Funny People (2008)

Rated: R for Judd Apatow. Or, to be more specific, for language and crude sexual humor throughout, and some sexuality.
Length: 146 long, long minutes.
Grade: DHDD=F
Budget: $75 million
Box Office: $62 million (52 U.S., 10 Intl.)

Written and Directed by: Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40 Year-Old Virgin) (He also wrote Pineapple Express, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Walk Hard, and Fun with Dick and Jane; and he produced Year One, Step Brothers, Drillbit Taylor, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Superbad, Talladega Nights, Kicking & Screaming, Anchorman.)
Starring: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jason Schwartzman, Jonah Hill, and (rather tellingly) Maude and Iris Apatow.

Summary:

A famous comedian thinks he’s going to die, hires a struggling comic as a joke-writing assistant, changes his life, entices his remarried ex-wife to sleep with him, and then reverts to who he was before.

Entertainment Value: D

There are some moments of comedy in the movie. But I have created a new rule: If any movie has Seth Rogen or Adam Sandler in it or has been touched in any way by Judd Apatow, I will not watch it. Simply put, even the ones that verge on being funny aren’t worth the vulgarity, and most of them aren’t funny. I know this means I’ll miss the occasional Knocked Up or Talladega Nights, but it also means I won’t have to endure all the rest of the trash he produces. You know it’s gotta be pretty awful when even Andrew Tallman can’t stomach watching it anymore.

Superficial Content: H
Drugs/Alcohol F, Sex/Nudity F, Violence C, Language H
I don’t really need to explain this, do I? It’s atrocious, and it should definitely be rated NC-17, if not X. What’s the real point of saying 17 with an adult, 17 only, and 18? This rating system is ridiculous. In what can only be described as a stunning triumph of vulgarity, this movie actually had more F-words per minute than Notorious (151 according to Kidz-in-Mind. And that’s not even counting over 100 other FCC violations. Seriously. As one caller recently encouraged me to say: Just don’t watch this. It’s horrible.

Significant Content: D

I’m not going to bother reviewing it any longer.

Artistic/Thought Value: D

I’m not going to bother reviewing it any longer.

Discussion Questions:
~Seriously…I’m not going to bother reviewing it any longer.

Overall Grade: F

Under no circumstances should you see this movie. Nor should you ever watch another Judd Apatow movie. He’s the Larry Flynt of comedy films. Just consider what sort of person you have to be to allow your own wife and daughters (8 and 11) to star in a movie like this (and also Knocked Up when they were 6 and 9). Now is that the guy whose movies you want to watch? No longer for me.