, friends, and life in general you will like this movie.
Here Craig meets the wizened Bobby (Zack Galifianakis), who has a complete emotional range here, his hangdog is perfect and watched closely you'll see every thought and facial gesture with real pleasure, and a teenage girl his age, Noelle (Emma Roberts).
These two relationships along with a very special girl named Noelle (Emma Roberts) change Craig's life.The Good: The film follows its genre as a dramatic comedy very well and isn't over sentimental or Hollywoodized at all.
"It's Kind of a Funny Story" is a refreshing antidote to the seemingly endless parade of movies and T.V. shows about teen angst.In it, Keir Gilchrist, in a winning performance, plays a young teen who's vaguely depressed for reasons he can't explain, is overwhelmed by the seriousness of the world in which he lives and even harbors the occasional thought of suicide.
Thinking himself seriously messed up, he checks himself into a mental ward for a five-day stint, only to find out once there that he's nowhere nearly as screwed up as he thinks he is -- certainly not as screwed up as the other people on the ward who deserve to be there -- and that he's not suffering from anything that pretty much every other human being on the planet doesn't suffer from from time to time.The lessons he learns will sound pretty familiar and sound like a summary of lines spoken by Ruth Gordon in "Harold and Maude." They're all about living life instead of being afraid of it, doing what makes you happy, and not letting others life your life for you.
Instead, co-writers and co-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck deliver a black comedy-drama that has appeal to both teens and grown-ups.The story revolves around Craig, a 16 year old who is feeling depressed and suicidal given the pressures of a relentless father, looming college entrance exams and a screwed up social life.
Well, this movie somewhat satirically makes fun of that idea, but also puts into perspective why a kid might feel this way and gives a legitimate tale of the funny story of life and its problems.As the film starts out, we meet our main character, Craig, played by Keir Gilchrist.
But the way the director does this is great, as he still shows the seriousness of the subject matter, but at the same time the title is applied throughout the scenes, reminding us how funny it all really is out of perspective.Eventually our main character finds himself convincing his doctor to allow him to be admitted into the psychiatric ward of the hospital, where he's greeted with more than he expected.
'It's Kind Of A Funny Story' is a quirky Drama with the right amount of romance and comedy, making this film extremely entertaining.
It's kind of funny (no pun intended) because with all the attention that Zach Galifianakis has gotten since the release of "The Hangover" one would think they would try to get this film off the ground as his first major dramatic role.
I also thought she had great chemistry with Gilchrist and definitely proved here that she deserves to do more stand out work like this rather than lackluster teen films like "Aquamarine" and "Nancy Drew." While the acting was solid across the board, I think the best part of this movie was the film was the overall story and message.
A movie about people in a psychiatric ward doesn't seem like it would have a feel good message but this film does.
It has a funny way of showing it but "It's Kind of a Funny Story" makes you feel alive and makes it's audience really want to go out there and live everyday to the fullest.A the end of the day, I was actually very sad that I didn't get to catch this film in theaters and that it didn't get the kind of attention it deserved.
"It's Kind of a Funny Story" was a well acted and well written film that featured a good mix of drama and comedy but also managed to stay realistic.
I think more people should check out this film because not only will you enjoy the film as a whole but you will feel good about life after seeing it, at least that's how I felt when it ended.
I had read the novel "It's Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini a while ago and knew it had been adapted into a movie not too long back, and decided to watch this a few months ago.
About his experiences self checking himself into a mental health clinic due to the advice he got from the suicide hot line.The cast in this is great Keir Gilchrist is the main character Craig and delivers a excellent performance Of the boys who has the tendency to have suicide thoughts.
He is helped however by the very skilled supporting cast Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts and Lauren Graham to name a few.This movie is something you can relate to if you have or have had any sort of Stress or pressure in your life.
See my full review at the Huffington Post under "It's Kind of a Funny Story (Really Is):Lost in the slog of fright flicks, and masochist movies in 3D, comes an Oscar-worthy little gem that delivers Zach Galifianakis into the pantheon of movie stars, and serves up the first great psych ward story since "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." "It's Kind of a Funny Story" is old-school movie making.
This is the film where I think Zach Galifianakis has given his best performance.Now, the main flaw of the movie are the therapy sessions and how the main character evolves throughout his stay on the psychiatry floor.
