Movie Review I

What follows is my first movie review. I should call it rant though, because I feel a strong burning sensation within to rip this movie into pieces...verbally.

Last weekend me and my wife wanted to have a movie night, an evening I look forward to. "Could you pick a comedy" - my wife asked. So when I rented a movie called Funny People, I expected at least the standard comedy. Instead we sat through what I suspect will be the worst movie of 2010 - and the year just started.

Let the symphony of laughter begin. The movie stars Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen (recently seen in many comedies). As the titles began we see the hand-held footage of Adam Sandler with friends doing phone-pranks, none of which are funny. This was the first omen of what was to follow...
The basic story follows Seth as an amateur comedian who is picked up by Adam Sandler playing a famous, successful comedian (himself?). Sandler has just heard that he has an illness and may die soon. Ha-ha. We watch as the depressed Sandler struggles with his fame, loneliness, loss of humor and life itself. He hires Seth to write his jokes (which aren't funny) and be his bitch (tasks include talking Sandler to sleep and bringing him his diet coke at request). Sandler then finds out he isn't dying, tries to hit on his former girlfriend, who by now is married with two kids, fails and is a complete d**k the whole time.

Anybody found the punch line yet?

I said this was the basic story because it is actually way more confusing or should I say all over the place. We also follow Seth and his friends, all aspiring comedians - still nothing funny going on. Seth likes a girl who ends up sleeping with his roommate, Seth back-stabs his other friend out of the gig with Sandler and we see Sandler meet with other famous comedians or celebrities. Here is a scene - Ray Romano (from the show Everybody loves Raymond) is talking with Seth while Sandler sits at a table with Eminem. The whigged out rapper begins to shout at Ray Romano for staring at him which prompts Seth to throw this awesome line: "I thought everybody loves you?" Get it? Ray Romano - Everybody loves Raymond - Eminem doesn't.... somebody shoot me already.

NONE of the characters are in the least bit likable. With Sandler being the uber-d**k, rich and spoiled, treats Seth like his slave, ignores his family, easily picks up two girls, one of which was intended for Seth but ends up sleeping with both himself. He also visits his former girlfriend at her house, while her husband is away on a business trip, plays with her two daughters and then has Seth babysit the kids while he sleeps with their mom. He tries to get her to abandon her husband and destroy the family but fails.

By now surely you must have noticed the brilliant underlying humor...no? Me neither.

All in all, this movie didn't know what it was trying to be - a comedy/drama/coming of age story. It fails miserably as it's not funny, you don't like the character to feel sorry for him (instead I was hoping he'd finally drop dead), and there is no realization, no self discovery going on. Sandler is a douche and stays a douche in this movie.

I haven't been this disappointed in a long time and part of it might be that I don't have the luxury to watch movies in piece with my wife very often.

I can only implore that if you see a copy of this movie around, burn it hastily so that it may fade quickly in the history of - the minutes of my life that I will never get back...

All in all five out of five stars. (kidding)