sharky_55 Funny People features Adam Sandler playing a fictionalised version of himself, a past-his-prime comedian and movie star who gets by because fans still recognise him from that movie where he played the merman or the adult baby, and are waiting around for a sequel. He rose from the ashes of a comedy club where guys like Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen are still desperately flapping their wings, and hoping their material mostly consisting of fart jokes and masturbation will be the key to stardom. You see the common ground for the subject matter, you see Judd Apatow directing, and recall Sandler's past resume, and you think to yourself that this won't be a classy movie, nevertheless a good one. But Apatow's intent isn't to sanitise the juvenile trash that these comedians draw upon, but rather use it as a roadmap to their developing emotional maturity. Their routines are a reflection of their sad and often pathetic lives - for Ira losing weight and yet still unable to get a date, and for George a string of meaningless one night stands and a mountain of shiny trinkets ala Citizen Kane. It's not until near the end of the movie that their comedy ceases to be an extension of their failings, no longer a crutch for them to poke fun at their themselves and their lack of purpose. It's no surprise that much of the early humour between the two leads is focused almost entirely on the size of their packages; masculinity in a neat and objective measure. Their sex drives pollute their minds and therefore their relationships, with this toxic mindset spilling out into the anxieties of loved ones: "How could you cheat? I was so hot." Ira only improves himself by reexamining the idiotic expectations he places on his crush Daisy to put out before they even know each other, no longer defining their relationship by how many days left he has to 'score' with her. In the vein of George's ridiculous man-baby movie (surely a jab at the man child persona that Sandler has forged a career with), he must learn how to be a man by shedding the fragile sexual ego and seeing Daisy as her own person with her own decisions (the same personal redemption lifted from half of Kevin Smith's early flicks). I admired how the film and its characters were able to recognise the potentially life-changing experience of being confronted with a fatal illness, but not completely buy into all the mystique of how it HAS to mean that the patient emerges from the other side a better person. Cancer or not, George is stuck in a pit of misery, his closest companions merely professional connections, and his one shot at a meaningful life long gone. In a quietly pathetic scene, he realises that even his good news of remission falls only on hired ears - he has no one to celebrate with, no one to tell but his maid (who nods politely). The same goes for Ira, where George is quick to remind him of his employee status when things don't go his way. A stranger to the concept of a friend, he lashes out at the one person who might actually care for him just because, not for an arbitrary personal gain (Laura seeks the same thing as George, a second chance at a life that is long past its due by date). Seeing it now the film is a rather strange artefact, with Sandler having faded somewhat into obscurity, surrounded by a myriad of comedy alumni who has since gone onto stardom. Perhaps it has more truth than we realise. Sandler has only occasionally dipped into more dramatic roles with surprisingly levels of success, hinting that in an alternate timeline he may have had an entirely different career than we one we know him by. What remains is a matured, restrained performance of a man who has spent his entire life cheering others up but can't do so for himself (the old joke with the depressed clown comes to mind), and is able to harness the baggage of his previous acting personas to demonstrate how his personality dips and reverts back to immaturity when he doesn't get his own way, having been so used to that feeling for most of his life. See his reaction when Laura makes her final decision to take Clarke back, and how George ignores her reasoning completely, instead spluttering a "Come on!" - it's vintage Sandler, not an adult but the whiny baby that he's played so well and often. He hasn't grown up yet, he hasn't learned how to be a man. And it takes some hard words and harder lessons until he finally gets there.

Mr Black Well, I only go this movie because Adam Sandler is in it. I find he makes one good movie, one bad, one good, one bad..So thought' I'd take a chance. It's an okay story with good performances, but wow, there IS a lot of things wrong with this. For starters, it's a re-hashed story from 'The Great Buck Howard." - almost exactly, in terms of the two main characters. Show biz big guy gets an assistant and treats him badly. Assistant finally leaves and they meet again later. Been there, done that. Now about the humour. Maybe this is just an indication of how stupid society has become, but seriously,, I got bored of the penis jokes after about the 5000th one. One per movie might be funny, but after one you're flogging a dead horse. Seriously.? Penis jokes are funny when you're ten. When your a grown adult, it's just embarrassing unless you have an IQ below 80 and live in a hillybilly log cabin or something. The only thing here is, at first George Simmons was dying. In the Great Buck Howard he wasn't.

Destroyer Wod I have this movie in my collection for quite some years... but on blu ray and i didn't had a player until recently when i got my X1. Long story short i bough the DVD, it was in terrible shape, borough it back to the video store, all they had left was a blu ray... which i accepted for later use.So well, straight to point, was it a good movie? Kinda... more on the yes side. The problem is, the movie is at times very funny, at times the jokes and situations fells flat, but more or less, oh my god could it had been wrapped in 120 minutes or less... easily.Sanddler, Rogen and pretty much all the cast do a good job, my gripe comes mostly from the story, as i liked a lot how it start but the second act felt very odd and i didn't like where it was going. Also the ending despite the movie uber long running time, felt abrupt and unresolved...I know this is more like a drama comedy than a real "comedy" but when you watch a Sanddler and Rogen movie, or even more the 2 of them combined, you hope for very funny situations and jokes. Some parts made me chuckle good, but some overlong part really bored me.In any case I'm glad i finally was able to saw it, but i can't say its either among my favourite Sanddler or Rogen movies...I changed my rating like 3 times during this review, i would give it a 6.5 if i could... but i settle for 6 and not 7...I prefer watching pineapple express, Happy Gilmore and other funnier movies.

alsation72 Seeing Adam Sandler on a stage trying to attempt "stand-up" comedy - which I presume was improvised - makes you realise how truly unfunny he is. It is quite awkward to watch, because not even a room of people paid to play a comedy act's audience can muster up much laughter at all. Definitely a few cringe moment to be had.Its as though he thinks his mere presence and personality are so wonderful that he doesn't need to do much. The guy is about as funny as a dead puppy.The unlikely friendship that develops between Sandler's character and Rogen's really has no decent chemistry; and because this is a major plot device the film is just doomed. Seth Rogen was not funny here either.So this is a whole lot of banter between a disparate group of "funny people". It is boring and desperate to manage even one iota of humour. Its just an embarrassment.