FUNNY PEOPLE...Are Tragic

Judd Apatow’s newest, and sincerest, comedy FUNNY PEOPLE steps away from his typical gross-out humor. He has matured and now wants to address something other than virginity and accidental pregnancies. Apatow is a family man, and in the most fundamental ways FUNNY PEOPLE reflects his fear of abandoning his family – be it because of fame, infidelity, or death. He uses jokes to mask the fear of the unknown.

The entire movie chronicles George Simmons’s (Adam Sandler) race with time and his redemption once he “gets a glimpse of something people normally only see once in their lives.” George fights two wars, one against a life-threatening cancer and one against his own loneliness brought on from years of seeking instant gratification from those around him. He isolates himself from anyone that could possibly break through his carefully protected persona, essentially hurting them before he can get hurt. He is the typical man afraid of love and loneliness, and therefore denies himself the possibility of forming attachments with anyone who could leave him.

George hires Ira Wright, a shy, struggling stand-up comedian, played tenderly and respectfully by Seth Rogen, as his assistant. As his cancer advances, Ira convinces George to reach out to his friends and family. Once George reconnects with his ex-girlfriend Laura (Leslie Mann), he begins to finally recognize how lonely his life has become. His decision to live a fuller and more inclusive life makes a conceivably unlikable character lovable. Apatow truly knows how to redeem even the most heartless of people.

FUNNY PEOPLE is a love note to comedy, and Apatow reaches deep into the comedian’s soul. Under all the funny are pain and a need for praise. George even tells Ira that he has spent his entire life trying to make his father laugh, and he hasn’t done it yet. All comedians use their words and actions to draw people in, while still remaining distant enough to never get hurt. George and Ira both fear death but together they can at least laugh in its face.