bigbillythefish92
Joined Oct 2007
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bigbillythefish92's rating
My summary statement says it all: Funny People has been the comedy film I've been dying to see. Even through its obvious flaws, Funny People comes out as a unique film because it simply is not afraid to say what needs to be said. It finds the closest blend between comedy and drama that I've seen on-screen in a long time, and just for that I tip my hat off to Judd Apatow (because that's something many films attempt to do, and only few succeed).
Funny People is the story of comedy king George Simmons (Adam Sandler), who is going through an internal and external mid-life crisis: he isn't happy with his work or where he ended up at in his life, and his doctor informs him that he has a rare health condition. Simmons wants to find the happiness that he once had in his glory days as a stand-up comedian, so he starts doing some comedy routines at local bars. This is where he first meets Ira who has to follow up his act on-stage.
George needs some extra company, so he hires Ira as his assistant writer. But he resents Ira. He resents every crowd he has to make laugh. The masses will always feel a little more light-hearted listening to some of Simmon's comedy acts, but where can Simmons himself find happiness? The crowds can't give him that. He has no close friends; such a job excludes that possibility. Like Simmons says (in more or less words): there are people he can laugh with, but he has no close friends who can fix the gap that life has left him with--only he himself can fill that void. And Simmons makes it very clear that Ira IS NOT his friend; Ira is merely a crutch for Simmons to lean on while he struggles to heal. All-in-all, the point here is that comedians are not content human beings: they are sad, and even more screwed up than most people.
Thus George Simmons sets off to find a cure to his sadness as his doctors struggle to cure him of his leukemia. He attempts to mend relationships, and chases after a long-lost lover. And this is one of the film's weak points: it lags on the relationship between Laura and George. But as we begin to see things deteriorate for Simmons, one of the main morals of the film is unveiled: don't try to go back and fix the mistakes you made in your past (things might just end up worse), but keep moving forward and paving the way to a better future.
As George discovers that he might be cured of his disease, things begin to go downhill for him. But through all the rubble, all the drowned hopes, all the lost chances and heated arguments, Simmons comes out the better man. He learns to appreciate the turns his life has taken and the things he has gone through. It's a hacked-out and quite predictable ending; but all the same Funny People succeeds in being a riot as well as shedding some light into the lives of people you would think would be happiest. To tie all that up, even with an unoriginal ending, is quite an achievement in and of itself. Overall, kudos to Apatow: you've done quite the thing with Funny People.
Funny People is the story of comedy king George Simmons (Adam Sandler), who is going through an internal and external mid-life crisis: he isn't happy with his work or where he ended up at in his life, and his doctor informs him that he has a rare health condition. Simmons wants to find the happiness that he once had in his glory days as a stand-up comedian, so he starts doing some comedy routines at local bars. This is where he first meets Ira who has to follow up his act on-stage.
George needs some extra company, so he hires Ira as his assistant writer. But he resents Ira. He resents every crowd he has to make laugh. The masses will always feel a little more light-hearted listening to some of Simmon's comedy acts, but where can Simmons himself find happiness? The crowds can't give him that. He has no close friends; such a job excludes that possibility. Like Simmons says (in more or less words): there are people he can laugh with, but he has no close friends who can fix the gap that life has left him with--only he himself can fill that void. And Simmons makes it very clear that Ira IS NOT his friend; Ira is merely a crutch for Simmons to lean on while he struggles to heal. All-in-all, the point here is that comedians are not content human beings: they are sad, and even more screwed up than most people.
Thus George Simmons sets off to find a cure to his sadness as his doctors struggle to cure him of his leukemia. He attempts to mend relationships, and chases after a long-lost lover. And this is one of the film's weak points: it lags on the relationship between Laura and George. But as we begin to see things deteriorate for Simmons, one of the main morals of the film is unveiled: don't try to go back and fix the mistakes you made in your past (things might just end up worse), but keep moving forward and paving the way to a better future.
As George discovers that he might be cured of his disease, things begin to go downhill for him. But through all the rubble, all the drowned hopes, all the lost chances and heated arguments, Simmons comes out the better man. He learns to appreciate the turns his life has taken and the things he has gone through. It's a hacked-out and quite predictable ending; but all the same Funny People succeeds in being a riot as well as shedding some light into the lives of people you would think would be happiest. To tie all that up, even with an unoriginal ending, is quite an achievement in and of itself. Overall, kudos to Apatow: you've done quite the thing with Funny People.
