HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Judd Apatow is bringing his gang back together on the big screen this weekend in his latest raunchy comedy “Funny People.”
But unlike past Apatow blockbusters, such as “The 40 Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” this one attempts to tackle a more serious storyline. The plot revolves around a comedian (Adam Sandler) who discovers that he has a deadly disease — not exactly a laugh-out loud subject.
Joining Sandler is a cast filled with Apatow regulars, including Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and the movie-maker’s wife, Leslie Mann.
“The thing about ‘Funny People’ is that it’s a real movie,” writes Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times. “That means carefully written dialogue and carefully placed supporting performances — and it’s about something. It could have easily been a formula film, and the trailer shamelessly tries to misrepresent it as one, but [Sandler’s] George Simmons learns and changes during his ordeal, and we empathize.”
Entertainment Weekly was less high on the film, giving it a C-minus review.
“Judd Apatow’s furiously anguished — and, at 145 unshaped minutes, quantifiably endless — tragi-comedy about a sad showbiz clown and his ilk,” said reviewer Lisa Schwarzbaum.
“The movie, deeply personal to its maker, is too self- absorbed to convey effectively the emotional complexity that Apatow has in mind,” she continues. “The message that comes across is: We’re all screwed, and then we die.”
Click here to watch cast interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from “Funny People.”