The cast is supported by a very well written adapted screenplay by Anna Fleck and Anna Boden that will make you laugh and cry.The Bad: The actress, Zoe Kravitz, does not do a very good job playing Nia, Craig's love interest from before he meets Noelle in the psychiatric hospital.
The cast is supported by a very well written adapted screenplay by Anna Fleck and Anna Boden that will make you laugh and cry.The Bad: The actress, Zoe Kravitz, does not do a very good job playing Nia, Craig's love interest from before he meets Noelle in the psychiatric hospital.
This movie is the story of a teenager going through some tough times, not because he has a rough life, but because he is just feeling a lot of pressure and stress and doesn't know how to handle it.
It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010), directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, focuses around a teenage boy, Craig (Keir Gilchrist of United States of Tera) and his interactions with other patients after he checks himself into a psychiatric ward.
They were all well written characters, and I found it very appropriate that they kept Roberts' reasons for being in the psych ward concealed.This is a teen drama about teen problems, told in a light-hearted kind of way, and it's ultimately a great film.
In that time he becomes acquainted with other patients such as fellow teen, Noelle (played by Emma Roberts) and the man he encountered in the waiting room, Bobby (Galifianakis) who regularly leaves the ward, without permission, dressed in scrubs to avoid being escorted back.I love this movie.
This is actually not my kinda movie,I wanted to watch a rom-com(something like The Proposal,Knocked up,The Vow etc.,) but my friend gave me a DVD of this movie as soon as I got the DVD I understood that its not the kind of movie I wanted to watch at that time.Since I had no other choice I took a chance & watched the movie expecting something like Hangover.First 20 mins of the movie kinda sucked with Keir Gilchrist telling about his sucking life and his plan of killing himself but when I was starting to judge the movie(in a -'ve way) the movie started to reveal itself and transformed slowly from boring to meaningful-exciting,enjoyable & exquisite.The movie is well scripted,well directed and appropriately casted & fabulously acted.This movie has really good messages all over and still manages to entertain us till the end.Its really refreshing and would make you feel light after watching it.And I totally forgot,Emma Roberts looked great in this movie you should watch it at least for her..
Obviously the film had other qualities like a good dialogues, believable and engaging characters, bearable soundtrack (mind you there's hardly any of the recent stuff I would consider good music in a motion picture), feel-good entertainment for people under pressure, and of course another amazing performance from the rising star- Mr Galifianakis!
As the title says, the movie present us the life of a teen who's depressed and put himself into a psych institution ....there he meets a girl, he likes her at first sight, and all movie is about those 5 days that he stays inside that institution.Most will consider "a boring story" or "a boring movie" ..
This film gets off to a somewhat uncertain start, but is rewarding enough if you stick with it - just keep your hopes and expectations low.It is essentially a teen rom-com, with that way overused device of the narration-that's-aware-it's-a-narration, which runs consistently throughout.The film also begins on a sombre note - suicidal depression - which is one of the principle themes of the piece, despite never being adequately explored beyond its shallow convenience as a device for facilitating a meet-cute.The main setting is a psych ward, populated by thinly-drawn caricatures of mental patients, complete with all the standard two-dimensional clichés of appearance and behaviour.But this film is decidedly not "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest".
(But she self-harms, and has three pretty little scars to justify her presence on the ward).Once it finally makes up its mind to be a rom-com rather than a treatise on mental healthcare, the film picks up its pace and its mood, and even includes a delightfully silly and unexpected musical number.There are some nice performances, and a couple of genuinely touching moments, but despite a feel-good finale it is not a film I'd rush to watch again..
This is covered later, in short bits in the movie, but I think the viewer should know in the beginning.Watching the movie kept realizing again and again that if I had not read the book I would have no clue about whats really happening around.I wanted to be told who Craig is and understand why he did what he did and how he ended up here.
What makes this film not as good as it could have been is not necessarily the writing or directing but the lead actor portraying the character of Craig (Keir Gilchrist).
The supporting characters of Emma Roberts, and Viola Davis are there simply for support of Craig, as they are not given as much to do.Overall, It's Kind of a Funny story is not a bad film, but depends on the certain atmosphere and type of film one is intending in watching.
disappointing.the acting is clunky and Zach Galifianakis does not suit the role he plays at all.there are several clumsy attempts to make depression an 'everyday illness' by having the main character's friends allude to struggling with it which also detract from the legitimacy of the illness.overall, a very poor attempt to raise awareness about mental health - especially as many of the other mental health issues seen within the film are left largely unaddressed..