"Chaos Theory" is the story of Ryan Reynold's character, Frank Allen, reminiscing back to his younger and crazy years as a man who--well, wasn't so crazy in the beginning. You see, Frank Allen is a prioritizer. And not just a regular one: he prioritizes EVERY single area of his life. But one day, his perfect little life is sent out of control when his wife sets the clock ten minutes later than it really should be. Things are never the same for Frank again.
He is sent on a zany journey which makes him jump through multiple hoops and teaches him, in the end, that love is the only thing that can't be prioritized. It's outside of the bounds of time, and just happens. A very run-of-the-mill lesson.
What makes this film special is not the lesson it's intended to present, which has already been handed to us in so many different forms anyways, but the way it executes each scene and event that leads up to that lesson. Daniel Taplitz writes a clever, oh-so comic script that will enrapture any audience with its humor and randomness. Ryan Reynolds nails his part, from every subtle, yet distinctive expression he gives to his suaveness.
What this film fails to give to the audience, however, is..emotion. In between Frank Allen's long, bizarre journey in which he struggles to prioritize things to go his way, but learns in the end that only true love (not his prioritizing) can bring him and his wife together, there are a few moments that are thrown in that are supposed to be emotional (characters weeping, heads held close), and they just don't click. To suddenly and very abruptly switch from comedy to drama takes a true artist of precision. Judd Apatow does it with "Funny People," but Chaos Theory, even with its clever writing, can't seem to pull it off.
Overall, even with its generic moral and failure to pluck the strings of the audiences' heart, Chaos Theory is still a clever, pleasurable film. If only it could've had more time in the script-writing process and a little better direction, though...
He is sent on a zany journey which makes him jump through multiple hoops and teaches him, in the end, that love is the only thing that can't be prioritized. It's outside of the bounds of time, and just happens. A very run-of-the-mill lesson.
What makes this film special is not the lesson it's intended to present, which has already been handed to us in so many different forms anyways, but the way it executes each scene and event that leads up to that lesson. Daniel Taplitz writes a clever, oh-so comic script that will enrapture any audience with its humor and randomness. Ryan Reynolds nails his part, from every subtle, yet distinctive expression he gives to his suaveness.
What this film fails to give to the audience, however, is..emotion. In between Frank Allen's long, bizarre journey in which he struggles to prioritize things to go his way, but learns in the end that only true love (not his prioritizing) can bring him and his wife together, there are a few moments that are thrown in that are supposed to be emotional (characters weeping, heads held close), and they just don't click. To suddenly and very abruptly switch from comedy to drama takes a true artist of precision. Judd Apatow does it with "Funny People," but Chaos Theory, even with its clever writing, can't seem to pull it off.
Overall, even with its generic moral and failure to pluck the strings of the audiences' heart, Chaos Theory is still a clever, pleasurable film. If only it could've had more time in the script-writing process and a little better direction, though...
After watching Trick R' Treat, I felt something was simply missing: from beautiful set decoration to conceptual camera angles, this is, by its cover, the perfect direct-to-DVD horror movie. But considering what could be lacking from such a film, I ventured to the heart of the story and finally realized that Trick R' Treat is, simply put, devoid of any scares.
Don't get me wrong: this movie is anything but boring. From pumpkin-faced terrors to blood-sucking creatures, this movie has its share of creeps. Not only that, but each of the separate story lines (there are 4 total) are woven together so slickly that there are bundles of shocks you won't see coming.
But none of this can make up for the fact that Trick R' Treat is, at its best, only creepy; a movie that used the same layout and attained the same tone as "The Twilight Zone Movie." I was eagerly awaiting the moment when it would break off from creepy and truly get scary, like John Carpenter's "Halloween." But sadly, Trick R' Treat's clever story never dishes out the scares.
Don't get me wrong: this movie is anything but boring. From pumpkin-faced terrors to blood-sucking creatures, this movie has its share of creeps. Not only that, but each of the separate story lines (there are 4 total) are woven together so slickly that there are bundles of shocks you won't see coming.
But none of this can make up for the fact that Trick R' Treat is, at its best, only creepy; a movie that used the same layout and attained the same tone as "The Twilight Zone Movie." I was eagerly awaiting the moment when it would break off from creepy and truly get scary, like John Carpenter's "Halloween." But sadly, Trick R' Treat's clever story never dishes out the scares.