Funny People (2009)
When comedian George Simmons learns of his terminal health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship cause him to take a green performer under his wing as his opening act.
Cast and Information
Directed By: Judd Apatow
Written By: Judd Apatow
Starring: Adam Sandler, Justin Long, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Sarah Silverman, Aubrey Plaza, Aziz Ansari, Leslie Mann, RZA, Eric Bana, Torsten Voges
Country: USA
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Funny People belongs to 29 collections
1. boobs (collaborative: moderated by Pickpocket - 51 stars)
2. #1 at the US Box Office (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub - 10 stars)
3. Top 3000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 5 stars)
4. Famous People Acting As Themselves (No Documentaries) (collaborative: moderated by SirStuckey - 3 stars)
5. Thanksgiving (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub - 3 stars)
6. Availability: Amazon Prime Canada (collaborative: moderated by geohawk - 2 stars)
7. Top 2000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 2 stars)
8. Apatow Crew (collaborative: moderated by frederic_g54 - 1 star)
9. Parents Acting with their Offspring (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx - 1 star)
10. Eligible for Academy Award Best Picture 2009 (collaborative: moderated by Ross - 1 star)
11. About comedy and/or comedians (collaborative: moderated by Ag0stoMesmer - 1 star)
12. Films that most frequently use the word "fuck" (collaborative: moderated by elhenzo - 1 star)
13. Reza Archive (public: reza899 - 1 star)
14. Richard Brody's Best Films of 2009 (public: TychoCelchuu - 1 star)
15. Cancer (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed)
16. 100 New Directors (collaborative: moderated by kaiku991)
17. Mubi Europe (collaborative: moderated by Svengali)
18. 2009 US Theatrical (collaborative: moderated by DrBroel)
19. Movies Set in Los Angeles (collaborative: moderated by cdub12)
20. Netflix France (collaborative: moderated by bfn)
21. Photographed by Janusz Kaminski (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed)
22. Just Long Enough (collaborative: moderated by davidysteph)
23. Movies I Saw in Theaters (public: theficionado)
24. References (public: CarsonWid)
25. My DVD Collection (public: LesterGroans)
26. Owned Films (public: TheSaberfool)
27. 2009: Year in Review (public: polanski28)
28. sample rankings (public: Yuma7)
29. My Movie Collection (public: elhenzo)
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| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 6 |  |
Tripwyre | 96 97th |
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Easily Apatow's best work, this is his first truly Great film. While it is a long, sprawling movie, it is so rich with character detail I don't think there's much that could be cut without hurting the story. The acting is exceptional from everyone, and while I had my doubts about Mann (wife-casting rarely works), she really delivers. The movie often flirts with cliche, but resolves itself in natural, realistic ways. It's awkward and messy, but so is life. A very personal film for me. I loved it.
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| 5 |  |
Jeb | 82 67th |
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With Funny People, Apatow has proved not only that he is a solid filmmaker, but that he has matured and blossomed from his facetiousness and fitted into a more tender and susceptible outfit. Its incognito is cleverly covered by a comedy cloak, but underneath its rough edges is a very sensitive and deplorably morose issue of one man's everyday difficulties, predicaments and empty loneliness that slowly takes over his sentience. Will certainly be nominated for awards and Oscars, no doubt about it.
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| 4 |  |
Farzan | 74 66th |
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I was extremely excited to see this film, and though it is pretty good, it definitely disappointed me. The comedy was not as good as other films like knocked up and 40 year old virgin, but there were a few scenes that made me laugh aloud, most notably the scene with eminem. Now, the drama was quite captivating, and Sandler's fantastic performance really brought all of those emotions down like you were experiencing them first hand, but it dragged on for far too long.
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| 4 |  |
TedDedon | 85 73rd |
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Funny People strikes the right balance between drama and comedy that both Knocked Up and the 40 Year Old Virgin had going for it. Its a better story and it actually seems rather biographical for everyone involved. The jokes never miss and its hard not to empathize with the characters even at their darkest, most pathetic moments. I loved this movie and can't wait to see it again.
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| 4 |  |
canadianor | 90 90th |
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"Funny People" is really two movies wedged into one. The first half deals with George's sickness and the world of stand-up. You would think that this would be the much funnier half, being that it's literally about being funny. In fact, it's the second half that garners most of the chuckles. Every character in this film is flawed. No evil or purely good people here. It feels very real. Characters change organically. Slowly. They remain mostly the same, but try to be better one joke at a time.