Craig (Keir Gilchrist) is a depressed teenager who is not very sure on what makes him feel like that.
From the opening scene of this movie I was enveloped in the story being told, I've had many high peaks and subsequently many low valleys during the years I've been alive and the self-doubting, socially awkward personality of the main character was in so many ways like looking in the mirror for me.
It tells the story of a teenager named Craig (Keir Gilchrist) who has become depressed to the point of being suicidal, and checks himself into a hospital psych ward at the behest of a suicide hotline.
An easy to watch, not complex movie about a guy who has a good life, but is feeling stressed out and depressed by the simplest things.
When Craig discovered other passions and saw what other people are going through at the hospital, he really appreciated his own life and wanted to go out there and just live his life, of course, a big part of that was his new found love Noelle, who had her own problems too.Zach Galifianakis with some of his usual flicks, but this time he was in a role that was a little bit more serious than his usual movies, such as The Hangover or Due Date.
This is a good movie for teens who feel pressured to live up to standards expected by others - like parents and the peers that pass themselves off as being so 'mentally together'.Craig feels he can't cope and contemplates suicide but has better sense to seek help at a local hospital.
After being admitted to the psychiatric ward he encounters patients with real problems and he wants out.But he cannot leave due to necessary evaluation and in the five days he's there he learns a big lesson - first he's not as crazy as he thought and that he means a lot more to his family and friends than he imagined.This is a nice fun movie but regrettably forgettable - especially the title!.
Keir Gilchrist plays Craig Gilner, a suicidal teenager who checks into a hospital's psychiatric ward.
I knew very very little about the movie when I decided to watch this film, but when I saw that Zach Galifianakis was in it I needed no convincing as generally he plays a very funny character.
Maybe one of the patients could harm/kill themselves which would give our main character 'Cool Craig' a better perspective and understanding on how small his problems were in comparison to those who really were suffering from major depression.Anyway overall, I thought the movie was alright so a solid 4 I think is adequate.Reviewed through the eyes of Straight talking Tony NZ..
It's Kind of a Funny Story laces the typically untouchable subjects of the human psyche that make people squirm and it makes you not just laugh about it, but understand it in the way in which we need to understand in order to cure our psychological problems.Craig learns self-empowerment, that he actually has something going for him in life, and that the unhappiness he was exhibiting was because he was not living the life he wanted.
Possibly the most surprising performance is that of comedian Zach Galifinakis, who delivers a fine dramatic performance as psych ward patient and Craig's best friend, Bobby, and while Galifinakis is given plenty of moments to make you laugh, the through line of his character's desire to be with his daughter but not being able to overcome his depression is quite possibly the most moving aspect of this piece of cinema.It's Kind of a Funny Story is what I'd imagine the result would be if John Hughes decided to make a movie about a suicidal teen, supplement his usual High School aesthetic and applying it to a psychiatric ward, that in all actuality has way more intriguing options for interesting characters than an ordinary high school.
Good for Craig, right?It's a familiar story - a stressed kid struggling with depression during some of the most difficult years of a person's life.
I love how this movie not only makes you think about how fortunate you are, but also shows you how to deal with minor issues that have the potential to depress you.Zach plays his role so well that you can tell he has been through it all.
Let me give the review or reasons to this movie and i don't want to reveal or tell whole story because you must watch to experience it.Story and Plot : The basic story line is about a teenager Craig (Keir Gilchrist) who is depressed goes to adult psychiatric yard.
The story follows a boy named Craig (Keir Gilchrist) on a five day self-discovery journey in a psychiatric hospital he checks himself into after dealing with depression in his stressful life.
The story follows a boy named Craig (Keir Gilchrist) on a five day self-discovery journey in a psychiatric hospital he checks himself into after dealing with depression in his stressful life.
These two relationships along with a very special girl named Noelle (Emma Roberts) change Craig's life.Overall The movie title may be It's kind of a funny story but it is sensible and sensitive story.
To me, this movie was very natural, it seems like a story which can actually happen in real life.
'It's kind of a funny story' is a coming to age comedy about an overstress teenager Craig (Keir Gilchrist) who feeling depression and suicidal because he is high-school junior in the gifted program trying finish his accelerated academics, get into a good college and job.