Funny People

“Funny People” could easily describe the reason for Judd Apatow’s success over the last few years. It’s a simple, but effective formula. Put funny people on screen together, let them have conversations that range from the awkward to the obscene and don’t let the plot get in the way of the people.

In these days of the cookie-cutter romantic comedy or the interracial buddy comedy, it’s
refreshing to watch people that are just plain funny.

Adam Sandler, someone who has starred in many of those same clichés, now takes on a role that is basically a caricature of himself. He plays George Simmons, a once-groundbreaking stand-up comedian, who has earned his fortune by starring in terrible movies. Pay attention to the various movie posters in the background and you can see that Simmons has starred in movies that look so bad they could have been made.

He wakes up every day alone in his mansion, with only his staff to keep him company. But we aren’t meant to get to know the old George Simmons, because five minutes into the film, he learns that he has a rare disease that will more than likely kill him within months.

Living at the other end of the spectrum is Ira Wright, played by Seth Rogen. Rogen is crashing on a couch, working in a deli and trying to make it in the world of stand-up. He takes advantage of the chance to get laughs at Sandler’s expense, and gets a gig writing jokes for him.

Rogen also helps Sandler navigate his illness, encouraging him to tell his friends and family, including the woman that got away, played by Leslie Mann.

The film balances the fine line between comedy and drama, going back and forth between the two often within seconds of each other. There are times when people crying is the funniest part of the scene, and times when things get so real that all you want to hear is a dick joke.

The film comes in at a sturdy two hours, 26 minutes. A little long for anything but an epic, but when you’re first two directorial efforts gross almost $400 million, I guess you can have some leeway.

For a movie of its length, it moves very well. It doesn’t slow down very much, because you don’t know what’s coming next, you’re always on your toes.

The secondary cast is great, with Eric Bana, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman providing a lot of humor at the expense of themselves and the main characters.

Almost every stand-up comedian worth his salt from the ‘90s has a cameo in the film, and while some are more memorable than others (Ray Romano), they add to the texture of the film.

Since Sandler and Apatow were roommates before striking out in different directions (one in front of the camera, one behind), this movie is sort of a "What If?" for them.

The only thing different is that both men are married with children, and one would like to hope both men have more satisfying lives than anyone in the film. I guess it goes to show the stabilizing influence of family.

And for a movie, a director, and actors that have roots in the simple act of telling jokes, that's pretty deep.

Rating - $9.50

Bruno

Let’s get one thing out of the way first. This is not a family film, nor anything close to it. Regardless of who you see it with, it will make you uncomfortable in several parts throughout the film.

That being said, “Bruno” offers laughs more consistently than actor Sacha Baron Cohen’s last work, “Borat.” The awkwardness is there. The bigotry is on full display. And Cohen, too much of him, is there.

Bruno is a flamboyant host of an Austrian fashion show who loses his credibility when his all-velcro suit leads to a fashion show disaster. Not knowing what to do with his life, Bruno sets his sights on America with an assistant, in order to become a celebrity.

If there’s one thing American can do, is make a celebrity out of people with no discernable talent. Cohen whittles it down to an almost step-by-step guide on how to become a celebrity. Reality shows, controversial statements, illicit video tapes, he tries them all.

Various celebrities make appearances, and it’s clear that most of them are unwitting accomplices to Cohen’s assault. 2008 presidential candidate Ron Paul, singer Paula Abdul and actor Harrison
Ford are all caught on tape, and their reactions range from the confused to the profane.

Ironically, as much as the movie seems to mock celebrity, the real people that come off the worst.

The ignorance displayed by some church offcials, a mixed martial arts audience and a group of hunters, to name a few, is startling. Some of them could be forgiven, for they only crack in the face of Bruno’s onslaught, but others seem perfectly willing to make themselves look like fools with little provocation.

For example, a stage mother offers to get her baby’s weight down from 30 pounds to 20 pounds within a week to get a job. By being so off the wall himself, Cohen allows these people to open up and let out their own faults, and one wonders why on earth they would agree to sign releases to appear in the film.

“Borat” brought about a slew of lawsuits after it became a smash hit, most likely from people trying to cover themselves after the world saw what they had to say, and “Bruno” figures to have similar claims brought against it.

There’s a reason that Cohen isn’t known just as a simple gross-out comedian. Through his caricatures of stereotypes, he is able to unearth something that’s not funny at all: there are people even more ignorant than the characters he plays out there, and unlike Cohen, these people are 100 percent real.

Rating - $9.00