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| 3 |  |
cagedwisdom | 75 65th |
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Funny People is a film of great maturity. Apatow has shown that he is a competent filmmaker and that he is capable of mature themes, some of which are surprisingly dark and grim. On board this time are, of course, Seth Rogen (as Seth Rogen) and Adam Sandler (as, one can assume, Adam Sandler when faced with his own mortality). I never thought I would say this, but Adam Sandler delivers a formidable performance in this. I usually can't stand the man, but his character is thoroughly convincing.
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| 2 |  |
Kavu | 62 35th |
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Apatow's comedies feel like a stuck record and I'm just not laughing anymore. I liked the rest of the script though and Sandler manages to actually be good when he's serious.
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| 2 |  |
timmo | 95 88th |
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Judd Apatow's finest and funniest film. When I went to a screening at the Museum of the Moving Image, Apatow was there, and had a conversation with the curator prior to the movie. He mentioned that FUNNY PEOPLE is really three films in one, and he's right. Normally, that wouldn't work, but with such an amazing cast--Apatow is always great at casting--it works phenomenally. It will be nominated for several Oscars and win several Oscars. A great, great time, even though it's almost 2.5 hours.
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| 2 |  |
frederic_g54 | 7 57th |
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Not much wrong with this film, Sandler in the role of a lifetime and the supporting cast shone in their respective performances. The third act was disappointing, could've used some polishing. Few directors these days can follow a straight path and not fuck it up along the way (Scorsese, Coen Brothers, Tarantino and PTA come to mind). It's still enjoyable, but not as much as Apatow's previous entries. Do you enjoy anything other than sex related jokes, I mean grow up America !
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| 2 |  |
gtown1479 | 74 51st |
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A story was hidden in there, but too much extra stuff making the film drag out for over 2 freakin hours. If you are barely going to use it then don't give Rogen a girlfriend. That could cut 20 minutes out. I thought the 1st half was good , but then when they got to Mann's house it started to crumble. You could call what was going to happen. Parts of the stand-up were funny. I thought Rogen was the best character, and the "Teach" show amusing too. Good but had the potential to be better.
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| 2 |  |
TangVampire | 88 40th |
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I think I got my expectations a bit too high for this film, so I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong, this movie is very funny, and has a good message included. The only problem I had was its length-- almost 2.5 hours and the ending seemed to drag on a bit. I was very impressed by Seth Rogen's acting, though. I've always really liked him, but this was the most serious I've seen him and he delivered. :)
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| 2 | sellis | 48 16th |
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A solid and oddly charming first hour or so transforms into an unpleasant, uneffective, and boring final seven hours. Jesus, man. Why are some of these scenes necessary? Eminem and Ray Romano? Seriously? Best part is definitely Jason Schwartzman. Worst part is the terribly forced humor and second act melodrama that I gave up caring about after the 100th European accent joke.
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| 2 |  |
Melvin Smif | 75 84th |
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I always love seeing a bunch of comedians get together and jaw, so I loved that part of the movie. Great performances, and good direction by Apatow. Sadly the entire lost love arch could have been scraped in my opinion, making the movie a perfect length.
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| 2 |  |
suman.austin | 78 56th |
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Finally a mature movie from Judd Apatow. The comedy was good as usual but the drama was ok. Everyhting was good until Leslie Mann and Eric Bana ruined it. However, Leslie Mann was less irritating in this movie, but Seth Rogen and Adam Sandler were amazing.
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| 2 | mertz109 | 87 74th |
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After both Judd Apatow's and Seth Rogan's last few films, I have been disappointed by each of them to the point where I expected to be disappointed with this movie too. But I was actually very impressed by this movie. Why I liked it: It was relatable, insightful and the "love story" was not sappy or corny or unbelieveable (like other Apatow films where a total awkward loser gets the girl.) This film had depth and great character development. Worth seeing.
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| 2 |  |
brandt64 | 75 55th |
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I really liked it up to the point where it decided to drop everything it had going for it, and tack on some boring, pointless soap opera that's neither relevant to the film's main premise, or funny. Glad to see Sandler in one of the few respectable roles in his career, though.
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| 2 |  |
Nroo | 55 22nd |
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Overly long melodrama with dick jokes.
