Funny People

This is a smart movie, one that's very unexpected.

Funny People is funny, moving, dramatic, and alternately hilarious. It's a bit like a stand-up dramedy.

The film is also an admiring portrait of the artist as Californian solipsist -- unburdened by personal ties or even the need to seem intelligent, free to follow his own random, petty, moment-by-moment train of thought.

Funny People has some very funny moments but don't expect a joke fest. And don't expect a tight film either. At two and a half hours, it is not one but two films... and at least one of them shouldn't have been made.

Despite its flaws, this film has a beguiling candour and reflectiveness which is new for Apatow and Sandler.

The humor is merely the setting for an affecting drama about comedians. Their material is endlessly amusing, and their chummy and sarcastic behavior toward one another riotous. Yet underneath that, Apatow emphasizes how the humor presents a façade.

What the movie ends up saying is that some funny people will always be alone&#59; their artistic strengths and their personal flaws are two sides of the same coin.

Feels like it is both a love song and a tribute to Apatow's life journey and the people in it through their joys, sorrows, quirks and idiosyncracies.

Despite the lengthy run time, Funny People gives us one of Adam Sandler's best performances so I can't complain.