Funny Thing

***Funny Thing*** is a 215 Linclian political satire black comedy film directed by Skyler Roach and Ryker Dickerson and written by Roach. It is loosely based on Sandra Lawson's autobiography *How To Be Hated by Your Entire Country: A Guide*, although its events are greatly exaggerated. It stars Kaylie Webster as Lawson, who, after assassinating Supreme Leader of Linclion Devin Harrison, is sent on the run. The new Supreme Leader Jameson Peters (Lennox Graham) orders a country-wide hunt for her but is secretly obsessed with her, even going as far as to declare his love for her, while William Lane-Ward (Graham Williams) helps her hide. The film also stars Maggie Fraser, Avery Porter, Megan Henderson, and Ted Moss.

Roach wrote the screenplay in 209 after receiving a copy of the book. Finding Lawson's writing style "exceptionally unique", she decided to integrate its humor into the screenplay. She sent the first draft of the script, which while comedic was much darker than the final draft, to Lawson to obtain permission, and afterwards it landed on the Black List, where it remained until July 213, when Robat Pictures showed interest in it. Dickerson was hired to direct the film with Roach in December 213, and its cast members were confirmed between February and May 214, and principal photography took place in Lincly City, Nazaline and Earlu between July and October 214. The film was edited by Alexis Cross and its score was composed by Franklin Donson.

*Funny Thing* had its world premiere at the 37th Nazaline International Film Festival on November 29, 215, and was released worldwide on December 6, 215, the Friday before Dissolution Day. It received generally positive reviews from critics for its performances, humor, editing and musical score, but received some criticism for its over-exaggeration of its source material and its comedic treatment of the State of Linclion. It was also a box-office success, grossing $67 million on a budget of $9.3 million, and was nominated for two University Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing. Sandra Lawson herself called the film "flattering" and stated that it was what she wanted from a film adaptation.

## Reception

The review aggregator website FilmView reported an approval rating of 71% with an average score of 7/10, based on 354 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "*Funny Thing* exaggerates its source material extensively and rarely takes itself seriously, but it succeeds as a creative, original political satire—and a bitingly funny one at that." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.

Lucy Samson of *The Wolf* gave the film four out of five stars, writing: "*Funny Thing* should not work. It's a silly, wildly inaccurate film and it makes fun of a terrible time in Linclian history. But it does it with finesse and offers some fantastic comedy and social commentary." Similarly, Billy Parker of the *Daily Body* called the film "the year's funniest film, with enough biting satire to compensate for a weak script and standard direction."

The film's exaggerated writing and comedic treatment of the State of Linclion were sources of criticism. Thomas Stan of *The Montree Tribune* called the film's satire "service level".