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| 2 | forehead1 | 40 26th |
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Overlong and ultimately unfunny, this could've done without Mann's character and the plotlines that followed. The mellow tone is set early on and is quite enjoyable at first but there's just not enough of anything good here to hold your interest. Whether the consistent shiteness of the stand-up gags that pepper this is intentionally ironic or not is unclear, and the genuine stock footage of some of the principals adds nothing. Lots of cameos with probably the best coming from Eminem.
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| 1 | cruelclown | 45 16th |
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A real disappointment. Seems to me that Laura's wish to return to her acting career might be the result of the portraying actress' own wish, who happens to be the director Judd Apatow's wife. Bad performances, bad script. Not funny people, not funny at all.
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| 1 |  |
CitizenX | 55 52nd |
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not really the funniest movie out there, besides guests like eminem joking and some other stuff like eric bana and when leslie mann was doing the accent, most jokes were pretty bad, actually i'm a bit disappointed cause i expected a lot from that movie, with a cast like that you could think that you leave the cinema with tears in your eyes from laughing ...
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| 1 |  |
grimsooth | 32 16th |
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Essentially a poorly crafted drama which follows comedians of various levels of success through one's bout with AML. While it is somewhat morbidly interesting, and genuinely funny at times, it's just not a good movie. It reminds me a lot of "Henry Poole is here", similarly unmoving and uninspired.
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| 1 |  |
MJVmovieMan | 58 28th |
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Despite some strong acting and a very interesting premise, 'Funny People' is strangely uneven. The film opens great with some big laughs and seems to be on an interesting path with Sandler's character's impending demise. Once the plot shifts focus and Leslie Mann's character is thrown in the mix, the story detours into a painful slog of a third act. Apatow's latest is well-acted, very funny early on, and I praise Sandler's departure here and the film's honest approach, but the movie lost me.
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| 1 |  |
sebby | 65 58th |
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Pretty good, but way too long and the pacing sucks. Worth watching to see Adam Sandler acting well in a good movie. Fucking surreal. Also, as unlikable as Sandler's character is, I totally agree with him about the little girl singing the Cats song. It was fucking weird and hilarious.
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| 1 |  |
KasperL | 60 50th |
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It starts off really well and has some nice ideas, but in the end you're left wanting. It doesn't amount to as much as it could have. Instead of going all out with the (initially well done) drama, it settles for easy laughs - and barely succeeds at that. Bana was deliciously over-the-top. Sandler should stay away from serious roles.
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| 1 |  |
Ross | 85 88th |
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The drama works really well, the comedy however is not funny enough.
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| 1 |  |
recklessmess | 70 47th |
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Either the title of the movie is ironic, or it's blatant false advertising.
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| 1 |  |
skiewulfy | 60 79th |
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Less a comedy and more of a drama about comedians, Funny People goes to some dark places and pulls few punches in exploring the personalities of its two leads. There's a lot of dimension to the relationships and the far from perfect characters that drive them, to the degree of discomfort making the interspersed moments of comic wittiness a true relief. Anyone looking for a satirical buddy comedy or a happily ever after romance should heed the warning.
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| 1 | micah | 70 64th |
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A drama disguised as a comedy, Funny People is Judd Apatow's cancer movie. It's funny, but more in spurts than its predecessors. Where it succeeds is in the relationship between Sandler and Rogen, whose burgeoning and belabored friendship is well-realized, thanks to probably the best work from both actors. It could use a cut of about twenty minutes, especially in the last act, but it's definitely worth watching.
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| 1 |  |
TheRealJ-Ro | 60 25th |
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Like my review for "Orphan": a lot of well-executed material in the first half, but it's now painfully obvious that Hollywood can no longer negotiate an ending. This movie does, however, make a liar out of my review for "Click", where I state that Sandler is not a dramatic actor. He's not a GREAT one, but he actually had me sucked into his character. The "Dante/Randal" dynamic between Sandler/Rogan pales in comparison to Dante and Randal, but is still there and I appreciate it. Funny in spurts.
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| 1 | Chouinard | 74 54th |
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At first I thought I really liked it, but slowly liking it less and less. Some editing down needed, but if you took out all the filler you'd be left with a 3rd rate bromance, and a 7th rate romance. I feel tricked as I genuinely enjoyed seeing it, but I can't rate it too high because it is cliched, and probably cannot hold up over multiple viewings.
