FUNNY PEOPLE

BY CHRISTOPHER HASKELL
DECEMBER 24, 2012

“Funny People” marks one of Adam Sandler’s best and most mature roles in his career. He develops a character that not only plays close to the chest, a swan song of sorts, but evokes a rare emotional attachment for one of his characters. Laced through the girthy runtime is strong humor, with an unbeatable ensemble cast of comedians, including Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Leslie Mann, and Jason Schwartzman. Judd Apatow writes and directs this wonderfully overlooked film, which proves there’s more to him than just sex comedies.

The film follows actor George Simmons (Sandler) after he finds out he has a rare blood disease that will likely kill him. As he falls back on stand-up comedy in what he believes to be his last days, he befriends struggling comedian Ira Wright (Seth Rogen). Together, they take Simmons back to a simpler time, doing stand-up, meeting with Simmons’ former girlfriend (Mann), and getting things in order before Simmons’ demise. With several short stand-up sets from most of the prominent comedians in the film, “Funny People” is set apart as a dramatic event film rather than a straight-up, raunchy comedy.