Posted by jayray in The sad thing about Funny People is that, once again, Adam Sandler will probably get little appreciation for his acting chops. His dramatic ability got him a Golden Globe nomination for Punch-Drunk Love, but Mr. Oscar turned a blind eye. Then came his heart-breaking performance in Reign Over Me for which even Mr. Globie Globe chose to disregard. Now there’s Funny People which is a nice blend of funny, crazy shabba doo Sandler and lonely, unfulfilled guy-with-problems. He basically played an alternate universe version of himself. An Adam Sandler who didn’t have his shit together so to speak.
The movie centers around George Simmons (Sandler) a mega-superstar with a terminal illness and Ira Wright (Seth Rogen). Ira is a struggling stand-up comedian who is hired by George to be his personal assistant /friend in addition to writing some material for him. George is also still pining for Laura (Leslie Mann) the love of his life who he let slip away. After taking some time for a little self-pity, George decides to make the best of the time he has left. Then more stuff happens. Sounds cool, huh? Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, and the rest of the supporting cast are hilarious. I especially enjoyed Aubrey Plaza (Ira’s love interest Daisy) whose shy and dry wit made every scene she was in shine like a bright, funny shiny thing.
If you go to this movie with Forgetting Sarah Marshall on your mind, you will be very disappointed. But if you want to see how Judd Apatow handles a grown up film, I think you’ll be pleased. I know I was. See?
I think Jay Ray is a funny people. I like the way he uses his words to make funny thoughts form in my brain.
I totally agree with your assessment (he, he “ass”essment, see how I did that?) that Adam Sandler is ignored by those awardy people. But who cares? He has complete approval from Jay Likes Movies.
You, my friend, are the next big award show. I expect to see a complete award blog come 2010.
Here are some categories I suggest:
Grossest scene involving boogers.
Most Obscene Joke.
Most Under-appreciated Performance.
And of course, best G-rated movie.
Knock yourself out!