FlorianSchirner After reading most of the comments on this film, I feel relieved. When I saw it the first time in cinema, I really liked it, so I persuaded some friends o see it too. They were disappointed. All others I talked to about this film were not liking it too. I thought I may be the only one to find it a brilliant, deep movie but here I find more of my kind.What makes the movie so outstanding in my opinion, is the fact that it is none of Hollywood's favourite genres...in fact it can't even be categorized to one genre or two. Adding to it there is no small criticism about today's comedy and entertainment culture and how our modern society treats people not fitting in so well.All this is wrapped in a more than bizarre story about some mystic elixir hidden in wax eggs,french mariners, American comedians, family secrets, a long lost glamorous time of vaudevillian entertainment and two guys on the search of their role in life.One is Tommy Fawkes (Oliver Platt) the rising star of stand up comedy, son of a comedy great. Overcome with self doubt and after getting his spotlight stolen by his father, he begins looking for the heart of comedy in Blackpool, England. Many may not know this, but Blackpool, like Brighton, was once the center of cabaret and varieté culture in England. Platt delivers a great performance (I should say as often, because that he does) as the self-doubting comedian, who thinks he cannot be funny anymore.But what he lacks in comedian talent, he has in social talent. He is a natural leader and charismatic person.Then there is Jack, a guy who is born to a family of entertainers, too. He is a natural comedian, in such an extreme that he cannot interact with society on a normal level. He has somewhat of a dark past, but that gets apparent during the movie. Jack is played by Lee Evans, and this boy is FABULOUS! Look at his Radioman performance and tell me you did not laugh...i call you a liar.Both actors are surrounded by a more than strong supporting cast including Jerry Lewis, Leslie Caron and Oliver Reed.Together with its almost hauntingly sublime and beautiful cinematography this film becomes a very clever and deep movie about character development.My advice: Rent it, see it and make your own opinion. You may be disappointed, since this is not a movie for everyone. But if you like it, you will appreciate it the more.

merklekranz First the bad news. This supposed black comedy is totally devoid of black comedy, and any other kind of humor for that matter. What you get are two separate converging stories neither of which is remotely funny. Jumping back and forth, the viewer is totally bored and confused, not a good formula for entertainment. Trucking out endless vaudeville acts may be entertaining to an extremely tiny minority, but to everyone else "Funny Bones" will be unending torture. After one hour of this total nonsense, I most fortunately consulted the DVD case, which informed me that it was 128 minutes long. I had had enough. Now the good news, I ejected this artsy crap, and didn't waste another minute. - MERK

asia_extreme This is an amazing movie, a comedy story about comedy. It's hilarious throughout but not only that its a brilliant story on families. The movie is just a masterpiece, well written and well directed. A movie you would watch time and time again and still laugh at each joke. Funny Bones shows a brilliant portrayal of comedy in the seaside resort of Blackpool. Many acts have came and went through Blackpool, all being hugely famous in their time. The movie shows how you can be the biggest stars in the city one moment then it can all be gone in an instant. This movie shows a real side the Blackpool. And it shows it in a brilliant way, filmed all on set, the real Blackpool beach, the real town, the real amusement park. Everything including a lot of the extras were totally part of Blackpool. This is a brilliant British movie with a brilliant British cast. It has comedy throughout, it ranges from off the wall zany crazy comedy, all the way to subtle verbal comedy. A brilliant mix of visual and verbal comedy throughout this movie. A brilliant story about rediscovering who you are, a movie which shows you the past isn't always as happy or as sad as you believe it to be. This movie has it all. If you're British you'll adore it, if you're not British you'll love it just the same. A brilliant cast in this movie, comedy for everyone no matter who the person. Truly this movie doesn't get the due respect it deserves. This movie will always be a huge element in my DVD collection and after seeing it, you will feel the same way.This movie will lighten up your life, its a true masterpiece. I recommend you see it in whatever way you can.

didi-5 I do have to say from the outset that I really like this film, disjointed though it is, perhaps because it is so different. This is a story of a broken family and hidden secrets - Tommy Fawkes goes to Blackpool, once one of the world's showbiz capitals, to learn how to be funny; once there he finds a duo (played by veteran British comics Freddie Davies and George Carl) who he thinks have stolen his famous dad's act - but are things really as they seem? Jack Parker is a Blackpool born lad with the innate ability to be creatively humorous (Lee Evans is excellent in this role) while lacking in the social skills to survive in the real world.Against this backdrop is something about mysterious eggs which hold some mystical secret or other (giving Oliver Reed yet another strange role as the oddball Dolly). The really interesting aspects of the story are the skeletons in the closet that bring Jack's mother (Leslie Caron) and Tommy's father (Jerry Lewis) together again. The strongest scenes though are the ones which truly shock - the flashback outlining the tragedy that has affected Jack's life, and the final few sequences in the show arena.'Funny Bones' may be hard to fathom but I think it repays attention by giving its audience something a bit unexpected - plus some great performances along the way.