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| 1 |  |
INDYATMN | 86 77th |
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Thanx 2 the trailer, we know something Sandler's character doesn't, so although the film is generally funny its first hour takes on a sort of rambling quality, only gathering momentum in the last 45 minutes. The careful build-up gives this last part a rushed-through feeling, but it seems unavoidable since Apatow has clearly taken his time to craft a script that never sacrifices plausibility for a laugh & characters who aren't perfect &, most important, seem very real.
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| 1 |  |
Neonman | 68 32nd |
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Despite being more of a drama than a comedy, it's still funnier than Apatow's previous two (which I would consider more comedies than dramas). This is a rare Adam Sandler performance which, although often funny, has well-utilised substance and isn't him just laughing at poo or making rancid pop culture references (in fact, this film very much makes fun of what became of Sandler after this -- ohh, the irony). UPDATE- overlong last act undermines the great first two acts
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| 1 |  |
Langelund (CinemaZone.dk) | 45 29th |
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Not REALLY funny nor REALLY touching. Overlong, overcrowded and in the last hour all over the place.
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| 1 |  |
EastonD | 35 26th |
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Misleading title.
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| 1 |  |
the e | 30 16th |
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Good: Few jokes from Sandler; Bad: Most humor wasn't funny, especially the stand-up (all lame), very depressing, mostly drama (85%) vs. comedy (15%), bad ending w/ no real conclusion, dorky roommates never really worked well in the film and seemed out of place.
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| 1 |  |
omgfridge | 2 19th |
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Starts off rocky then after a potential misfire in these opening twenty odd minutes, the performances, jokes and general flow of the story start rolling. All is well till Leslie Mann's character - Laura has a bigger influence. Writing gets worse. Performances get worse. Everything gets cluttered and completely falls apart. Has a few laughs but overall a chore to watch.
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| 1 | sportyjay | 77 75th |
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There were some length issues, but i enjoyed Sandler and Rogen more in this than i usually do. It was quite good with a decent amount of laughs.
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| 1 | foxforcefive | 92 61st |
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A certified dramedy with strong performances by all the cast. the only major downfall is that it sometimes seems to lack focus. it seemed like a really personal look into the world of standup and celebrity life, courtesy of apatow.
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| 1 |  |
Okkervil | 68 63rd |
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This film is almost excellent, but has to settle for just being pretty good. Sandler and Rogen work well together, and the solid script allows for the humour to stay relatively fresh throughout. Possibly Apatow's best work so far, it is a shame that in terms of structure, much of the film feels messy and uneven, and when a film is far too long at over 2 hours (like this is), then that is a problem. None the less, this is a still a fun movie.
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| 1 |  |
downbeat | 68 22nd |
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The first half of this film is great, but the second half just falls apart. Film is too long, and I started to get bored during the second half of the film. Even though I did not like the second half I still enjoyed the ending of the film, and really enjoyed the first half. I should have rented it rather than have seen it in theater.
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| 1 |  |
FrederikA | 65 59th |
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An uneven but likable film that tries to mash two movies' plots into one. This makes it way too long but it does have some good laughs and real drama (for instance - the visit at the ex's family becomes a surprisingly nuanced character portrait)
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| 1 |  |
roofs_runner | 80 59th |
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That is the movie with Adam Sandler I can really appreciate. It was not a real comedy in its usual sense but there were some moments I laughed at. The drama line wasn't exiting but it was colored by Sandler's performance, who, at least, sometimes can be a real actor.
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| 1 |  |
filmfreak88 | 75 66th |
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Whoever thought Apatow had it in him to make a subtle and mature drama. Funny People may not have totally hit the mark but it comes pretty close and it's never boring. I think he should do more of this stuff. It's good.
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| 1 | simplicio | 70 47th |
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A bunch of comedians are employed to improv their way out of a drama about the loneliness and alienation of comedians. Apatow deals best with the older actors (RZA's great here) and family unit; he taps a listless, angry sorrow in Sandler, affects a transformation in Mann from young mom to emboldened over-actor and back, finds a flamboyant muscularity in Eric Bana, and gets true material out of his daughters. The plotting is weak though, and the 20-somethings of the cast do their usual thing.
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| 1 |  |
hellboy76 | 67 58th |
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I for one actually liked this one. I liked Sandler as a depressed sell out and I liked Rogen as the young hungry comedian. It definitely wanders sometimes, particularly with a romance storyline that wasn't really needed (although it did get Bana being ridiculous).
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| Average Percentile 40.4% from 3095 Ratings |  |