funny strange, people

Having been beaten down by a succession of Winter viruses and bugs, I haven't actually made it out to see a movie in around 5 weeks or so, so I was keen to make the effort today. Unfortunately, my choice of movie was only showing at (ugh!) Hoyts and (ugh!) Village cinemas, or the least Palace-like of the otherwise-lovely Palace chain, the Dendy Brighton. I chose the latter, and made my way down to charming old Brahghton to see Judd Apatow's latest, Funny People.

Luckily, I'd seen the reviews, so even though the movie stars Seth Rogan, Adam Sandler and a host of comedy movie regulars, I knew that it wasn't actually a comedy itself, but a drama about comedians; an interesting concept, and one handled almost well by Apatow.

I really don't quite know what to make of this one. It had lots of terrific elements. I love Seth Rogan and Leslie Mann; I've never liked Adam Sandler, but he wasn't too bad this time out; Eric Bana's role was fabulous - it was amazing to see references to Aussie Rules footy in an American movie, and to hear a real Australian actor playing an actual Australian; there were some nice laughs from the huge range of supporting comedians - though if I ever hear another unfunny dick joke again, it will be too soon!; and the overall storyline was original and intriguing.

But... something didn't quite work. I think maybe it needed a really good editor. It went far too long for a film of this nature - approaching 2 & 1/2 hours; to the point where I was looking at my watch at times, wondering when it would ever end. It was as if a really good movie had been swallowed by a mediocre one... if the film had been tightened up a lot, and more of it relegated to the deleted scenes section of the forthcoming dvd, it could have been a lot better.

As it was, I was glad to get out of the theatre (although more on that in the next post!). I didn't hate it; there was enough good stuff that I'll probably see it again on dvd - because I can fast forward that way! This one's tough to rate, but I reckon it gets *** for trying.