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Funny People (Theaters)

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While many comedies are flat out hilarious, once in a while you come across one that is something much more than just a laugh fest. Whether it be a life lesson conveyed by the film or just something provocative enough to keep you thinking after the credits roll, these comedies offer much more beyond the initial layers of laughter. Funny People is just such a movie.

The premise of the movie is fairly simple. It follows the life of comic actor George Simmons (Adam Sandler), who after numerous box office hits, has discovered he has leukemia.  In an effort to make sense of it all, he returns to his comedic roots by doing standup comedy, yet quickly realizes he no longer has anything funny to say. He enlists the help of a struggling up and coming comedian, Ira (Seth Rogen) to not only help write jokes for him, but to be his assistant through his time of ordeal. Along the way, the two become friends and Simmons realizes that despite all of his succeess, his existence has been empty and shallow up until this point.

When his latest set of blood tests comes back clean, Simmons is granted a new lease on life.  He immediately decides to try and make up for everything he has missed out on over the years, including regaining the love of his life, Laura (Leslie Mann).  George soon finds that things are not always that simple and despite having another chance at life, he must come to the realization that some things are just the way they are.

Sandler is excellent in this film. While watching, you can’t help but feel that the character of George is loosely based on Sandler’s life. He began as a small time comic for the sake of making people laugh, yet somehow alll of that got lost in the shuffle of making bigger, sillier, and funnier movies. Sandler’s portrayal of a man coming to grips with his own mortality is really genuine. As sad as it is to watch him sufferring, it is equally funny watching him as he uses his amazing humor to cope with his situation. 

Rogen is equally good. For the first time in any of his movies, he tones down his abrasiveness and brings to life a genuinely likeable character. You really feel for him struggling to make it as a comedian, and later as his standup improves, the sense of accomplishment is clearly evident in his portrayal. With so much comic presence on the screen in this movie at any given time, Rogen’s subdued approach is dead on.

The rest of the cast is straight up amazing. Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzmann are hilarious as Rogen’s two roommates. Leslie Mann is great as George’s love interest, yet also manages to provide qutie a few comedic moments of her own.  Last but not least, scene stealing Eric Bana is just awesome as the jealous Aussie husband.

For a movie about life and death, it also has a comedy within a comedy element going on. There are famous commediennes up the ying yang in this film, with cameos from start to finish. I think it’s safe to say that this film has more jokes per minute of movie than any other comedy that has come out in a long time (and at a whopping 2.5 hrs of running time- that’s a lot of jokes!!). Unlike other comedies which sometimes tend to overly rely on insane situations for humor, Funny People just looks at life through the eyes of well..funny hilarious people. 

While the film doesn’t have the craziness of Superbad or Knocked Up, it does have a lot more soul…while providing just as many laughs. I highly recommend this movie to anyone. While the film willl no doubt have you cracking up, it may also cause you to take a moment and look at your own life and the choices you’ve made.

Entertainment Wrap #1

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Big releases this week in theaters are the children’s fantasy adventure “Inkheart” and the latest installment in the Underworld series, “Underworld:Rise of the Lycans.” Inkheart is a story about a book whose events come to life after reading it (cough, Neverending Story, cough). As much as I’d like to see the same old territory ravaged and redone yet again, the film stars Brendan Fraser. Nothing against Fraser but rumor has it that he undertook serious method acting for his role in the Mummy films and had an actual Egyptian curse placed on him.  Subsequently the curse has not only affected his acting ability but also every film he has been in.  However, kids may want to watch the movie and that usually means dragging parents along also. If possible, try to substitute watching Adam Sandler’s Bedtime Stories as it has a similar premise yet appeals to both kids and adults equally and is actually a pretty funny movie.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is the first in the series not to feature sexy female lycan hunter Seline, played by Kate Beckinsale. The movie is a bit of a prequel, giving background on the war between the vampires and the lycans.  The movie features Rhona Mitra, perhaps best known as the female heroine of “Doomsday” and coincidentally she looks enough like Beckinsale to fit right into the Underworld mythos. Although the character of Seline is noticeably absent from this film, the addition of Mitra should work nicely.  Also worth noting is that part of the screenplay was written by Danny McBride, the actor who played “Red” in Pineapple Express and also appeared in such uber comedies as Tropic Thunder, Hot Rod, and The Foot Fist Way. While his screenwriting ability is relatively unproven, he is just such a cool guy one can’t help but give him the benefit of the doubt.

