First off, it's worth mentioning that despite the title and all-star cast of comedians, "People" is much lighter on the comedy and heavier on the drama than we have come to expect from Apatow.
In the film, famous comedian George Simmons (Adam Sandler) discovers he has an almost-certainly fatal blood disease, leading him to reevaluate his own life. Whenever anyone gets too close, George manages to push them away until, that is, he meets Ira (Seth Rogen), a struggling comedian whom he takes on as a personal assistant, joke writer and verbal punching bag. At first, Ira is too awestruck to notice he's being mistreated, but he eventually comes to care for his comedic idol as a friend.
George, who initially refuses to tell others about his disease, finally gives in at Ira's behest and contacts friends and family opening the door to one surprising cameo after another as an array of who else? funny people playing themselves come to wish him well. While the cameo scenes, including one where Eminem flips out at comedian Ray Romano, are amusing, this was largely due to the sheer novelty of seeing such a mix of celebrities in one movie.
None of these relationships compare to the only relationship that ever mattered to him. Laura (Apatow's wife Leslie Mann) is the proverbial "one that got away," who left after she found out George had cheated on her. By the time the dying George realizes what a poor decision he made, Laura is tragically stuck in an unhappy marriage with two kids. Not a promising scenario for a future together.
Suddenly, against all expectations and to the surprise of even his doctor, George's fatal illness turns out to be not-so-fatal. "Funny People" isn't one of those reaffirming, new-lease-on-life types of movies, however. In fact, the new George seems just as disgruntled and jaded as before.
And he's not alone the film is filled with characters who cheat on spouses, curse, betray friends and a whole variety of other bad things. And while this may cue some to call Apatow a dysfunctional misanthrope, his characters' flaws seem par for the course in the real world. Apatow is not a hater of humanity he's just a realist.
One bright spot in the movie is Sandler's stand-out performance. He runs the gamut of human emotions in a moving and realistic way, giving the audience a consistently multidimensional character who they can empathize with and disapprove of at the same time. George spends the film reacting to others while wrestling with his own inner conflicts, and even seemingly unwarranted actions come to reveal more about his character as the film progresses. There are certainly times when Sandler's performance is so authentic it is easy to forget he's not real. Perhaps it is because the role is so close to Sandler's real life; perhaps it's because he is a great dramatic actor. Most likely it is a bit of both Sandler's mix of inspiration and talent make the performance and the film worth seeing.
While not wildly offensive, some points in the film seem to have excessive amounts of obscenities and crude jokes. In a film that tries to walk the line between drama and comedy, a bit of this intended humor falls flat. Do not expect to roll out of your seat laughing. "Superbad," this film is not.
This does not detract from the the film's ability to show another side, however dark, of the entertainment industry and provide an honest depiction of life the pain, the joy and the conflicts that don't get neatly resolved in a convenient two hours.
