‘Funny People’

By Carol Cling

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

There's funny ha-ha and funny strange.

And then there's "Funny People," which is a bit of both.

Don't be fooled by the presence of Adam Sandler in front of the camera and writer-director Judd Apatow behind it. They're funny people, to be sure, but "Funny People" definitely belongs in the funny-strange category -- because there's not much funny ha-ha.

After conquering the comedy world with his brand of sweet raunchiness (or should that be raunchy sweetness?) in movies such as "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up," Apatow clearly wants to get serious and make a statement (more than one) with "Funny People."

That may seem like a noble goal, but an unfunny thing happened on the way to the end credits.

Make that several unfunny things.

Maudlin, contrived and frustratingly self-indulgent, "Funny People" suffers from a massive identity crisis and an ultimately fatal case of cinematic split-personality syndrome.

You know the latter affliction, which develops when a movie (and its maker) can't decide what, and who, the movie's true focus should be.

On the surface, "Funny People" seems to be about George Simmons (Adam Sandler), a 40-something comic turned movie star, who's confronted with the crisis of a lifetime when he's diagnosed with a rare blood disease that's almost always fatal.

Trouble is, George is already dead inside -- and has been ever since he allowed his celebrity to overcome his humanity.

With no significant others in his life, George hires Ira Wright (Seth Rogen), an aspiring stand-up comedian, to write jokes and serve as his general gofer. In the process, George introduces this sweet, gee-whiz wannabe to a world of anything-you-want privilege: adoring hordes, private planes, willing women.

Sounds like plenty of plot for a movie about life-and-death issues, right?

Yet "Funny People" doesn't stop there.

In addition to watching George host his private self-pity party -- and watching Ira, the solitary guest, grow increasingly appalled at his employer's inability to overcome his selfishness -- "Funny People" also explores Ira's attempts to compete in the cutthroat world of comedy.

To that end, we meet Ira's better-established roommates: Leo (Jonah Hill), a somewhat more rotund, somewhat more successful version of Ira; and the endlessly insufferable Mark (Jason Schwartzman), who stars in an abysmal sitcom titled "Yo, Teach!"

And, as if that weren't enough -- and, indeed, it's too much -- "Funny People" also makes room for George's old flame, Laura (the winsome Leslie Mann, alias Mrs. Apatow), the girl who got away, married a cheerfully vulgar Aussie businessman (a scene-stealing Eric Bana) and had two adorable daughters (played by Mann's and Apatow's own adorable daughters, Maude and Iris).

Visiting Laura and her family after a comedy concert, George gets an enticing glimpse of the life he might have had -- and wants all over again. Or at least he thinks he does.

That's enough material for at least three separate movies. And trying to cram them all into one gives "Funny People" a fatal case of the bloats.

Apatow deserves credit for tackling some undeniably weighty issues, but he never manages to integrate his multiple story lines -- or offset the script's downer attitude.

Even when they're onstage doing stand-up, these funny people aren't particularly funny; they just like to hear themselves riff. (In many instances, a lot more than we like hearing them.)

The movie also misses the chance to explore how comedians transform pain into comedy -- George is too busy wallowing in his pain, real and imagined, to share it, while Ira's too busy being a nice guy to tap into the anger that might give his self-deprecating jokes some bite.

As a result, Sandler and Rogen don't get much to work with, but they still manage to make some of it work. Sandler bravely lampoons his goofball screen image -- and finds a bit of poignant, little-boy loneliness beneath the arrogant Hollywood veneer. And while Rogen's long-suffering geniality sometimes seems too good to be true (or convincing), his nice-guy awkwardness provides a welcome rooting interest in a movie where almost everybody else is competing for jerk-of-the-year honors.

And then there's Bana, who's a blast of beery fresh air in his brief role as Laura's hunky lunk of a husband. Despite a Hollywood resume full of heavy-duty dramatic roles, Bana started in stand-up in his native Australia and gives "Funny People" a brief but undeniable comedic jolt. He's one of the few people in "Funny People" who's not trying to be funny -- and, as a result, he's one of the few people in "Funny People" who is.

It's a funny thing, all right. Just not a particularly funny movie.

Contact movie critic Carol Cling at ccling@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.