DVD

“The Express” comes out on DVD this week. This is the true story of college football star Ernie Davis, who was the first African American to win the Heisman trophy.  The movie features Dennis Quaid as the coach of the team and Rob Brown as Davis. Although sports movies like this are a dime a dozen, some of them manage to hit the right notes in terms of inspiration and just good vibes in general. While I’ve only caught parts of this film, the portions I saw were well acted and the movie looks worth a rental.

Also on DVD this week is Saw V. Without getting too much into this one, I posted a review for this film already for those wanting more info.  The other big release this week is “Max Payne.”  While the previews look somewhat promising, if only for the effects, word on the street about this movie is that it is pretty horrible. Rent this only if you’re a huge fan of the video game, if you’re a glutton for punishment, or if you’re like me and just too damn stubborn to fully trust anyone else’s opinion until you experience how horrible it is for yourself.

One more release that is probably under the radars of most people is “Repo: The Genetic Opera.” This is a rock musical sci-fi film that just overlaps and interweaves different genres that are completely unrelated.  Although I have not yet watched the film, the premise is extremely interesting. In the future, organ failure is the predominant cause of death among humans and as a result, corporations “lease” organs to those in need. When someone falls behind on their payments, they send the Repoman out to “repossess” the leased organs by any means necessary. This is all told in a musical style narrative. It seems like one of those cult classic type movies where people will either get it, or be completely lost on the whole idea. For the price of a rental, it may be worth the risk to find out which of the two groups you fall into.

GAMES

It’s been a relatively quiet period for new games in general.  January is usually a dead month since it follows the holiday flood of games rushing to get released in time for Christmas. This week, “Skate 2″, the follow up to EA’s excellent “Skate” came out for multiple platforms.  Having enjoyed the first game, I played the demo for Skate 2 and luckily not much has changed.  There are a few new trick mechanics to include hand plants and other tricks that weren’t included in the last game, but the overall build remains the same. Granted it was just a demo, but just from that it became clear that fans of the first game are sure to like the sequel.  Other than that, the week is pretty uneventful in terms of new games.

There’s the week in entertainment so until next week- that’s a wrap!

Click (DVD)

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click This movie was great. At first I thought this would be another one of those obnoxious and vulgar films Adam Sandler is so famous for. I mean, I loved Happy Gilmore and Waterboy, but I think its great if an actor can portray more than one type of character.

As it turns out, this was one of the best performances by Adam Sandler. It did have those rude gestures Sandler is so well known for, but this movie left you with a very postive message when the credits rolled through. Don’t let life pass you by. Learn to enjoy and appreciate your family. Everything from enjoying initimate moments with your significant other, to spending time with your parents, and making the most out of your time with your children was covered in the film. Good stuff!

Oh and Kate Beckinsale as Sandlers wife! OUCH! Very hot! Great body and such a natural talent. Now I know why my brother-n-law loves her. I didnt realize how much natural beauty she had until I watched this film.

Synopsis:

Michael Newman is a loving father and husband, but he’s got an office and a career he sees more often than his own family. To only make matters worse is a boss who takes everything for granted, including advantage of Michael by dangling a promotion in front of his face. But when one late night trip to a Bed, Bath and Beyond store for a new remote control, Michael finds himself in the possession of a new kind of remote control, developed by an eccentric inventor. A remote control so significant that it allows Michael to be able to fast forward, rewind, pause and practically control all the events in his life. So much to an extent that it becomes a luxury for the overworked man who finally gets some quality time with his family and his life. But not everything lasts forever as Michael is about to find out, when the remote control begins to malfunction, causing Michael to deal with the consequences.